IP | 47 |
---|---|
ERA | 2.11 |
WHIP | .87 |
BB/9 | .96 |
SO/9 | 13.21 |
- Full name Alejandro Antonio Rosario
- Born 01/06/2002 in Miami, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 184 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Miami
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Drafted in the 5th round (144th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2023 (signed for $437,900).
View Draft Report
School: Miami Source: 4YR
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.5
Rosario was an acclaimed prospect out of high school who ranked No. 60 in the 2020 class, but made it to campus at Miami where he has shown impressive pure stuff but struggled to get his results to match. In mostly a starting role, Rosario has posted a 6.47 ERA over 200.1 innings in his three seasons with the Hurricanes, including a 21% strikeout rate and a 9.9% walk rate. Listed at 6-foot-1, 182 pounds, Rosario is an undersized righthander who pitches from the stretch and works with a solid three-pitch mix. He averaged 95-96 mph with his fastball in 2023, and the pitch has been up to 100 mph with plenty of arm-side run and a bit of sink. Despite the velocity and movement, Rosario’s fastball has always played down from its velocity, potentially because of a lack of deception or below-average extension—or both. His secondaries offer a bit more promise, though he threw his slider and changeup less than a third of the time combined in 2023. The slider is a low-80s pitch with high spin rates in the 2,600 rpm range and generated a 30% miss rate, while his changeup is a firm, upper-80s offering that missed bats at a 48% rate. Opposing batters managed a .764 OPS against his secondaries compared to an .881 OPS against his fastball in 2023. Rosario has been home run prone throughout his college career, despite generally being a groundball pitcher, and a 10.7 hit-per-nine rate means he’ll need to either take a step forward with his command, tweak his pitch usage or try and change his fastball shape in pro ball. He’s an intriguing pro development prospect with performance that has never quite matched the natural arm talent.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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BA Grade: 40/High
Track Record: Rosario pitched three seasons at Miami with middling or worse results, including ERAs north of 7.00 in his final two years. He mixed in a brief, dominant stint in the Cape Cod League as well, and the Rangers took a flier on him in the fifth round in 2023 and signed him for $437,900.
Scouting Report: Despite a checkered career at Miami, the Rangers were intrigued by what Rosario’s pitch mix might look like with a few tweaks. Specifically, they want him to establish his mid-90s sinker down in the zone early before moving up the ladder with the four-seamer for whiffs. He buttresses the fastball with a slurvy slider between 81-85 mph with Frisbee action and a split-grip changeup that was shelved during his time at Miami. To stick as a starter, he’ll need to improve his control and command as well. He walked 9.8% of hitters over his career at Miami, including an 11.8% rate during his draft year.
The Future: Rosario will likely begin his career as a starter at Low-A Down East. If he shifts to the bullpen, he could quickly through the system and fit in the bullpen in short order.
Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Cutter: 40 | Control: 40
Draft Prospects
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School: Miami Source: 4YR
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.5
Rosario was an acclaimed prospect out of high school who ranked No. 60 in the 2020 class, but made it to campus at Miami where he has shown impressive pure stuff but struggled to get his results to match. In mostly a starting role, Rosario has posted a 6.47 ERA over 200.1 innings in his three seasons with the Hurricanes, including a 21% strikeout rate and a 9.9% walk rate. Listed at 6-foot-1, 182 pounds, Rosario is an undersized righthander who pitches from the stretch and works with a solid three-pitch mix. He averaged 95-96 mph with his fastball in 2023, and the pitch has been up to 100 mph with plenty of arm-side run and a bit of sink. Despite the velocity and movement, Rosario’s fastball has always played down from its velocity, potentially because of a lack of deception or below-average extension—or both. His secondaries offer a bit more promise, though he threw his slider and changeup less than a third of the time combined in 2023. The slider is a low-80s pitch with high spin rates in the 2,600 rpm range and generated a 30% miss rate, while his changeup is a firm, upper-80s offering that missed bats at a 48% rate. Opposing batters managed a .764 OPS against his secondaries compared to an .881 OPS against his fastball in 2023. Rosario has been home run prone throughout his college career, despite generally being a groundball pitcher, and a 10.7 hit-per-nine rate means he’ll need to either take a step forward with his command, tweak his pitch usage or try and change his fastball shape in pro ball. He’s an intriguing pro development prospect with performance that has never quite matched the natural arm talent. -
Voted by scouts as a preseason second-team All-American, Rosario has an electric right arm, which he uses to fire a fastball that gets up to the 97-98 mph range. Standing at just 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, Rosario is undersized and smaller than most of the prep pitchers in the same talent range in the 2020 class. Despite his size, he has a fairly clean delivery without a ton of effort. In addition to Rosario’s fastball, he has a split-change and a slider which have both shown above-average potential. Rosario was one of the most reliable arms with Team USA’s 18U National Team last summer, throwing 13 innings with a 1.38 ERA, nine strikeouts and two walks. Despite his pure stuff, scouts have some concerns about how everything plays. This spring, scouts noted that he wasn’t missing many bats, which is alarming considering his velocity was still up to 97. There’s not a lot of deception in Rosario’s operation, and scouts wonder how his fastball will play at the next level. They would also like to see more tilt and depth out of his slider, which dives more vertically than horizontally and can often blend into his split change. Both offspeed offerings are in the same 79-84 mph velocity range. Scouts love Rosario’s arm strength and laud his competitive makeup, but with questions about the playability of his stuff and size, teams might be prevented from taking him in a range where he would sign away from his Miami commitment. With a refined breaking ball and more whiffs against his fastball at the next level, Rosario could work himself into a no-doubt first-round talent. For now, he’s just outside that range.