Cade Townsend

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #153 prospect in 2024 draft
  School: Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic HS Commit/Drafted: Ole Miss
  Age At Draft: 19.2
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  Tools: Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Curveball: 55. Changeup: 45. Control: 45.
  
  Townsend is a lean righthander with a 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame who stood out thanks to his projectable frame and feel to spin the baseball. After pitching mostly in the 88-92 mph range and touching 94 during the 2023 showcase circuit, Townsend put together a loud bullpen session at the June draft combine where he threw in the 95-96 mph range and touched 97. While he typically sits in the low 90s, that sort of velocity in the tank will excite teams about his future fastball. He has advanced feel to spin a breaking ball and has a chance for an above-average slider and curveball. The latter is perhaps his more advanced breaking ball now that features powerful biting action and hard finish. He has mixed in a mid-80s changeup that features solid tumbling life and also flashed an 86-87 mph cutter at the combine which gives him an intriguing five-pitch mix. Townsend works from the third base side of the rubber and throws from a high three-quarters slot that gets almost fully over the top at times, and also has a bit of violence with a downer head whack in his finish. That effort might add some reliever risk, but his deep arsenal should give him a chance to start. He’s committed to Ole Miss and will be 19 on draft day, as well as an eligible sophomore in 2026 if he makes it to campus.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #99 prospect in 2024

• 2024 High School Top 100 Draft Prospects
  School: Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic HS Committed: Ole Miss
  Age At Draft: 19.2
  A lean righthander with a 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame, Townsend has a few interesting traits now and exciting physical projection that could help everything he throws take a big jump forward in the near future. Townsend works from the third base side of the rubber and throws from a higher, three-quarters arm slot that is almost fully over the top and delivers the ball with solid arm speed and a bit of violence with a downer head whack. He pitches in the 88-92 mph range and has been up to 94 and his fastball has a bit of cutting action at times. He has advanced feel to spin a breaking ball, and will throw both an upper-70s slider and a mid-70s curveball that have above-average potential, though the pitches will blend together in shape at times. He spins both in the 2,500-3,000 rpm range, but showed better feel to land his downer curve inside the strike zone at the Area Code Games, though both pitches have swing and miss potential. Townsend also throws a mid-80s changeup that has some solid tumbling life at times, but he will slow his arm speed down as well. He is committed to Ole Miss.