Joey Volchko

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #14 prospect in 2026 draft
  School: Stanford. Drafted: Never Drafted
  
  Age At Draft: 21.1
  
  A highly regarded prep arm, Volchko—like the vast majority of Stanford commits—was viewed as an incredibly tough sign coming out of high school. Getting him to campus was a huge win for the Stanford coaching staff, and he has shown flashes of his immense upside in the early going. From a stuff standpoint, Volchko is arguably the top arm in the class. His fastball sits in the upper-90s and has been up to 99 with life through the zone, and he pairs it with a sharp power slider with two-plane break that flashes plus. There is a lot to like about Volchko, but there are certainly areas in which he’ll need to improve. For starters, his command and control will need to take a drastic step forward. It can get extremely scattered at times, which has been a hindrance. He’ll also need to add a third pitch, or at the very least show one. Right now, he is exclusively fastball-slider. Volchko’s ceiling is the highest of any arm in the class and he has the chance to take his game to the next level in the not-so-distant future.
• Ranked #37 prospect in 2023 draft
  School: Redwood HS, Visalia, Calif. Source: HS
  
  Commit/Drafted: Stanford
  Age At Draft: 18.1
  BA Grade:55/Extreme
  Tools:Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Curveball: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 45.
  
  Volchko showed promising stuff at the 2022 Area Code Games with a low-90s fastball and a pair of solid breaking balls, but he struggled to throw strikes and had his outing rolled. He re-emerged this spring throwing harder with improved control and delivered one of the most dominant seasons in the nation for Redwood (Visalia, Calif.) High. He went 4-0, 0.26 with 67 strikeouts in 27 innings and became one of the fastest risers in the draft class. Volchko is a big, powerful righthander at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. His fastball sits 91-94 mph and touches 96 with late tail out of an overhand slot. His best pitch is a potentially plus, 84-87 mph slider with late three-quarter tilt that disappears under barrels. He has advanced command of his slider and can lean on it when he doesn’t have his other pitches. Volchko complements his fastball and slider with an above-average curveball with big depth that he throws with conviction and can land for strikes. He rounds out his arsenal with a potentially average changeup. Volchko has some effort to his delivery and his command can be scattered, but he’s a good athlete and shows the ability to make in-game adjustments. He is one of the youngest players in the class and will be barely 18 on draft day. Volchko is committed to Stanford and will be costly to sign. His youth, stuff and physicality has teams increasingly willing to meet his bonus demands.