Ryan Falla
The Dodgers have once again opted to take a high school pitcher following their pick of left-handed high school ace Maddux Bruns. The Dodgers’ third-round pick Peter Heubeck, who attended Gilham High School in Baltimore, owns a fastball that sits in the low 90s, which is impressive when you consider both his high school status and the fact that he still has plenty of room for physical growth. Heubeck stands at 6’3″ 170 lbs so you can imagine that filling out that frame will do a lot for the power behind his repertoire, which is already pretty good in its current form. What fascinates us regarding Heubeck is not simply what pitches he throws, but the mentality behind the man throwing them.
Heubeck is often praised for his work ethic and clubhouse energy. He is the kind of guy who you want to lead the charge. He can and will put his teammates on his back, don’t just take it from me, take it from his coach Larry Sheets over at Gilham HS. “Peter is one the hardest-working and most dedicated players I have ever coached. He is a bulldog on the mound and nothing seems to rattle him. He’s the guy you’d want on the hill to close out a championship game, which he did. His numbers speak for themselves, but his desire can’t be fully measured by those numbers.” [quote credit to Baltimore Sun]
This might seem like a little huff and puff to the press to excite his stock, but once you crack into the Heubeck numbers you’ll really start to see why the Dodgers went for another high school pitcher with this draft. Peter Heubeck has been noted as “one of the best preparatory arms in the draft” by scouts, but we’ll let the numbers speak for themselves right here. Just as Maddux Bruns won a Gatorade Player of the Year award so has Heubeck with a season that saw him throw 64.1 IP with 101 Ks and 1.20 ERA. Overall he managed to neuter batters throughout this season, holding them to a paltry .115 BA across a season that saw Heubeck win his 2020-2021 Gatorade Player of the Year accolade.
With the 101st pick, the @Dodgers select Gilman (MD) right-hander Peter Heubeck, No. 108 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.
Watch live: https://t.co/oDjcuCzH7G pic.twitter.com/pkPolGlwhN
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 12, 2021
The Baseball America Scouting Report on Heubeck is as follows:
“A slender, 6-foot-3, 170-pound right-hander, Heubeck has flashed a loud three-pitch mix and has only improved his game since flashing stuff with inconsistent control last summer. Heubeck has a loose and fast arm and has been up into the mid-90s at his best, though he more typically sits in the 90-93 mph range. His best secondary pitch is a hard, downer curveball in the mid-70s with a 12-to-6 shape and impressive depth. He also throws a low-80s changeup that was seen as a distant third pitch last summer but scouts this spring have said Heubeck will flash plus grades with all three of his pitches.”
Heubecks changeup was one of his least used pitches over the simple fact that he did not need to resort to the changeup amongst the high school competition as he thoroughly picked them apart off the strength of his FB/CB combo. All in all, Heubeck is another picture-perfect pick for the Dodgers. Heubeck does not need to have a bulldog, championship-leader type mentality etched into him with Dodgers development because it is already there. You don’t see many high-reward low-risk types and Heubeck is one of them, the tools for MLB success are already well on their way and the kid is just barely out of high school. All he needs is a little nurturing, some high-class Dodgers development, and some strength training to fill out his physical frame and you have yourself a 5 Star Major Leaguer.
Keep an eye on Dodgers2080 as we will be following the careers of Heubeck and all other Dodgers draft picks as they make their way through the MiLB system.
