Tyler Wells Gives Rays Yet Another Lefty In 25th Round

The Tampa Bay Rays love left-handed pitchers, and they have had success with drafting and developing them. David Price is a surefire ace in the big leagues, Matt Moore showed he was close to becoming an ace before undergoing Tommy John this year, and Jake McGee is one of the best relievers in all of baseball. All of these guys were lefties that the Rays have drafted and developed. In the 25th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, the Rays took their 6th lefty of the draft in Tyler Wells, and they are hoping he can become their next success story.

Wells, who just finished his junior year at Nevada, put up a so-so 4.56 ERA while striking out 41 and walking 20 in 47.1 inning spent between the rotation and bullpen. He features a solid 90-93 MPH fastball that he will throw as either a 4-seamer or 2-seamer. At 6’3”, 205 pounds he gets a nice downward angle on the pitch. As an organization the Rays love changeups, and they see promise in Wells’ changeup given that it is his best secondary pitch. He also has a curveball that has shown promise as well, though it is inconsistent at this point. His stuff has potential to be average across the board, now it is a matter of learning how to use it. As his 57 hits and 20 walks allowed in 47.1 innings last year show, he has plenty of work to do on locating his pitches. He has the stuff to not get hit so hard- he just needs to be able to throw his pitches where he wants to. His frame indicates he could stick as a back of the rotation innings-eater, but he has to develop his curveball and command if he wants to have the stuff to stay there. If not, he could turn into a long reliever or a lefty specialist.

There is plenty of room for improvement for Tyler Wells, but the Rays saw a guy available in the 25th round with the potential to be a starter and they were more than happy to take him.