Austin Vernon Stats & Scouting Report

IP	51.1
ERA	4.21
WHIP	1.42
BB/9	5.08
SO/9	11.57

Full name Austin Jeremy Vernon
Born 02/08/1999 in Raleigh, NC
Profile Ht.: 6'8" / Wt.: 265 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School North Carolina Central
Drafted in the 10th round (311th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021 (signed for $142,300).

View Draft Report

Vernon ranked No. 285 on the 2020 BA 500 despite not throwing a pitch during the shortened season. A non-Tommy John arm surgery kept him off the field, but scouts loved what they saw from him during the summer in the Cape Cod League in 2019, when he struck out 31 batters and walked nine over 20.2 innings of work. Listed at 6-foot-8, 265 pounds, Vernon is one of the biggest pitchers in the 2021 draft class and he has a big fastball to match. He’s run it up to 98 mph but more typically sits in the 90-94 mph range. Vernon also has feel to spin two breaking balls: a low-80s slider that he uses more frequently than a curveball in the mid-to-upper 70s. Vernon has also thrown a low-80s changeup that he throws consistently to his glove side. This spring with North Carolina Central, Vernon posted a career-best 2.55 ERA over 70.2 innings and 12 starts, with 109 strikeouts (13.9 K/9) and 31 walks (3.9 BB/9). It was his first season as a full-time starter with the team, but scouts think he’s a reliever at the next level because of his strike throwing and a high-maintenance, high-effort delivery that features plenty of length in his arm action and head whack and recoil through his finish. A team that likes physical pitchers with loud pure stuff could still take him in the back of the top-10 rounds.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: A massive 6-foot-8 righthander, Vernon is likely to be the last player ever drafted out of North Carolina Central, as the school cut its baseball program at the end of his draft season. He served as a long reliever/spot starter by design in 2022 as it helped him get more innings to work on his delivery.

Scouting Report: He may have started in 2022, but Vernon's effortful and almost violent delivery and long arm action beckon for a bullpen role. Vernon's success is largely thanks to a devastating plus slider. He often shows better control and command of it than his fastball, and Class A hitters were utterly defenseless when he threw it in advantageous counts. Vernon's fastball gives hitters a second above-average pitch to worry about. His struggles to control it sometimes hindered its effectiveness in 2022, but it has outstanding carry with nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break, bushels of run and he sits 94-96 mph while touching 97-98. He has an average changeup as well. It's his below-average control that is his biggest hurdle.

The Future: Vernon has the stuff to be a useful reliever, but there's a lot of refinement still to go. He has smoothed out his delivery somewhat compared to what it was in college, but it still is difficult to repeat. But his stuff is top-shelf.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 65. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.

Draft Prospects

Vernon ranked No. 285 on the 2020 BA 500 despite not throwing a pitch during the shortened season. A non-Tommy John arm surgery kept him off the field, but scouts loved what they saw from him during the summer in the Cape Cod League in 2019, when he struck out 31 batters and walked nine over 20.2 innings of work. Listed at 6-foot-8, 265 pounds, Vernon is one of the biggest pitchers in the 2021 draft class and he has a big fastball to match. He’s run it up to 98 mph but more typically sits in the 90-94 mph range. Vernon also has feel to spin two breaking balls: a low-80s slider that he uses more frequently than a curveball in the mid-to-upper 70s. Vernon has also thrown a low-80s changeup that he throws consistently to his glove side. This spring with North Carolina Central, Vernon posted a career-best 2.55 ERA over 70.2 innings and 12 starts, with 109 strikeouts (13.9 K/9) and 31 walks (3.9 BB/9). It was his first season as a full-time starter with the team, but scouts think he’s a reliever at the next level because of his strike throwing and a high-maintenance, high-effort delivery that features plenty of length in his arm action and head whack and recoil through his finish. A team that likes physical pitchers with loud pure stuff could still take him in the back of the top-10 rounds.
A big-bodied righthander listed at 6-foot-8, 298 pounds, Vernon showed impressive pure stuff last summer in the Cape Cod League and showed potential to be a top 200 sort of prospect with a strong spring. Vernon didn’t pitch in 2020, however, after a non-Tommy John arm surgery to clean some things up. He was planning on returning to the mound at some point late in the season. With Chatham in the Cape Cod League last summer, Vernon showed a fastball in the 93-97 mph range with above-average feel for spinning a curveball and a slider. Scouts all admired the way the ball comes out of Vernon’s hand and think he has three potential 55-grade offerings. He’s likely a reliever at the next level without much track record as a starter at North Carolina Central. In 41 games, he started just nine times, posting a 4.64 ERA and striking out 10.3 batters per nine while walking 5.6 per nine. Teams will be concerned with how well Vernon maintains his extra-large frame moving forward and will need to feel comfortable with his medical, but the stuff is solid.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: A massive 6-foot-8 righthander, Vernon is likely to be the last player ever drafted out of North Carolina Central, as the school cut its baseball program at the end of his draft season. He served as a long reliever/spot starter by design in 2022 as it helped him get more innings to work on his delivery.

Scouting Report: He may have started in 2022, but Vernon's effortful and almost violent delivery and long arm action beckon for a bullpen role. Vernon's success is largely thanks to a devastating plus slider. He often shows better control and command of it than his fastball, and Class A hitters were utterly defenseless when he threw it in advantageous counts. Vernon's fastball gives hitters a second above-average pitch to worry about. His struggles to control it sometimes hindered its effectiveness in 2022, but it has outstanding carry with nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break, bushels of run and he sits 94-96 mph while touching 97-98. He has an average changeup as well. It's his below-average control that is his biggest hurdle.

The Future: Vernon has the stuff to be a useful reliever, but there's a lot of refinement still to go. He has smoothed out his delivery somewhat compared to what it was in college, but it still is difficult to repeat. But his stuff is top-shelf.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 65. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: A massive 6-foot-8 righthander, Vernon is likely to be the last player ever drafted out of North Carolina Central, as the school cut its baseball program at the end of his draft season. He served as a long reliever/spot starter by design in 2022 as it helped him get more innings to work on his delivery.

Scouting Report: He may have started in 2022, but Vernon's effortful and almost violent delivery and long arm action beckon for a bullpen role. Vernon's success is largely thanks to a devastating plus slider. He often shows better control and command of it than his fastball, and Class A hitters were utterly defenseless when he threw it in advantageous counts. Vernon's fastball gives hitters a second above-average pitch to worry about. His struggles to control it sometimes hindered its effectiveness in 2022, but it has outstanding carry with nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break, bushels of run and he sits 94-96 mph while touching 97-98. He has an average changeup as well. It's his below-average control that is his biggest hurdle.

The Future: Vernon has the stuff to be a useful reliever, but there's a lot of refinement still to go. He has smoothed out his delivery somewhat compared to what it was in college, but it still is difficult to repeat. But his stuff is top-shelf.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 65. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.