Franco Aleman

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #302 prospect in 2021 draft
  Aleman has been scouted and flashing upside potential since his high school days and has bounced around Florida colleges over the last few years, starting at Florida International, then heading to St. John’s (River) JC and pitching his first season with Florida this spring. He’s a huge presence on the mound at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds with a fastball that sits around 93 and is regularly into the upper 90s, touching 98 mph at its peak this spring. Aleman split time as a starter and reliever this spring and scouts have seen him sitting 90-92 mph in a starting role, with more of a four-seam fastball (he used to be a sinker pitcher) this spring. Aleman throws a slider, changeup and curveball, and the slider flashes above-average in the low 80s with plenty of horizontal movement, but the curve and changeup are distant third and fourth offerings at the moment. Aleman posted a 5.74 ERA over 69 innings, with 65 strikeouts (8.5 K/9) and 21 walks (2.7 BB/9) but he remains incredibly inconsistent from outing to outing, struggling to find the zone one day and looking lights out the next. The Cuban-born righthander has arm talent, but a team has to bank on him becoming more consistent at the next level.
• Ranked #315 prospect in 2020 draft
  Aleman was an exciting, high-upside arm out of high school in the 2018 draft. While the Braves took a flyer on the 6-foot-6 righthander in the 38th round, Aleman opted to get to school at Florida International, where he posted a 3.97 ERA over 12 starts as a freshman. He then went to the Cape Cod League over the summer, where he did even better, posting a 1.16 ERA in 31 innings while striking out 27 batters and walking two. Analytics departments will get excited about a righthander with his height and physicality—he’s now listed at 230 pounds—throwing strikes at such a high rate, but scouts who have seen his stuff are left wanting more. His repertoire sounds remarkably similar to when he was a high school pitcher, with a sinking fastball that sits in the 87-91 mph range and a slider that grades out as below average. Aleman’s fastball can get up into the mid-90s at times, but he doesn’t pitch in that range consistently, and evaluators are also skeptical about the Cuban-native’s athleticism, which would raise concerns for him in the future considering his extra-large current frame. There’s some effort to his delivery and Aleman has a long arm action that evaluators don’t love, but he has shown a solid ability to throw strikes. Aleman would have been a day three pick in a typical draft for most teams, but he’s a Florida commit who could advance his draft stock with a step forward at a strong pitching program.
• Ranked #304 prospect in 2018 draft
  Originally from Cuba, Aleman is a huge, 6-foot-6, 215-pound righthander who goes to Alonso High in Tampa, Fla., the same school that produced 2017 first round draft pick Alex Faedo (after a three-year career with Florida) and Jose Fernandez--one of the best major league pitchers to be drafted from high school in recent years. Aleman isn't at that level just yet, but has a chance to develop into a power arm. He's been up to 94 mph this spring. He's mostly settled into the 87-91 mph range as the spring has progressed and has a longer arm stroke with below-average athleticism and arm speed. His slider has been fringe-average at times, but is often worse than that and scouts have some concerns about him figuring out a breaking ball thanks to his long levers. He still has some projection given his size and strength, and as he develops better body control has a chance to improve his secondary offerings as well. Aleman is committed to Florida International, but a team might take him in the second half of the top 10 on his arm strength.