Stock Watch: Brent Honeywell’s Pitch Mix Puts Him On The Cusp

Brent Honeywell was already considered one of baseball’s better pitching prospects, but the steps he has taken this year have elevated him into the conversation for the top arm overall. The 22-year-old needed just two starts this year to show he was ready to move out of Double-A Montgomery, and he is more than holding his own at Triple-A Durham as one of the youngest starters in the International League.

VERDICT

Honeywell has the potential for five above-average pitches.

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Honeywell is famous for his screwball, but he has much more. He has flashed a fastball up to 96 mph, dropped in changeups that make hitters look foolish and snapped off hard mid-80s sliders that dived under barrels at the last minute. He also had shown the ability to snap off a quality curveball when needed. In all, Honeywell earned easy plus grades from scouts on his fastball, changeup and screwball, and above-average grades on his slider and curveball.

Honeywell’s 4.54 ERA was elevated by two rough starts, but otherwise he had been excellent considering his age and level.

The next step for Honeywell is to better pace himself so he can hold his stuff beyond the fifth inning, but scouts expect that to improve with experience. Overall, his arsenal, control and youth has evaluators seeing a potential top-of-the-rotation arm.

— Kyle Glaser