Iziah Salinas is a left-handed pitcher for JUCO powerhouse Cowley College (KS). I had a recent (3/1) in-person look at Salinas down in Arkansas City and this report reflects that as well as talking to a few Area Scouts with looks at him this year.
The quality of the look wasn’t the best given it was 35 degrees and Salinas had a 20-25 mph wind in his face for nearly his entire outing.
Height: | 6’0 |
Weight: | 180 |
DOB: | 01/25/2005 |
Frame: | Slight build that is still very lean with plenty of room for added strength/weight in future years. Sloped shoulders. Above average athleticism is apparent. |
Delivery: | Rhythmic SWU, high leg lift, ¼ turn. Level shoulders- lacks shoulder line tilt. Average length stride to slightly closed, open toe upon foot strike. Plus-plus hip/shoulder separation, slight head whack. Inconsistent timing upon foot plant. Very mobile operation overall. |
Arm Action: | H 3/4 slot- Long arm circle with clean path, no major hindrances present. Fluid. Inconsistent timing at foot strike. |
Salinas throws a four-seam fastball (87-91 mph) that shows above-average carry through the zone, especially when elevated. The velocity was a bit light, but I do wonder how much the weather conditions played a part in that because multiple scouts I spoke with have seen him operate more in the 90-93 mph range.
I see significant room for projection velocity wise due to his plus-plus hip/shoulder separation. His command was well below-average but did flash feel for getting the fastball in the upper quadrants of the zone. Here’s an example of Salinas’ hip/shoulder separation:
And here are some looks at Salinas’ fastball from his most recent outing:
The bread and butter for Salinas’ pitch-mix is his curveball (69-77 mph). The offering is one that he varies the velocity on and has deep 12/6 and 1/7 shape while flashing plus teeth a couple times in this outing while battling his feel for most of the outing. It’s a pitch that plays against both RH and LH batters because of the quality spin and how steep it enters the zone. It’s an offering that I could easily see moving to a future plus but is hindered a tick due to his inconsistent feel for it at present.
By far the least utilized offering in his arsenal is the changeup (78-80 mph). He threw a couple in his pre-game bullpen that had moderate fade/depth to, but the few he threw in game action had minimal fade to them.
Closing Thoughts:
While it wasn’t the sharpest of outings, it’s apparent that Salinas is a plus athlete with the ability to really spin a curveball. No doubt it’s a raw profile, but Salinas undoubtedly has traits to project on. Salinas is a high follow for me for the rest of the Spring, and I’d really like to see him in better weather conditions to see if a few more ticks of velocity come from that.
