Hatcher’s Hotlist is a weekly segment that covers a handful of standouts from around the state of Florida. I will travel around the state covering high school and junior college baseball games and compiling a “hotlist”.  

Take a look at my five standouts from the past ten days featuring five potential MLB Draft names. 

2022 Malachi Witherspoon, RHP/C, Fletcher

Jacksonville University Recruit. Athletic, 6-foot-3, 210 lbs. My second look of the spring on Witherspoon and his second time on Hatcher’s Hotlist. In the last article, I mentioned the development in Witherspoon’s lower half that has added strength and potentially been the reason for the increase in velocity and spin since last seen in June of 2021. Witherspoon has everyone’s attention now and every MLB organization has been in to see him since the recent velo spike on Opening Day of the High School season. The separator for Witherspoon to other high school right-handed arms is the plus breaking ball that comes in at 79-82 mph at a consistent 2900-3000+ spin rate and is thrown for strikes. The Jacksonville Recruit offers a true three-pitch mix with a split actioned changeup, the big breaking ball, and the Fastball with zip at around 2600 rpm. High MLB Draft Follow. 

7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K’s

FB: 92-94 (2585)
CB: 79-82 (2974-3040)
CH: 84-85

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