Tovar was an under-the-radar signing from Venezuela in 2014 and made the transition to the U.S. after just one year in the Dominican Summer League, but his season started late because of a 25-game suspension for an undisclosed violation of the joint drug agreement. Tovar is slight but has a quick arm and can get his fastball up to 95 mph with late movement. He is aggressive in the strike zone, with a hard, power sinker. That helped him generate a robust groundball rate, and opponents slugged just .309 against him with no home runs in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2016. His breaking ball is improving and his changeup is a work in progress but flashed above-average at times with good arm speed. Tovar doesn't miss many bats because he lacks separation on his pitches, but he does draw weak contact. He has a clean arm action and an easy delivery from the windup, but pitches with noticeably more effort with men on base. Tovar is likely to return to extended spring training with an assignment to short-season Vermont to follow.
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