Edgar De La Rosa

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #22 prospect in 2015
  De la Rosa is a gigantic human being who looks like he should be posting up down in the paint as a power forward at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds. Instead he throws heat off the mound anywhere from 92-98 mph with steep downhill plane and good extension, though he doesn't generate much movement on his fastball. De la Rosa's fastball is a plus pitch but his strikeout rate is low because he's still searching for a reliable secondary weapon. The pitch with the most potential is his fringy, high-80s changeup, on which he maintains his arm speed and drops late in the zone at times but flattens out at times. He throws a curveball and a slider, but both are below-average. De la Rosa is a solid strike thrower given all the long levers he has to keep in sync in his delivery. De la Rosa has shown durability to handle a starter's workload, though he needs to improve his soft stuff to avoid the bullpen. Extremely tall pitchers can take longer to develop, so the Tigers will be patient with him in case he can have a breakthrough. Double-A Erie is up next.
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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #29 prospect in 2013
  De La Rosa is yet another big-bodied Tigers righthander who's years away from the big leagues. He made his U.S. debut in 2011 as part of a Gulf Coast League club that would place 11 players on this list. De La Rosa has a heavy 92-93 mph fastball and can run it up to 96 on occasion. His fastball has late boring life and he loves to challenge righthanders inside, running his heater in on their hands. His slider and changeup are below average right now. His slider has plenty of velocity at 81-85 mph and shows flashes of being an average pitch in the future. He slows his delivery and his arm down on his 78-81 mph changeup, but he does have some feel for commanding the pitch. De La Rosa has loose, easy mechanics but will need to sharpen up below-average control and work on controlling his emotions on the mound. He doesn't strike out as many hitters as one might expect from a pitcher with his arsenal. He could develop into a No. 4 starter, though some scouts believe he'll ultimately wind up in the bullpen. He'll pitch in West Michigan's rotation this year.