Sam Bachman

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #5 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: A three-year starter for Miami (Ohio), Bachman saw a velocity spike and improved control his junior season that led to first-round chatter. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman’s final college start and saw enough for the club to draft him ninth overall in 2021 and sign him for $3,847,500, about 22% under slot. Much of Bachman’s first full season at Double-A in 2022 was lost to back spasms and bicep inflammation, which led to inconsistent command and velocity. Returned to Rocket City in 2023, he got off to a strong start that earned him a late-May callup to Anaheim before shoulder inflammation ended his season in early July.
  
  Scouting Report: Bachman is a burly righthander with a two-pitch power arsenal. His fastball sits 96-97 mph and touches 99, with immense armside run and sink from a low three-quarters arm slot. His slider is a plus, swing-and-miss pitch despite its odd shape. It’s a low-spin, mid-to-upper-80s breaker that works more as a cutter in the upper register, with late dive to his glove side. His slider-heavy approach works in relief, because the opposing movement of his slider and fastball play well from his arm slot. His changeup shows glimpses of being an effective pitch against lefthanded hitters with sink to his arm side, though he’ll need to throw it more frequently with better command. Bachman has poor control, though his high-effort delivery, arm action and injury history would indicate a future relief role.
  
  The Future: The Angels will continue developing Bachman as a starter, though he’ll have to remain healthy and improve his changeup to see a contact-management, rotation future. His two plus-plus pitches and aptitude could lead to a late-inning relief role with closer upside.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 40
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #7 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: Bachman started three years in the Miami (Ohio) rotation and saw his fastball velocity spike from the low 90s to 96-101 mph his junior year, vaulting him into first-round consideration. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman's final collegiate start and saw enough for the Angels to select him ninth overall and sign him for an under-slot $3,847,500. Bachman jumped straight to Double-A for his full-season debut in 2022, but he missed the first month of the season with back spasms and another two months with biceps inflammation. His velocity and command regressed throughout the year as he battled injuries, but his stuff ticked back up after the season and he touched 97 mph in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Bachman is a physical 6-foot-1 righthander with a powerful, high-effort delivery and arm action. His fastball sits 95-97 mph at its best with immense armside run and sink that induces a heavy dose of weak ground balls. Bachman complements his fastball with a plus 86-89 mph vertical slider with late dive that is his go-to swing-and-miss pitch. When he doesn't finish his slider, it has cutter traits in the upper-80s and is more of an above-average offering. Bachman mostly attacks hitters with his fastball and slider. He has to learn to throw his fringe-average mid-80s changeup for strikes more often to make it a competitive pitch and remain a starter. Bachman is a pure power pitcher who tries to blow the ball by hitters and has below-average control. He has a long injury history and his velocity tends falls off sharply around the third inning.
  
  The Future: Bachman's delivery, arsenal and injury history point strongly to a relief future. The Angels believe he can start and will continue developing him in the rotation.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 40
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #2 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Bachman showed some of the best pure stuff in college baseball at Miami (Ohio) and steadily raised his draft stock throughout his junior year. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman’s final start of the year, when the righthander pitched 6.1 dominant innings against Ball State, and six weeks later, the Angels drafted Bachman with the ninth overall pick. Bachman signed for a well below-slot $3,847,500 and made his professional debut with five starts for High-A Tri-City, where he went 0-2, 3.77 with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 14.1 innings.
  
  Scouting Report: The burly Bachman is a pure power pitcher with two potentially dominant pitches in his fastball and slider. His fastball sits 94-97 with hard run and sink out of his low-three quarters arm slot and touches 101 mph. He pairs his plus-plus fastball with a tight, vertical slider in the upper 80s that dives late to draw swings both in and out of the zone. It’s another plus-plus pitch that batters have a tough time squaring up and mostly induces ground balls when they do make contact. Bachman has an improving, mid-80s changeup that flashes average and will be critical for him to develop if he is to remain in the starting rotation. His delivery isn’t particularly fluid and he averaged less than five innings per start in 2021.
  
  The Future: Bachman’s two-pitch mix, delivery and durability questions point to a future as a setup man or closer, but the Angels believe his combination of velocity, movement and physicality will fit in the rotation. He is set to make his full-season debut in 2022.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #14 prospect in 2021 draft
  Bachman made an immediate impact for Miami (Ohio) during his freshman season in 2019, being named first-team All-MAC after posting a 3.93 ERA over 14 starts. For three years now he’s been a reliable starter for the Redhawks and should become the program’s first ever first-round product thanks to perhaps the best two-pitch combination in the 2021 class. Bachman has one of the hardest fastballs in the class and sits in the 95-97 mph range with the pitch, regularly getting to triple-digits with impressive arm-side running action and sink. On top of that, Bachman’s slider has an argument for being the best breaking ball in the class. It’s a hard, biting pitch that is routinely in the upper 80s and has eclipsed 90 mph plenty of times, with tremendous late life that generates whiffs inside the zone and out of it—mostly down and to his glove side. Both pitches grade out as at least 70s and there are scouts in the industry who have put 80 grades on both as well. Bachman predominantly works off of his fastball/slider combination, but he also throws a mid-80s changeup that has some diving action and could give him an average third pitch—though he’s thrown it less than 10% of the time this spring. Despite walking between two and three batters per nine innings the last two seasons, there is some reliever risk with Bachman, thanks to a delivery that has effort and isn’t the most fluid. His arm action is inverted in the back and he’s a palm-up pitcher, which scares some in the industry, and he also finishes with a bit of violence and falls off to the left. That delivery, combined with medical questions (he missed two starts this spring with arm soreness) and the fact that he pitched into the seventh just twice this spring have many evaluators confident he’ll be a bullpen arm in the majors. Whatever the role, it seems safe Bachman goes off the board somewhere in the middle of the first round.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: Bachman started three years in the Miami (Ohio) rotation and saw his fastball velocity spike from the low 90s to 96-101 mph his junior year, vaulting him into first-round consideration. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman's final collegiate start and saw enough for the Angels to select him ninth overall and sign him for an under-slot $3,847,500. Bachman jumped straight to Double-A for his full-season debut in 2022, but he missed the first month of the season with back spasms and another two months with biceps inflammation. His velocity and command regressed throughout the year as he battled injuries, but his stuff ticked back up after the season and he touched 97 mph in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Bachman is a physical 6-foot-1 righthander with a powerful, high-effort delivery and arm action. His fastball sits 95-97 mph at its best with immense armside run and sink that induces a heavy dose of weak ground balls. Bachman complements his fastball with a plus 86-89 mph vertical slider with late dive that is his go-to swing-and-miss pitch. When he doesn't finish his slider, it has cutter traits in the upper-80s and is more of an above-average offering. Bachman mostly attacks hitters with his fastball and slider. He has to learn to throw his fringe-average mid-80s changeup for strikes more often to make it a competitive pitch and remain a starter. Bachman is a pure power pitcher who tries to blow the ball by hitters and has below-average control. He has a long injury history and his velocity tends falls off sharply around the third inning.
  
  The Future: Bachman's delivery, arsenal and injury history point strongly to a relief future. The Angels believe he can start and will continue developing him in the rotation.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 40
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: Bachman started three years in the Miami (Ohio) rotation and saw his fastball velocity spike from the low 90s to 96-101 mph his junior year, vaulting him into first-round consideration. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman's final collegiate start and saw enough for the Angels to select him ninth overall and sign him for an under-slot $3,847,500. Bachman jumped straight to Double-A for his full-season debut in 2022, but he missed the first month of the season with back spasms and another two months with biceps inflammation. His velocity and command regressed throughout the year as he battled injuries, but his stuff ticked back up after the season and he touched 97 mph in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Bachman is a physical 6-foot-1 righthander with a powerful, high-effort delivery and arm action. His fastball sits 95-97 mph at its best with immense armside run and sink that induces a heavy dose of weak ground balls. Bachman complements his fastball with a plus 86-89 mph vertical slider with late dive that is his go-to swing-and-miss pitch. When he doesn't finish his slider, it has cutter traits in the upper-80s and is more of an above-average offering. Bachman mostly attacks hitters with his fastball and slider. He has to learn to throw his fringe-average mid-80s changeup for strikes more often to make it a competitive pitch and remain a starter. Bachman is a pure power pitcher who tries to blow the ball by hitters and has below-average control. He has a long injury history and his velocity tends falls off sharply around the third inning.
  
  The Future: Bachman's delivery, arsenal and injury history point strongly to a relief future. The Angels believe he can start and will continue developing him in the rotation.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 40
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Bachman showed some of the best pure stuff in college baseball at Miami (Ohio) and steadily raised his draft stock throughout his junior year. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman&#39s final start of the year, when the righthander pitched 6.1 dominant innings against Ball State, and six weeks later, the Angels drafted Bachman with the ninth overall pick. Bachman signed for a well below-slot $3,847,500 and made his professional debut with five starts for High-A Tri-City, where he went 0-2, 3.77 with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 14.1 innings.
  
  Scouting Report: The burly Bachman is a pure power pitcher with two potentially dominant pitches in his fastball and slider. His fastball sits 94-97 with hard run and sink out of his low-three quarters arm slot and touches 101 mph. He pairs his plus-plus fastball with a tight, vertical slider in the upper 80s that dives late to draw swings both in and out of the zone. It&#39s another plus-plus pitch that batters have a tough time squaring up and mostly induces ground balls when they do make contact. Bachman has an improving, mid-80s changeup that flashes average and will be critical for him to develop if he is to remain in the starting rotation. His delivery isn&#39t particularly fluid and he averaged less than five innings per start in 2021.
  
  The Future: Bachman&#39s two-pitch mix, delivery and durability questions point to a future as a setup man or closer, but the Angels believe his combination of velocity, movement and physicality will fit in the rotation. He is set to make his full-season debut in 2022.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 70. Changeup: 50. Control: 50.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Bachman showed some of the best pure stuff in college baseball at Miami (Ohio) and steadily raised his draft stock throughout his junior year. Angels general manager Perry Minasian attended Bachman’s final start of the year, when the righthander pitched 6.1 dominant innings against Ball State, and six weeks later, the Angels drafted Bachman with the ninth overall pick. Bachman signed for a well below-slot $3,847,500 and made his professional debut with five starts for High-A Tri-City, where he went 0-2, 3.77 with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 14.1 innings.
  
  Scouting Report: The burly Bachman is a pure power pitcher with two potentially dominant pitches in his fastball and slider. His fastball sits 94-97 with hard run and sink out of his low-three quarters arm slot and touches 101 mph. He pairs his plus-plus fastball with a tight, vertical slider in the upper 80s that dives late to draw swings both in and out of the zone. It’s another plus-plus pitch that batters have a tough time squaring up and mostly induces ground balls when they do make contact. Bachman has an improving, mid-80s changeup that flashes average and will be critical for him to develop if he is to remain in the starting rotation. His delivery isn’t particularly fluid and he averaged less than five innings per start in 2021.
  
  The Future: Bachman’s two-pitch mix, delivery and durability questions point to a future as a setup man or closer, but the Angels believe his combination of velocity, movement and physicality will fit in the rotation. He is set to make his full-season debut in 2022.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Bachman made an immediate impact for Miami (Ohio) during his freshman season in 2019, being named first-team All-MAC after posting a 3.93 ERA over 14 starts. For three years now he's been a reliable starter for the Redhawks and should become the program's first ever first-round product thanks to perhaps the best two-pitch combination in the 2021 class. Bachman has one of the hardest fastballs in the class and sits in the 95-97 mph range with the pitch, regularly getting to triple-digits with impressive arm-side running action and sink. On top of that, Bachman's slider has an argument for being the best breaking ball in the class. It's a hard, biting pitch that is routinely in the upper 80s and has eclipsed 90 mph plenty of times, with tremendous late life that generates whiffs inside the zone and out of it—mostly down and to his glove side. Both pitches grade out as at least 70s and there are scouts in the industry who have put 80 grades on both as well. Bachman predominantly works off of his fastball/slider combination, but he also throws a mid-80s changeup that has some diving action and could give him an average third pitch—though he's thrown it less than 10% of the time this spring. Despite walking between two and three batters per nine innings the last two seasons, there is some reliever risk with Bachman, thanks to a delivery that has effort and isn't the most fluid. His arm action is inverted in the back and he's a palm-up pitcher, which scares some in the industry, and he also finishes with a bit of violence and falls off to the left. That delivery, combined with medical questions (he missed two starts this spring with arm soreness) and the fact that he pitched into the seventh just twice this spring have many evaluators confident he'll be a bullpen arm in the majors. Even so, the Angels made Bachman the No. 9 overall pick, signing him to a bonus roughly $1 million under slot.