Freddy Pacheco Stats & Scouting Report

IP	2
ERA	13.5
WHIP	2
BB/9	4.5
SO/9	0

Full name Freddy Alexander Pacheco
Born 04/17/1998 in Araguita, Venezuela
Profile Ht.: 5'11" / Wt.: 203 / Bats: R / Throws: R

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 40/High

Track Record: Pacheco signed with the Cardinals out of Venezuela in 2017 and steadily rose up the minor league ladder with little fanfare. He opened the 2022 season at Double-A Springfield and continued to perform, earning a promotion to Triple-A Memphis by late June. Pacheco emerged as one of the Redbirds' top relievers and recorded four saves while averaging well over a strikeout per inning, leading the Cardinals to add him to the 40-man roster after the season.

Scouting Report: Pacheco is undersized at 5-foot-11 but has a big right arm. His fastball sits 95-97 mph and touches 99 with above-average vertical break, resulting in swings and misses at a high rate. Pacheco throws his fastball nearly 60% of the time and commands it well, making it a swing-and-miss offering even when hitters know it's coming. Pacheco's primary secondary pitch is a tight mid-80s slider that gets whiffs both in and out of the zone to be a second plus pitch he can turn to at any time. Pacheco hardly ever throws his well below-average changeup but rarely needs it. He throws plenty of strikes with his fastball and slider and has a fiery mentality on the mound that fits the archetype of a hard-throwing reliever.

The Future: Pacheco will likely join the Cardinals bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. He should settle in as a middle reliever and could pitch his way into a leveraged role.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider 60. Changeup 30. Control: 50.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 40/High

Track Record: Pacheco signed with the Cardinals out of Venezuela in 2017 and steadily rose up the minor league ladder with little fanfare. He opened the 2022 season at Double-A Springfield and continued to perform, earning a promotion to Triple-A Memphis by late June. Pacheco emerged as one of the Redbirds' top relievers and recorded four saves while averaging well over a strikeout per inning, leading the Cardinals to add him to the 40-man roster after the season.

Scouting Report: Pacheco is undersized at 5-foot-11 but has a big right arm. His fastball sits 95-97 mph and touches 99 with above-average vertical break, resulting in swings and misses at a high rate. Pacheco throws his fastball nearly 60% of the time and commands it well, making it a swing-and-miss offering even when hitters know it's coming. Pacheco's primary secondary pitch is a tight mid-80s slider that gets whiffs both in and out of the zone to be a second plus pitch he can turn to at any time. Pacheco hardly ever throws his well below-average changeup but rarely needs it. He throws plenty of strikes with his fastball and slider and has a fiery mentality on the mound that fits the archetype of a hard-throwing reliever.

The Future: Pacheco will likely join the Cardinals bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. He should settle in as a middle reliever and could pitch his way into a leveraged role.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider 60. Changeup 30. Control: 50.
BA Grade/Risk: 40/High

Track Record: Pacheco signed with the Cardinals out of Venezuela in 2017 and steadily rose up the minor league ladder with little fanfare. He opened the 2022 season at Double-A Springfield and continued to perform, earning a promotion to Triple-A Memphis by late June. Pacheco emerged as one of the Redbirds' top relievers and recorded four saves while averaging well over a strikeout per inning, leading the Cardinals to add him to the 40-man roster after the season.

Scouting Report: Pacheco is undersized at 5-foot-11 but has a big right arm. His fastball sits 95-97 mph and touches 99 with above-average vertical break, resulting in swings and misses at a high rate. Pacheco throws his fastball nearly 60% of the time and commands it well, making it a swing-and-miss offering even when hitters know it's coming. Pacheco's primary secondary pitch is a tight mid-80s slider that gets whiffs both in and out of the zone to be a second plus pitch he can turn to at any time. Pacheco hardly ever throws his well below-average changeup but rarely needs it. He throws plenty of strikes with his fastball and slider and has a fiery mentality on the mound that fits the archetype of a hard-throwing reliever.

The Future: Pacheco will likely join the Cardinals bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. He should settle in as a middle reliever and could pitch his way into a leveraged role.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider 60. Changeup 30. Control: 50.
BA Grade: 40/High

Track Record: Signed out of Venezuela in 2017, Pacheco first popped up in Peoria in 2019, striking out 90 batters over 54.2 innings. He showed improvements to his command coming out of 2020, substantially slashing his walk rate during a 2021 season that saw him rise three levels of the minors to Triple-A making 41 appearances, striking out 95 batters to 29 walks over 54 innings. Reassigned to Double-A out of camp, Pahceco was promoted to Memphis in late June.

Scouting Report: A high-powered arsenal led by a mid-90s fastball with spin rates in the 2400-2500 rpm range, with plus vertical ride and late life. He plays a tight mid-80s slider off of his fastball, and generates swings and misses on both pitches, but uses the slider as his primary out pitch. He&#39ll flash a changeup in the high-80s but it&#39s a very minimal part of his arsenal. He&#39s a one pitch reliever with a high powered one-two punch in his slider and fastball.

The Future: A potential high-leverage arm that should settle into a middle relief role in the coming years. He&#39s handled high-leverage situations in the minors and has the fastball power and quality for the role, the only question is his lack of a true wipeout breaking ball.
Pacheco, a 23-year-old, 5-foot-11 righthander, needs to improve his below-average control. But if he can get to even fringe-average control, his ability to swings and misses up with his fastball and his hard, slurvy breaking ball (it varies between curve and slider shape and depth) give him the weapons to help in a big league bullpen. He was just promoted to Double-A Springfield after striking out 16.3 batters per nine innings at High-A Peoria. Opposing hitters hit just .182 against him. But he had a 5.17 ERA at Peoria thanks to 5.7 BB/9 and five home runs allowed. While his fastball does get whiffs, it also can be crushed if he doesn't locate it well.