Zach Maxwell

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cincinnati Reds #28 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Maxwell’s career at Georgia Tech was rocky at best. He averaged a walk an inning for his career. An attempt at starting as a junior ended after he walked 18 in 17 innings, but Maxwell’s special arm led the Reds to select him in the sixth round in 2022. He evokes some comparisons to former Cincinnati prospect Joe Boyle, a similarly massive righthander with huge pure stuff but big-time command and control concerns who was dealt to the A’s in the summer of 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Maxwell’s frame is a dead ringer for Jonathan Broxton’s. There are few pitchers in the world that have Maxwell’s combination of extreme velocity and exceptional movement. He sits between 97-99 mph, and has touched 100-101 regularly. He does so while generating more than 20 inches of induced vertical break, which is near the top of the range of fastball carry. It’s a plus-plus fastball that is made to climb the ladder at the top of the zone. He’s paired it with a plus-plus cutter/slider that has modest movement but big power at 87-89 mph. Maxwell’s two-pitch combo could close out big league games if he had average control, which is three grades away. He will repeat his delivery consistently in some outings, but seem lost in others. He struck out half of the batters he faced in the Arizona Fall League, but also walked nine in 12.1 innings.
  
  The Future: There’s a high likelihood that Maxwell becomes yet another flamethrowing reliever whose control problems keep him from ever moving into a high-leverage role, but teams don’t quickly give up on pitchers with arms this special.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 70 | Slider: 70 | Control: 20

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #161 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Georgia Tech Committed/Drafted: Yankees ’19 (30)
  Age At Draft: 21.5
  BA Grade: 40/Extreme
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: - | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 30 | Cutter: | Control: 30
  Maxwell showed a big fastball, a big body and questionable strikes as a high school arm, and that’s continued to be his profile after three years at Georgia Tech. Listed at 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, Maxwell is one of the biggest pitchers in the class and has one of the biggest fastballs to match. He throws a high-90s fastball that averaged 96 mph this spring and is routinely up to 100-101 mph. The pitch features high spin (2,500-2,700 rpm), has nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break and generated whiffs at a 34% rate this spring. He pairs it with a mid-80s power breaking ball that has slider velocity but top-down curveball shape. Like the fastball, Maxwell’s breaking ball has plenty of raw spin (2,600-2,800 rpm) and has been a reliable bat-missing pitch. After spending his first two years in the bullpen for the Yellow Jackets, Maxwell made six starts this spring—and he has toyed with a firm changeup—but his control is much more likely to place him in a reliever role at the next level. Maxwell has walked just over a batter per inning in his college career, so he’ll need to dramatically improve his strike throwing to make the most out of his admittedly terrific pure stuff.
• Ranked #138 prospect in 2019 draft
  A physical righthander with a big, 6-foot-6, 245-pound frame, Maxwell showed arm strength over the summer and got into the low 90s with questionable control. This spring, that velocity has ticked up in a big way, and he's been as high as 98 mph out of a low, three-quarter arm slot. Something of a split-camp prospect, some teams are in heavily on Maxwell and like him as high as the second or third round thanks to his arm strength and improved secondaries that include a curveball, slider and changeup. Others are more worried about his below-average athleticism and high-maintenance body, as well as the scattered and inconsistent strike-throwing ability he has shown this spring. He has 30-grade control at this point and will need to improve the consistency of his release point moving forward to take advantage of his natural arm strength. If a team believes they can make a few mechanical tweaks and refine his control, they are looking at a righthander who could easily touch triple digits in the future, while those more skeptical will be content to let him get to Georgia Tech and prove it in college.

• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  A physical righthander with a big, 6-foot-6, 245-pound frame, Maxwell showed arm strength over the summer and got into the low 90s with questionable control. This spring, that velocity has ticked up in a big way, and he's been as high as 98 mph out of a low, three-quarter arm slot. Something of a split-camp prospect, some teams are in heavily on Maxwell and like him as high as the second or third round thanks to his arm strength and improved secondaries that include a curveball, slider and changeup. Others are more worried about his below-average athleticism and high-maintenance body, as well as the scattered and inconsistent strike-throwing ability he has shown this spring. He has 30-grade control at this point and will need to improve the consistency of his release point moving forward to take advantage of his natural arm strength. If a team believes they can make a few mechanical tweaks and refine his control, they are looking at a righthander who could easily touch triple digits in the future, while those more skeptical will be content to let him get to Georgia Tech and prove it in college.