Ricardo Pinto
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I got my first live look at Pinto during his June 25 start at Double-A Portland. Pinto had a short, quick, and clean arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot. He ranged from 90-to-96 mph with the fastball, and mostly sat 92-to-95 mph over 6.2 IP. Command and control of the pitch wavered throughout, lacking much movement outside of some arm-side run when down in the zone. Pinto’s best weapon was his changeup, thrown at 83-to-86 mph. He showed confidence to throw in any count and it effectively generated swings-and-misses. The changeup is a future above-average grade offering and potential weapon to complement Pinto’s mid-90s fastball, and the pitch could play up further with improved fastball command and the potential to add strength to his skinny frame at present. Pinto also threw a fringe-average slider at 79-to-83 mph that I could see developing into a potential average-grade offering given his quick, clean arm action and athleticism. Given Pinto’s size, he may be best suited in a future bullpen role, where he can conceivably air it out with the fastball and compliment with a plus changeup through short stints rather than expecting him to hold up in a rotation for 180+ innings. |
