Signed in 2015, Espinola didn’t debut until two years later as he dealt with multiple injuries. The wait could be worth it, as he shows an extremely live two-pitch mix in his FB/CB combo. He’s now 22 years old and stands a physical 6’4’’ and 207 pounds that doesn’t project to add much more to the frame. He slings the ball from a quick, compact arm action with a low 3/4’s slot that’s tough for hitters to see. The fastball is in the 93-to-96 mph range with plus run and boring action in on the hands of same-side hitters. It is odd that Espinola spins a true curveball from such a low arm-slot, but it shows sharp, late 10-to-4 shape and depth that froze a number of hitters in my viewing. This could be a by-product of simply building back mound time, but Espinola runs into bouts of wildness because of an inability to repeat his deceptive arm slot. The control and pitch mix looks like it will move him to the bullpen eventually, but he could have two swing-and-miss pitches there. Adding more intrigue are Espinola’s outrageous spin rates: he averages 2500 RPM on his heater with the curveball registering nearly 3000 RPMs on average.
