St. Louis Cardinals: MLB Draft Preview Part 1

#4 SP Reggie Lawson 6’3″ 213 lbs

Age: 18

Hits/Throws: R/R

School: Victor Valley High School (California)

Scout Grade: FB: 55/60 | CB: 50/55+ | CH 40/50 | Command 40/50+

What do we know:

Lawson is a strong righthander with a frame that screams projectability. At 6’3″ (some say 6’4″), he is a kid who is just starting to fill out his frame. Most believe that Lawson has great potential, and he has shown the ability to improve.

Lawson brings to the table three pitches (Fastball, Curveball, and Changeup) with his fastball easily being his best pitch as Fangraphs has it at a 55/60 grade pitch right now. As Fangraphs mentions, this pitch sits in 90-94 MPH range, and Lawson hasn’t been able to get above 94 with that pitch.

The impressive thing about this fastball is that MLB Top Prospects has this as a “hard-running, two-seam fastball”. This is a pitch that screams Cardinals, as it is a pitch that he should likely rack up a ton of ground balls on.

Rivera Blues mentions that there is some slight concern with his delivery, but that it is not something that can’t be fixed. With their prowess in pitching, the Cardinals would be a good fit and could potentially be one of the teams that he decides to forgo college for.

There is some concern that Lawson could be a tough sign given his commitment to Arizona State. However, the Cardinals do have their large pool to work with this year and they could potentially convince a guy like Lawson by paying slightly over slot and grabbing a college player or two in the supplemental round.

Next: Nolan Jones