Reynaldo Lopez

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Chicago White Sox #3 prospect in 2017
  Lopez was an unheralded 18-year-old with a high-80s fastball when the Nationals signed him for $17,000 in 2012. His velocity quickly began to increase, and he took off in 2014. He reached the big leagues two years later, first as a starter before moving to the bullpen down the stretch. His performance as a reliever earned him a spot in the Nationals bullpen during the playoffs. Washington bundled Lopez with first-round righthanders Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning to acquire Adam Eaton from the White Sox at the 2016 Winter Meeting. Lopez has made incredible strides as a professional, and his fastball now comfortably sits in the mid-90s and touched 100 mph in the big leagues. His improved strength also has helped his curveball, which is a powerful 11-to-5 hammer that is a swing-and-miss offering. Lopez made strides with both his changeup and control in 2016, two areas critical to his chances to remain in the rotation in the big leagues. His changeup has become a third solid pitch for him, giving him a weapon against lefthanded hitters. He also did a better job of repeating his delivery, leading to improved command. That didn't immediately translate to the major leagues, where he averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings. Lopez has shown he is ready to help as a reliever, and he could win a spot in the Chicago bullpen during spring training.
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  Ranked Washington Nationals #5 prospect in 2016
  Lopez was an unheralded 18-year-old with a high-80s fastball when the Nationals signed him for $17,000 in 2012. His velocity quickly began to increase, but his progress was slowed when a sore arm that was diagnosed as bone weakness kept him out nearly all of 2013. He's gotten stronger and made significant improvements since then, leading to a breakout in 2014 with a dominating performance in the low minors. The Nationals tightened the reins on Lopez in 2015, holding him back in extended spring training with Lucas Giolito to delay the start of his season and limit his workload. The pair joined high Class A Potomac together in May, and while Giolito hit the ground running, Lopez was less consistent. Lopez has come a long way already as a professional, and his fastball now comfortably sits in the mid-90s and touches triple digits. His improved strength also has helped his curveball, which is a powerful 11-to-5 offering capable of producing whiffs. His changeup gives him a solid third offering but remains a work in progress. Inconsistencies with his delivery hampered his command this season, leaving him more hittable than he should be with his stuff, and he'll need to throw more quality strikes to remain a starter in the future. Lopez still has a lot of room for improvement even as he advances to the upper levels of the minors for the first time in 2016. But he has the power repertoire to take off if he figures out some of the finer aspects of his craft.
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  Ranked Washington Nationals #3 prospect in 2015
  The Nationals signed Lopez for just $17,000 in 2012, when his fastball ranged from 87-90 mph. That fall in instructional league, his velocity topped out at 94 mph, and then touched 96 the following spring. He missed nearly all of 2013 with a sore arm that was diagnosed as bone weakness. Lopez added good weight prior to the 2014 season and maintained his electric stuff into the South Atlantic League playoffs. He can overpower hitters with his top-of-the-scale fastball, which often sits at 96-99 mph early in games, and comfortably at 93-96 later in games. After struggling early in the season at low Class A Hagerstown, Lopez went down to short-season Auburn and made an adjustment to his front side, helping him create more leverage and downward angle with his fastball. It also helped his breaking ball go from a sweepy slurve to an 11-to-5 power curveball with depth. It remains a work in progress but flashes plus. His changeup and projects as an average pitch as he learns to command it. Despite his 6-foot stature, Lopez's delivery and arm action have surprisingly little effort, helping him profile as a starter. Lopez has top-of-the- rotation upside if he can continue to refine his secondary stuff and stay healthy. He figures to begin 2015 at high Class A Potomac and could push for a big league job by 2016.

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked Eastern League #10 prospect in 2016
  Lopez has a whip-quick arm that generates fastballs that sit in the high 90s and can touch triple digits. He couples his fastball with a swing-and-miss changeup in the high 80s and a breaking ball in the high 70s that can be above-average but isn't always consistent. Lopez sometimes rushes his delivery and loses the strike zone. EL managers noticed that happened particularly when he pitched from the stretch. For that reason, some believe Lopez might be best suited as a reliever. He has shown flashes of brilliance as a starter, however, so the Nationals will continue to develop him in that role.
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  Ranked Carolina League #4 prospect in 2015
  Along with Lucas Giolito, Lopez stands as one of the Nationals' two prized pitching prospects. He just doesn't stand as tall as Giolito. Even though Lopez stands in at just 6 feet, scouts see several indicators he can remain in the rotation. First, he holds the velocity on his mid- to upper-90s fastball, a pitch which also features armside run, deep into games. He also sports a curve that showed a bit of inconsistency this year, but was above-average when it clicked. His changeup, too, is coming along, and he throws the pitch with the same arm speed as his fastball. Lopez's delivery features effort, as would be expected, but his arm action is loose. Those who believe in him see a Carlos Martinez-type of pitcher if everything clicks. He does need to iron out command in the strike zone--he allowed opponents to hit a league-average .252 against him--and work toward continued refinement of his secondary pitches.
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  Ranked South Atlantic League #3 prospect in 2014
  Few pop-up prospects popped up as powerfully as the power-armed Lopez, who entered the season with 15 pro innings under his belt and concluded the year in the Hagerstown playoff rotation. Waylaid by bone weakness in 2013, Lopez struggled in two June starts at Hagerstown, earning him a demotion back to short-season Auburn, then returned to dominate the SAL in nine late-season starts. Lopez chewed through hitters with a 94-97 mph fastball that touched 99. He flashed a plus 12-6 curveball that was erratic. His changeup is straight, but effective because he locates it and hitters are too geared up for the fastball to hit it. "As long as (his changeup is) 8-10 miles per hour off that fastball, it's going to be effective," a pro scout said. Lopez's delivery has some recoil and he doesn't always repeat his mechanics, but he shows present control.
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  Ranked New York-Penn League #2 prospect in 2014
  Lopez signed for just $17,000 out of the Dominican Republic, then missed most of 2013 with a sore arm that was eventually diagnosed as bone weakness. He exploded onto the prospect scene in the NYPL, allowing two or fewer runs in each of his seven starts, then continuing to dominate after a promotion to low Class A. Lopez blew hitters away with a fastball that often sits at 96-99 mph early in games, and still sits comfortably in the mid-90s in the middle innings. He also made a crucial mechanical adjustment with his front side, helping him work top to bottom rather than side to side. That allowed him to leverage the ball better and gave him more hard bore with his fastball. His curveball took a step forward, showing 11-5 shape and better depth than it had in the past. "It was absolutely electric stuff: hammer, good changeup, exploding fastball," Connecticut manager Mike Rabelo said. "That game against us, he was like fastball/breaking ball the first time through the lineup. Then he started mixing that changeup in, and if he wanted to, he could have thrown that changeup every pitch, and we weren't going to hit it." His changeup has good bottom, and while he's still honing his feel for the pitch, it is very promising. And he is comfortable throwing his changeup or curveball in any count, for a strike or a chase pitch. Lopez has a compact frame, but his delivery features surprisingly little effort, giving him a chance to stick as a starter and become a top-of-the-rotation arm down the road.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #31 prospect in 2017
• Ranked Baseball America's #92 prospect in 2016
• Ranked Baseball America's #49 prospect in 2015

• December, 2014 Scouting Report
  The Nationals signed Lopez for just $17,000 in 2012, when his fastball ranged from 87-90 mph. That fall in instructional league, his velocity topped out at 94 mph, and then touched 96 the following spring. He missed nearly all of 2013 with a sore arm that was diagnosed as bone weakness. Lopez added good weight prior to the 2014 season and maintained his electric stuff into the South Atlantic League playoffs. He can overpower hitters with his top-of-the-scale fastball, which often sits at 96-99 mph early in games, and comfortably at 93-96 later in games. After struggling early in the season at low Class A Hagerstown, Lopez went down to short-season Auburn and made an adjustment to his front side, helping him create more leverage and downward angle with his fastball. It also helped his breaking ball go from a sweepy slurve to an 11-to-5 power curveball with depth. It remains a work in progress but flashes plus. His changeup and projects as an average pitch as he learns to command it. Despite his 6-foot stature, Lopez's delivery and arm action have surprisingly little effort, helping him profile as a starter. Lopez has top-of-the- rotation upside if he can continue to refine his secondary stuff and stay healthy. He figures to begin 2015 at high Class A Potomac and could push for a big league job by 2016.