Josh Graham Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Joshua James Graham
Born 10/14/1993 in Roseburg, OR
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Oregon
Drafted in the 4th round (120th overall) by the Atlanta Braves in 2015 (signed for $500,000).

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Listed at 6-foot, 210 pounds, Graham has a catcher's body and catcher's background. He was nominally Oregon's regular catcher as a freshman and lost the job to slugging Shaun Chase as a sophomore. With Chase and freshman Tim Susnara around in 2015, Graham was having a hard time getting playing time this spring when coach George Horton decided to try Graham's plus right arm on the mound. His arm strength fit in well between Ducks lefties David Peterson and Cole Irvin, and Graham took to the role like a Duck takes to water. He got better when moved into the rotation in Pacific-12 Conference play, going 3-0, 1.76 with 40 strikeouts in 46 innings. Graham has a short, catcher's arm action and pumps 92-95 mph heat with it. His fastball's somewhat straight but he can keep hitters off it with a solid-average slider and surprisingly decent change. Graham had late helium but very little track record in his new role. He profiles as a late-inning reliever like another converted catcher, Jason Motte.

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Graham was drafted by the Twins in the 22nd round coming out of high school as a strong-armed catcher who also pitched. He was Oregon's starting catcher as a freshman, but he lost the job and became a backup as a sophomore. Buried on the bench, the Ducks let him go back to the mound and he quickly turned into one of their better pitchers. Graham's catching roots are still apparent in his delivery. He cocks the ball near his ear in his setup, then begins with a plunge and speeds his arm through his delivery. It's not pretty, and it leads to fringy command and control. But Graham has a plus 93-96 mph fastball and a changeup that has developed into a weapon. It's a plus pitch with good velocity separation and late fade. His loopy slider is much less consistent. He'll tighten it up sporadically, but usually it's a loopy fringy pitch. Graham got a quick taste at Double-A Mississippi to end the 2017 season. He'll head back there, but with further refinement, he could be yet another catcher-to-reliever success story.

Listed at 6-foot, 210 pounds, Graham has a catcher's body and catcher's background. He was nominally Oregon's regular catcher as a freshman and lost the job to slugging Shaun Chase as a sophomore. With Chase and freshman Tim Susnara around in 2015, Graham was having a hard time getting playing time this spring when coach George Horton decided to try Graham's plus right arm on the mound. His arm strength fit in well between Ducks lefties David Peterson and Cole Irvin, and Graham took to the role like a Duck takes to water. He got better when moved into the rotation in Pacific-12 Conference play, going 3-0, 1.76 with 40 strikeouts in 46 innings. Graham has a short, catcher's arm action and pumps 92-95 mph heat with it. His fastball's somewhat straight but he can keep hitters off it with a solid-average slider and surprisingly decent change. Graham had late helium but very little track record in his new role. He profiles as a late-inning reliever like another converted catcher, Jason Motte.