Taylor Guerrieri
RHP / Spring Valley High School
Bats-Throws: R-R
Height/Weight: 6-3/180
Hometown: North Augusta, S.C.
College commitment: South Carolina
Birthdate: Dec. 1, 1992
SCOUTING PROFILE: Guerrieri has been lauded as perhaps the fastest riser in the 2011 draft class, going from a moderately-ranked follow to a potential top-half of the first-round draft choice. While that might be the national perception of Guerrieri, the fact of the matter is that the athletic South Carolina native showed pretty much the same stuff on occasion during the 2010 summer season as he does now, just never at a traditional showcase event or as consistently. Guerrieri, who transferred from North Augusta High to Spring Valley High for his senior year, pitched for the South Carolina-based Diamond Devils at both the 17-and-under and 18-and-under World Wood Bat Association national championships in Marietta, Ga., in July, both times on the heavily-scouted primary fields at the East Cobb complex. In those two games, he topped out at 95 and 94 mph, both times hitting those velocities in the sixth inning. He also flashed a plus curveball. It was unfortunate that the Aflac All-American teams had already been selected by that point as Guerrieri was clearly that level of talent. The biggest key for Guerrieri this spring has been his consistency. During the summer, his fastball might register 88-90 mph one inning and 93-95 the next, but he has been steadily 93-96 mph through entire games this spring, and reportedly has touched 98 mph many times. His ability to maintain that kind of velocity deep into pitch counts is highly unusual for an 18-year-old and is the product of a-low effort delivery that he’s done a much better job lately of repeating. Guerrieri has a good feel for getting both running and cutting action on his fastball, and scouts believe that his cutter could develop into a nice slider in the future. What separates Guerrieri from other hard throwers is the quality of his curveball. It’s a low-80s power pitch that has hard, late biting action from the same release point as his fastball. The improvement in consistency on the pitch from last summer to now is noteworthy. He would flash that plus curve last summer, but was just as likely to hang a flat spinner as he was break off a hammer. Although he doesn’t throw it often, Guerrieri’s mid-80s changeup is also a potential solid third or fourth pitch. There is little downside that scouts can find in his overall package now as he throws three present pitches with the promise of a fourth, has an easy, low-maintenance delivery, a projectable build and a perfectly clean health record. While Oklahoma prep righthander Dylan Bundy is considered by many to be the top high-school pitching prospect in the nation, Guerrieri has his supporters for that distinction as well.
Projected Draft Position: First round / Top half.
--DAVID RAWNSLEY
Perfect Game Events Attended
2008 WWBA 2010 Grads or 16u National Championship
2009 WWBA PG National Invitational
2009 WWBA 2011 Grads or 16u National Championship
2010 WWBA 2010 Grads or 18u National Championship
2010 WWBA 2011 Grads or 17u National Championship