Leroy Hunt

The Reds drafted Hunt in 2005 as an outfielder out of high school and followed him to Sacramento City College. He had enormous raw power as a hitter but never seemed to get comfortable at the plate against good velocity, so Sac City moved him to the mound to take advantage of his arm strength. While he remains raw, Hunt has one of the best fastballs in the state. It has heavy sink and boring armside run, and Hunt throws it in the 90-94 mph range, touching 95 at times. His secondary stuff (slider, changeup) is almost nonexistent, but that didn't stop him from a 40-inning scoreless streak this spring, including a pair of outings against better-regarded Matt Thompson of Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College. Hunt needs to develop either his slider or changeup to have a second pitch, a concern because he hasn't shown much aptitude so far. He's committed to Oral Roberts, but should be an easy sign. With his intimidating size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) and fastball, he profiles as a power reliever.