Knocking on the door of the majors is Anthony Veneziano. But in what role?
- Born: September 1, 1997
- B/T: Left/Left
- 6’5″, 205-lbs
- Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Coastal Carolina University
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
Veneziano spent 2019 in Rookie ball, then lost 2020 to the pandemic closures, and then spent all of 2021 in High-A. He did pretty well there, with his walk being the one thing to work on.
He spent all of 2022 at Double-A, and there his strikeout rate backed up, and his walk rate got worse, and the results were not that great.
He starts 2023 again at Double-A, and now it all comes together. Good strikeout rate, the walk rate finally licked, and it’s a lovely WHIP.
So he moves to Triple-A, and now the adjustment has to be made again. It’s like a mirror image of his 2022 Double-A numbers. All that progress wiped out.
So will next season see him dominate Triple-A, get called up to the majors and regress again?
Monthly Splits
That full month in Double-A is a thing of beauty, then he goes to Triple-A and it collapses. You can see his strikeout rate rising month by month, like he’s trying to reassert himself on the field, but his walk rate just goes klabooey. Month, after month, after month, he keeps hurting his WHIP with that lack of command.
Handedness K% and BB%
AA (vs RH): 27%K and 3%BB. (vs LH): 33%K and 2%BB.
AAA (vs RH): 26%K and 13%BB. (vs LH): 18%K and 10%BB.
His strikeouts against lefties fell in half when he reached Triple-A, though against righties it was about the same. But again, it’s the walks that are hurting him.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: Not on their Top 400
- Fantrax: Not on their Top 400
- RotoProspects: Not on Top 500
- Toolshed Fantasy ($): Not on Top 500
- PARSlist ($): 50.5 (290th SP)
- PLIVE+: 93 (692nd pitcher)
Warnings
Scouts don’t see much.
If he doesn’t get the walks under control, he’s going to risk becoming a reliever.
Conclusion
He has three average pitches: a sinking fastball that can reach 96 mph, a mid-80s slider, and a changeup he can control pretty well.
Oh, but that command! If he doesn’t have excellent command of those average pitchers, above-average batters are going to get above-average results, leading to below-average WHIPs.
Until we see better — and sustained and consistent — command (not just one month in Double-A), think of Veneziano as a spot starter, with those most likely outcome being a middle reliever.