Nick Bitsko

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #18 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Bitsko was expected to be the top prep pitcher in the 2021 class, but he reclassified for the 2020 draft, only to see his final high school season wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. He didn’t get into a game in 2021 either as he was recovering from labrum surgery in Dec. 2020. He’ll enter 2022 looking to make his pro debut.
  
  Scouting Report: Competently evaluating Bitsko at this point is a fool’s errand. He hasn’t faced hitters in an actual game since 2019. He did get back on the mound for a couple of intrasquad outings late in 2021. In those, his velocity wasn’t fully back to normal, but he was throwing free and easy. Before his injury, Bitsko had a potentially plus 92-96 mph fastball and a high-spin, plus power curveball with depth. He hasn’t had much of a chance to work on his changeup yet because of his lost time on the mound.
  
  The Future: Getting a healthy Bitsko back to his pre-injury form is job one in 2022. But it’s just as important to get him some much-needed innings—he only threw 33 innings in his high school career, so he’s playing catchup.
  
• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #11 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45
  Track Record: Bitsko reclassified from the 2021 draft to 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled his high school season before he got to throw a pitch. Teams scouted him exclusively off his bullpen sessions, and the Rays saw enough to draft him No. 24 overall and sign him for an above-slot $3 million to forgo a Virginia commitment. With the canceled season, Bitsko threw just 33 innings in his high school career.
  
  Scouting Report: Bitsko has the traits of a major league starter with a physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and a clean delivery. His fastball sits 92-96 mph and touches 98, and he pairs it with a hard, high-spin downer curveball that’s been up to 2,500 revolutions per minute. Both project to be plus or better pitches. Bitsko has shown a feel for a changeup, but it’s sometimes a little firm and lacks deception. He throws everything out of a high three-quarters release point which allows him to work up and down the strike zone.
  
  The Future: Bitsko is very young and will take time, but he has the building blocks to be a mid-rotation starter. If he makes it to low Class A in 2021, he would be the first Rays high school pitcher in the last decade to see full-season ball in his first full season. .

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #19 prospect in 2020 draft
  Bitsko could be the most challenging player for teams to evaluate in the 2020 class. Previously the top-ranked prep player in the 2021 draft class, Bitsko announced that he would graduate early to enroll at Virginia, making him draft-eligible for 2020. While Bitsko was at a few big events last summer—including East Coast Pro and USA Baseball’s National Team Development Program in Chicago—teams were watching him with the impression they would have another year of evaluation remaining. The teams who bear down early on underclassmen will be in the best position with Bitsko for the 2020 draft, but it wasn’t hard to see his talent fit with the top prep arms in the class. At East Coast Pro, Bitsko showed a fastball in the 92-96 mph range with a potentially plus curveball that had depth, power and impressive spin (2,100-2,500 rpm). With a physical, 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, a clean, overhead windup and good strike-throwing ability, Bitsko has plenty of classic starter’s attributes. He reportedly touched as high as 98 mph with his fastball in the offseason and is solidly in the elite tier of prep pitchers. Because his Central Bucks East High team wasn’t scheduled to start until April, Bitsko didn’t throw a pitch this season. Now, teams will be left to decide whether the glimpses of talent they saw last summer were enough to sign him out of a strong commitment to Virginia. The Cavaliers have done a nice job luring elite arms to campus in recent years, including Mike Vasil (2018 draft class) and lefthander Nate Savino, who was previously a member of the 2020 class and a first-round talent. Bitsko has a chance to be a top of the rotation-caliber arm.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Bitsko was expected to be the top prep pitcher in the 2021 class, but he reclassified for the 2020 draft, only to see his final high school season wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. He didn’t get into a game in 2021 either as he was recovering from labrum surgery in Dec. 2020. He’ll enter 2022 looking to make his pro debut.
  
  Scouting Report: Competently evaluating Bitsko at this point is a fool’s errand. He hasn’t faced hitters in an actual game since 2019. He did get back on the mound for a couple of intrasquad outings late in 2021. In those, his velocity wasn’t fully back to normal, but he was throwing free and easy. Before his injury, Bitsko had a potentially plus 92-96 mph fastball and a high-spin, plus power curveball with depth. He hasn’t had much of a chance to work on his changeup yet because of his lost time on the mound.
  
  The Future: Getting a healthy Bitsko back to his pre-injury form is job one in 2022. But it’s just as important to get him some much-needed innings—he only threw 33 innings in his high school career, so he’s playing catchup.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45
  Track Record: Bitsko reclassified from the 2021 draft to 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled his high school season before he got to throw a pitch. Teams scouted him exclusively off his bullpen sessions, and the Rays saw enough to draft him No. 24 overall and sign him for an above-slot $3 million to forgo a Virginia commitment. With the canceled season, Bitsko threw just 33 innings in his high school career.
  
  Scouting Report: Bitsko has the traits of a major league starter with a physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and a clean delivery. His fastball sits 92-96 mph and touches 98, and he pairs it with a hard, high-spin downer curveball that's been up to 2,500 revolutions per minute. Both project to be plus or better pitches. Bitsko has shown a feel for a changeup, but it's sometimes a little firm and lacks deception. He throws everything out of a high three-quarters release point which allows him to work up and down the strike zone.
  
  The Future: Bitsko is very young and will take time, but he has the building blocks to be a mid-rotation starter. If he makes it to low Class A in 2021, he would be the first Rays high school pitcher in the last decade to see full-season ball in his first full season. .
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45
  Track Record: Bitsko reclassified from the 2021 draft to 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled his high school season before he got to throw a pitch. Teams scouted him exclusively off his bullpen sessions, and the Rays saw enough to draft him No. 24 overall and sign him for an above-slot $3 million to forgo a Virginia commitment. With the canceled season, Bitsko threw just 33 innings in his high school career.
  
  Scouting Report: Bitsko has the traits of a major league starter with a physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and a clean delivery. His fastball sits 92-96 mph and touches 98, and he pairs it with a hard, high-spin downer curveball that’s been up to 2,500 revolutions per minute. Both project to be plus or better pitches. Bitsko has shown a feel for a changeup, but it’s sometimes a little firm and lacks deception. He throws everything out of a high three-quarters release point which allows him to work up and down the strike zone.
  
  The Future: Bitsko is very young and will take time, but he has the building blocks to be a mid-rotation starter. If he makes it to low Class A in 2021, he would be the first Rays high school pitcher in the last decade to see full-season ball in his first full season. .
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45
  Track Record: Bitsko reclassified from the 2021 draft to 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled his high school season before he got to throw a pitch. Teams scouted him exclusively off his bullpen sessions, and the Rays saw enough to draft him No. 24 overall and sign him for an above-slot $3 million to forgo a Virginia commitment. With the canceled season, Bitsko threw just 33 innings in his high school career.
  
  Scouting Report: Bitsko has the traits of a major league starter with a physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and a clean delivery. His fastball sits 92-96 mph and touches 98, and he pairs it with a hard, high-spin downer curveball that’s been up to 2,500 revolutions per minute. Both project to be plus or better pitches. Bitsko has shown a feel for a changeup, but it’s sometimes a little firm and lacks deception. He throws everything out of a high three-quarters release point which allows him to work up and down the strike zone.
  
  The Future: Bitsko is very young and will take time, but he has the building blocks to be a mid-rotation starter. If he makes it to low Class A in 2021, he would be the first Rays high school pitcher in the last decade to see full-season ball in his first full season. .
• December, 2019 Scouting Report
  Bitsko could be the most challenging player for teams to evaluate in the 2020 class. Previously the top-ranked prep player in the 2021 draft class, Bitsko announced that he would graduate early to enroll at Virginia, making him draft-eligible for 2020. While Bitsko was at a few big events last summer—including East Coast Pro and USA Baseball’s National Team Development Program in Chicago—teams were watching him with the impression they would have another year of evaluation remaining. The teams who bear down early on underclassmen will be in the best position with Bitsko for the 2020 draft, but it wasn’t hard to see his talent fit with the top prep arms in the class. At East Coast Pro, Bitsko showed a fastball in the 92-96 mph range with a potentially plus curveball that had depth, power and impressive spin (2,100-2,500 rpm). With a physical, 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, a clean, overhead windup and good strike-throwing ability, Bitsko has plenty of classic starter’s attributes. He reportedly touched as high as 98 mph with his fastball in the offseason and is solidly in the elite tier of prep pitchers. Because his Central Bucks East High team wasn’t scheduled to start until April, Bitsko didn’t throw a pitch this season. Now, teams will be left to decide whether the glimpses of talent they saw last summer were enough to sign him out of a strong commitment to Virginia. The Cavaliers have done a nice job luring elite arms to campus in recent years, including Mike Vasil (2018 draft class) and lefthander Nate Savino, who was previously a member of the 2020 class and a first-round talent. Bitsko has a chance to be a top of the rotation-caliber arm.