Michael Roth Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Michael Thomas Roth
Born 02/15/1990 in Greenville, SC
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School South Carolina
Debut 04/13/2013
Drafted in the 9th round (297th overall) by the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 (signed for $20,000).

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Roth needs no introduction to baseball fans after he burst onto the scene as a sophomore in South Carolina's run to a national title in 2010. In 2011, he led the Gamecocks back to Omaha and finished at 14-3, 1.06 and logged 145 innings. Roth doesn't own a plus pitch and his fastball sits in the mid-80s, but he changes arm slots, locates well and is extremely savvy. Heading into the Southeastern Conference tournament, he was 5-1, 2.66 with 70 strikeouts and 31 walks in 95 innings.

Top Rankings

On pure stuff, Roth would just be another arm in the organization, a senior sign who saved money in the ninth round with his $20,000 bonus. But his stellar college track record and performance on college baseball's biggest stage are hard to ignore. A reliever for most of his first two seasons at South Carolina, he made his first two starts (including a shutout of Clemson) at the 2010 College World Series as the Gamecocks won their first national championship. As a junior, he topped NCAA Division I in wins (14-3) and ERA (1.06) as South Carolina repeated as national champions. He led the Gamecocks to a national runner-up finish in 2012, setting career CWS records for starts (eight) and innings (60) while ranking second in wins (four) and fifth in ERA (1.49). While scouts respect what Roth did in college, there are obvious questions about how well his skill set will translate to pro ball. He has outstanding savvy, but his fastball parks around the mid-80s and peaks at 89 mph. He has a deceptive delivery, varies his arm angles and moves the ball around the strike zone. His best pitch is his changeup, which has deep action and late sink. He mixes in an upper-70s slider, can bust cutters in on the hands of righthanders and throws an occasional slow curve. His funkiness could work in relief, where he doesn't have to get through a lineup multiple times. He could begin his first full year in high Class A because he'll be 23.

Roth needs no introduction to baseball fans after he burst onto the scene as a sophomore in South Carolina's run to a national title in 2010. In 2011, he led the Gamecocks back to Omaha and finished at 14-3, 1.06 and logged 145 innings. Roth doesn't own a plus pitch and his fastball sits in the mid-80s, but he changes arm slots, locates well and is extremely savvy. Heading into the Southeastern Conference tournament, he was 5-1, 2.66 with 70 strikeouts and 31 walks in 95 innings.