Bishop Letson Stats & Scouting Report

IP	63.1
ERA	3.13
WHIP	1.11
BB/9	3.84
SO/9	8.1

Full name Bishop Joel Letson
Born 09/15/2004 in Louisville, KY
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 170 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Floyds Central HS, Floyds Knobs, Ind.
Drafted in the 11th round (332nd overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 (signed for $482,600).

View Draft Report

School: Floyds Central HS, Floyds Knobs, Ind. Source: HS

Commit/Drafted: Purdue
Age At Draft: 18.8
A lean and wiry righthander with a projectable, 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame, Letson impressed when he showed increased velocity early this spring. After pitching in the 87-89 mph range during 2022, Letson showed a 90-93 mph fastball at PBR’s Super 60 Showcase in February. The pitch has solid arm-side running life. Letson does have impressive arm speed, with long levers and a deep arm stroke in his delivery, as well as significant recoil and head whack throughout his finish. That delivery could increase his reliever risk, but Letson’s upward trending fastball velocity and a frame to dream on has teams excited nonetheless. He has also shown the feel to snap off a good slider in the 78-82 mph range. At times the pitch can look slurvy and back up when he leaves the pitch up or to his arm side, but at its best it shows hard, late breaking action and two-plane depth. He needs to work on his feel for a changeup. Letson is a Purdue commit, but his gains this spring could have him as a day two draft target, potentially as high as the third or fourth round.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 55/Very High.

Track Record: Letson was not a major recruiting target for colleges when he was an underclassman in high school who committed to Purdue. By his senior year in 2023, his velocity had inched up to touch 93 mph with a lot of space still left to fill out his athletic, lanky, 6-foot-4 frame. The Brewers signed Letson that year as an 11th-round pick for an above-slot deal of $482,600. His fastball and stock took another leap forward in 2024 when he had a strong pro debut with Low-A Carolina, though he came down with elbow soreness at the end of the season.

Scouting Report: A lanky, long-levered pitcher with a whippy arm, Letson attacks hitters with two high-quality fastballs. One is a four-seamer with good carry and velocity that jumped this year to mostly range from 91-95 mph and can reach 98. The other, a lively two-seamer, has above-average armside run with 15-16 inches of horizontal break. His stuff gets on hitters faster than they’re expecting because he generates around 7.5 feet of extension, the most of any starting pitcher in the minors and an amount that would rank among the top handful of pitchers in the majors. His best secondary pitch, a 79-82 mph slider that gets heavy usage, has good sweep and spin in the 2,300-2,400 rpm range. Letson’s changeup has good fade and shows at least average potential. Letson has a long arm swing in the back and struggles to repeat his release point—particularly with his secondary stuff coming from a lower release than his fastball—but his athleticism bodes well for his ability to make adjustments.

The Future: Letson is young and still lacks polish, but he has been trending up with upside arguably as high as any pitcher in the system after Jacob Misiorowski. There’s potential to develop into a midrotation starter, with High-A Wisconsin his next stop.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50
BA Grade: 45/Extreme

Track Record: As a high school underclassman, Letson generated little attention and wasn’t heavily recruited before he committed to Purdue. After pitching in the upper 80s and touching 90 mph in 2022, Letson during his senior year in 2023 was pitching more regularly into the low 90s and touching 93 mph. The brewers drafted him in the 11th round that year and signed him for an above-slot bonus of $482,600.

Scouting Report: Letson doesn’t have the power or polish of some of the other high school pitchers drafted in 2023, but he has an array of promising projection indicators. He has good arm speed and a classic projectable build, a skinny 6-foot-4 frame with tons of space to fill out, which should help him add velocity to a fastball with good armside run. His 78-82 mph slider slider has above-average potential, getting slurvy at times but with late break and two-plane depth when it’s at its best. Letson’s changeup is less refined, but it has a ton of fade that could make it a bigger weapon for him with more reps. Letson is a good athlete, though he’s still growing into his coordination to throw consistent strikes.

The Future: Letson is a deeper projection arm with a lot of risk, but he has some of the best upside among the organization’s lower-level pitchers. He should pitch in Low-A Carolina in 2024.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Control: 50

Draft Prospects

School: Floyds Central HS, Floyds Knobs, Ind. Source: HS

Commit/Drafted: Purdue
Age At Draft: 18.8
A lean and wiry righthander with a projectable, 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame, Letson impressed when he showed increased velocity early this spring. After pitching in the 87-89 mph range during 2022, Letson showed a 90-93 mph fastball at PBR’s Super 60 Showcase in February. The pitch has solid arm-side running life. Letson does have impressive arm speed, with long levers and a deep arm stroke in his delivery, as well as significant recoil and head whack throughout his finish. That delivery could increase his reliever risk, but Letson’s upward trending fastball velocity and a frame to dream on has teams excited nonetheless. He has also shown the feel to snap off a good slider in the 78-82 mph range. At times the pitch can look slurvy and back up when he leaves the pitch up or to his arm side, but at its best it shows hard, late breaking action and two-plane depth. He needs to work on his feel for a changeup. Letson is a Purdue commit, but his gains this spring could have him as a day two draft target, potentially as high as the third or fourth round.