:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55250667/AA_Draft_2017.0.jpg)
Name: Marcel Renteria
Born: Nogales, Arizona
Age: 22 (9/27/94)
Height/Weight: 5'11"/185 lbs
Position: RHP
Bats/Throws: R/R
School: New Mexico State University
Baseball runs in Marcel Renteria’s blood. Though he is not part of a storied baseball family, he is related to not one, but two former players: Dave Oropeza, who played in the Montreal Expos system but never made it past Low-A ball, and Gil Heredia, who had a ten-year career between 1991 and 2001 with four teams. A First-Team All-Conference pitcher out of Nogales High School in Arizona, Renteria did not garner much interest from major league clubs, and went to Pima Community College, a two-year institution in Pima County, Arizona.
Renteria was a Pima CC Aztec for two years. In his first year there, in 2014, he posted a 2.00 ERA in 72.0 innings, allowing 57 hits, walking 37, and striking out 75. In his second year there, he pitched only 26.1 innings, making three starts and seven appearances out of the bullpen. He posted a 3.76 in his second year there, allowing 23 hits, walking 17, and striking out 18.
The right-hander, having completed his two years at community college, successfully transferred to New Mexico State University. Joining the Aggies, he posted a 4.74 ERA in 79.2 innings, allowing 84 hits, walking 44, and striking out 79. This past year, Renteria posted almost exactly identical stats, posting a 4.78 ERA in 79.0 innings, allowing 81 hits, 30 walks, and striking out 86.
What makes Marcel Renteria noteworthy is his live arm. The small right-hander generally sits in the low-to-mid 90s with his fastball, and has touched as high as 99 MPH. Though the pitch certainly has plenty of velocity, it sometimes lacks plane. While his fastball is his bread-and-butter, his primary strikeout pitch is a power 12-6 curveball that has gotten above-average grades from scouts. The right-hander gets plenty of weak contact and keeps the ball down, evidenced by allowing only one triple and thirteen home runs in just over 700 at-bats over the course of his two seasons at New Mexico State.
Renteria throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, whipping the ball at batters with his live arm. His delivery is fairly simple, with only a slight leg lift, but he puts a lot of effort on his arm to generate velocity. It does not provide much deception, but with a fastball with as much life as his, Renteria generally hasn’t needed deception.