:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49956079/AA_Draft_2016.0.0.jpg)
Name: Cameron Planck
Born: 3/5/98
Age: 18
Height/Weight: 6'3"/225 lbs.
Position: RHP
Bats/Throws: R/R
School: Rowan County High School (Morehead, Kentucky)
Cameron Planck was already well on his way to being considered one of the most dominant high school pitchers in northeastern Kentucky history, but an extremely dominant senior season sealed that deal. In his last year as a Rowan County High School Viking, the right-hander went 7-3 with a microscopic 0.38 ERA, the seventh-lowest in the history of the Kentucky High School Athletics Association. In 74.1 innings, he struck out 132 batters and walked 21.
He has a commitment to the University of Louisville, but has yet to decide whether he wants to sign with the Mets or go to school. The Mets tried to work out a pre-draft deal with Planck, offering the eleventh-round pick third-round money ($563,100 to $813,500) but he declined, citing the sum as below what it would take for him to be bought out of attending college. The team drafted him anyway, and have kept up their pursuit to sign him, rather than giving up.
Cameron Planck is a big kid, standing 6'3" and weighing roughly 225 pounds. He doesn't have too much physical projection left in his body, but he doesn't need much, as he already has the physicality of a starter. Planck's delivery has a lot of moving parts, as his arms and legs flail around a lot. It makes it hard for the batter to pick up the ball, but it also makes it difficult for the right-hander to consistently repeat his release point.
Planck has a live fastball. It sits in the low 90s and has touched as high as 96 MPH. He complements it with a mid-80s breaking ball and a mid-80s changeup. An inconsistent release point has plagued the right-hander all spring, leading not only to control trouble, but to fewer quality pitches. This causes him not only to be unable to locate his fastball, but also diminishes the velocity of his fastball, lose the spin on his breaking ball, and not get much speed differential or fade on his changeup.