Road to Wrigley – Jack Conlon
In January 2015, 6-foot-3 and 210 pound Jack Conlon fit the “power arm / power bat type two-way guy” profile with his performance at the Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament — a performance that earned him Top 10 honors among 2017 graduates. If you clicked the link and read the associated scouting report, you’ll see I clearly missed on my projection of his future as a hitter. However, I liked his move with the bat, and probably would today if he still hit, but as he has developed on the mound he has transitioned from a two-way player to a pitcher only.
He’d completed that move by the time we saw him again at the November 2015 Under Armour Futures Texas Showcase, and had grown an inch up to 6-foot-4 and had added five pounds. Not surprisingly, his arsenal of pitches had increased as his fastball velocity improved.
At the 2015 UA Pre-Season event, he featured all 85-87 mph fastballs in his outing (remember, he was a two-way player at the time). He pounded the zone with one pitch, with an aggressive approach to attack hitters.
At the Futures Texas event about ten months later, he looked like a different guy. The previous high end of his fastball range (87) was now the low end, and the top end jumped up five ticks to 92 mph. What was previously a one-pitch, fastball only attack was now a quality three-pitch mix. His breaking ball was thrown in the 74-76 mph range with hard two-plane action, and he showed feel for a mid-to-upper 70s change. He pitched with the same aggressive approach, only now he forced hitters to deal with much more.
The multifaceted development we saw in a short time was enough to move him up our board for the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game. His selection was announced on Friday, January 15.
In his most recent outing, at the 2016 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament, he reached 89 with his fastball and showed improved feel for an even firmer breaking ball, this time reaching 79 mph.
Jack Conlon
POS: RHP
HT: 6’4″
WT: 215
B/T: R/R
YOG: 2017
HOMETOWN: Sugar Land, TX
COLLEGE VERBAL: Texas A&M
ROAD TO WRIGLEY:
1) 2015 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament (Mesa, AZ)
2) 2015 Under Armour Baseball Factory Futures Texas Showcase (Plano, TX)
3) 2016 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament (Mesa, AZ)
VIDEO CLIP:
2015 Under Armour Futures Texas
2017 RHP @jcon1744 set to take the mound at Wrigley on July 23 in 2016 #UAALLAMERICA Game. https://t.co/OTJWlxSa2Z pic.twitter.com/ISmJ6bxiyq
— BF Scouting (@BFScout) January 25, 2016