Draft Prospect Breakdown: Chad Donato

Scouts saw Chad Donato in high school, whether they were bearing down on him or not. On a loaded team from Cypress Woods High in Texas in 2013, Donato was the catcher for current Texas A&M reliever Ryan Hendrix and A’s righthander Casey Meisner. Donato didn’t pitch much for his high school team, but he knew his future was on the mound. He knew it because a coach believed in him.

Mike Jackson pitched in the majors for parts of 17 seasons. He appeared in more than a thousand games, struck out more than a thousand batters and racked up more than a thousand innings. He was a steady big league contributor for nearly two decades. Now, he shares his expertise with kids in the Houston area as a travel ball coach. Chad Donato was one of those kids.

“The credit goes back to Mike Jackson,” Donato said. “Even though I wasn’t pitching in high school, I was always a pitcher on his travel ball team and that’s where I got most of my stuff from.”

With Jackson’s encouragement, Donato progressed past high school, and made it to West Virginia. As a freshman, he pitched sparingly, and did not have much of an impact on the field. Then, as a sophomore, Donato emerged, not only as the ace of the Mountaineers staff, but as a legitimate pro prospect. Over 96 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 3.07 ERA.

During research for the 2015 BA 500, two scouts—unprompted—mentioned Donato as a player to watch for the 2016 draft. When the scouts were watching, the righthander shined. As a junior, he struck out 111 batters and walked just 20 in 96 1/3 innings. His fastball reaches as high as 93, and he pitches comfortably at 89-91. Donato’s best pitch is a knee-buckling 12-to-6 curveball, regularly labeled as a “hammer” by scouts. He throws a changeup sparingly, but hasn’t had much need for it to this point.

“I would say I’m a competitor,” Donato said, when asked to provide a quick scouting report on himself. “No matter what the outcome of the game, I’m not going down easy.”

Evaluators note that the righthander is a bit undersized for a starting pitching prospect, standing at a listed 6-foot and 180 pounds, but his competitive fire sticks out. Some feel that his velocity could tick up in a relief role, giving him two above-average pitches. If Donato doesn’t succeed, it won’t be for a lack of effort. He’s dreamed of playing professionally for quite some time, and he’s going to be drafted this week.

“One thing that we (Donato and Meisner) both said we were going to do since we were little was play professional baseball,” Donato said. “He had an opportunity to do it earlier in his life. I haven’t had the opportunity to experience what he has yet, but we’re both going to be at the same level, so that’s all I could ask for.”

Donato and Meisner have been close friends since their youth, and they still talk often. The two of them, along with Hendrix, take pride in representing Cypress Woods High, which opened in 2006 and has quickly produced three draft picks, with Donato likely to become the fourth this week.

One wrinkle in Donato’s draft stock came during the Big 12 tournament. He left his final start of the season in the second inning, expressing obvious discomfort in his throwing arm, according to one scout who was at the game. An MRI exam revealed a strained ulnar collateral ligament—the ligament that is replaced during Tommy John surgery.

Donato says that he is waiting until after the draft to make a decision about the next step in his recovery. Should he sign professionally, Donato will consult his professional team’s doctors and make a plan for treatment—whether it’s rehabilitation or surgery. Despite the untimely injury, Donato remains confident that he’s got what it takes to succeed as a pro.

“I know for a fact that I can compete at the next level,” Donato said. “I’m not worried about not being able to compete. I’m ready to start my career. This is what I’ve trying to do my whole life—make it to this level.”