The 2023 11th rounder had a career day, setting a high in strikeouts over five scoreless innings. My man John asked about him, so it felt like time to have a look. The biggest takeaway? How fine a line can be between a bad (short) day and a career day. As you’ll see, the line here was one pitch. Letson cruised before and after the sixth out needed, but that out took 22 pitches and almost sent him home for the day before the end of the second. It also exudes how cruel the baseball gods can be, as Letson wasn’t pitching poorly. A couple of infield hits and near misses loaded the bases, and a battling 9‑hole hitter sent it to the edge.
Letson threw 77 pitches on the day, 66% strikes, earned 14 whiffs, seven with the breaker, 6 with fastballs, and one with the changeup. The 9 Ks was a best.
Letson is off to a great start. The large-framed-righty’s arsenal isn’t complex; the fastball was 92–96, probably sitting 94 this outing. He’ll sink it when his catcher asks as well. During the rough stretch, the heat looked to be losing a few ticks, but he ramped it back up later, leaving me to wonder if the dip was more about the situation than his fastball stamina. There’s a slower bender and a changeup. He threw one changeup to a righty, so at this stage, he’s more or less a two-pitch guy. Here’s what he’s done as a pro thus far:
Letson very much has the feel of a developing arm, but a skill set with a strong foundation; a developing arm one might feel relatively safe with. Letson makes the baseball do what he wants at a nice clip for a 20-year-old, but still has plenty of work to do. Better fastball execution would have helped him avoid some longer at-bats and things. The slower slider gives these guys fits. Changeups are hardest, and yet easiest to judge…how’d it work? It seemed to do all right. The change doesn’t appear to be his most comfortable offering. Room to grow all the way around for Letson, but you don’t have to squint too hard to see how it could come together. Adding another trick may be required before MLB success is on the table, but folks are doing that all the time. Letson is still a baby in pitching years, but a fairly advanced two-pitch-looking one.
As far as dynasty interest? Yeah, sure. In a larger league where you don’t mind holding a baking arm, Letson feels like a fine choice. The cake probably lacks a few ingredients right now, and there is a large field of such arms out there, but I can see reasons for preferring him over many others. It will be interesting to see what Letson looks like at the end of the year. If it feels much the same as he approaches 200 developmental innings, my interest probably dwindles some.