Vanheyningen raised a few eyebrows last fall when Florence-Darlington Tech (S.C.) JC posted a video of him throwing in the 97-99 mph range. The pure stuff is loud, especially considering it comes out of a massive, 6-foot-7, 235-pound frame, but scouts have questions about virtually every other aspect of Vanheyningen’s game. He’s an erratic strike thrower who walked 11 batters in just 20.2 innings this spring, and teams are also skeptical of his feel to spin. He’s thrown a slurvy breaking ball in the 78-79 mph range and has also thrown a splitter in the mid-80s, but both pitches need refinement. Because of the question marks, teams believe Vanheyningen carries significant reliever risk, but it’s exceptionally rare to find a 6-foot-7 pitcher throwing as hard as he does.
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