Jeff Soptic Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Jeffrey Scott Soptic
Born 04/08/1991 in Leawood, KS
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 230 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Johnson County CC
Drafted in the 3rd round (110th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2011 (signed for $320,000).

View Draft Report

Few pitchers in this draft can light up a radar gun like Soptic can, but his lack of consistency likely will keep him out of the first couple of rounds. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder's arm works easily, as he effortlessly delivers fastballs at 93-96 mph and peaks at 100. Velocity is the one constant with Soptic. His four-seam fastball is fairly straight and gets hit harder than it should. He'll flash a plus slider at times, but it's below-average more often than not. His changeup is a distant third pitch. Unless he can significantly improve his control and secondary pitches, Soptic probably will have to settle for being a reliever as a pro. Nevertheless, his arm strength and body are hard to ignore. Drafted in the 43rd round out of high school by the Royals but unselected when he maxed out at 94 mph as a freshman, Soptic will attend Missouri if he doesn't turn pro.

Top Rankings

With Nate Jones in the big leagues, Soptic becomes the system's high-risk, high-reward pitcher. He had one of the best arms in the 2011 draft, hitting 100 mph and showing easy mid-90s heat at Johnson County (Kan.) CC, but he slid to the third round because he was so raw. His inconsistent mechanics scared away a lot of teams and still cause opposing scouts to roll their eyes, but the White Sox are thrilled at the improvement he showed over the course of his first full pro season. Soptic has smoothed out his delivery a bit and was repeating it better during the fall. He still has plus-plus fastball velocity and will flash a plus slider at times, though he has trouble throwing it for strikes. He has become more willing to throw his changeup, but it remains a show-me pitch. Soptic has a ceiling as a closer, though Chicago wants to get him innings as a starter in 2013. Soptic's control, command and consistency would have to improve dramatically for him to stick in the rotation. He'll probably open the season in high Class A.