The Twins go with a third straight pitcher to cap off day one of the draft. Again, it’s a big 6’4” frame from the right side with big velocity. Tommy LaPour was throwing mid 90s out of high school, and after cracking the rotation at Wichita State as a freshman, he found his way to TCU. An excellent sophomore campaign in the Big 12 put him on the map, posting a 3.09 ERA in 16 starts. Elbow soreness cost LaPour a couple months this spring and he struggled with command over a small sample size when he returned. Still, the potential is there and the Twins may have gotten a discount due to the elevated uncertainty.
He has a pretty sound delivery from a 3/4 arm slot. He doesn’t get much extension, but the ball jumps out of his hand. He sits mid 90s and will flirt with triple digits. Can get whiffs at the top of the zone and get some dive towards the bottom. His slider gets solid two-plane movement in the mid 80s and he throws a harder cutter in the upper 80s, but both pitches lack spin and aren’t particularly sharp. There is a changeup in the upper 80s as well that has flashed some whiff potential and can be a reliable put-away pitch against lefties…