Riverside, UCA alum Gavin Stone ranked a top 100 MLB prospect ahead of 2024 season – KAIT
JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – A former Riverside Rebel is racking up preseason accolades.
The Los Angeles Dodger right-handed pitcher ranks 95th in The Athletic’s Top 100 MLB prospects, and 82nd in Baseball America’s Top 100.
Gavin made it to The Show last season, pitching 31 innings and owning a 9.00 ERA. He struck out 22 and walked 13 in 8 outings.
“Stone got knocked around in his major league debut but returned to his dominant form at the end of the season in Triple-A,” Baseball America wrote. “His mid-90s fastball, swing-and-miss changeup and impressive durability and toughness will have him in a better position to succeed when he returns to the majors in 2024.”
Stone did end the year on a high note in the majors, recording his first big league save at Seattle and striking out 10 over his final 2 outings.
“The changeup wasn’t quite as devastating as it had been in the minors, but it appears he was tipping the pitch as well, allowing a 45 percent hard-hit rate with the pitch in the big-league stint,” The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote. “That in turn allowed hitters to look fastball, and his four-seamer, which was 93-95 mph but has never had a ton of movement, was close to useless. He’s a lot better than that, by his stuff and by his minor-league results, where his changeup would generate whiff rates near 50 percent or better at every level. He’s got at least an average fastball and slider with a changeup that looked like it’d be a 70 before major-league hitters deemed it somewhat unworthy of that grade. His debut was concerning, but I’m not giving up on his promise after such a small sample.”
The 25-year-old will look to carve out a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on Friday, February 9.
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