Ty Bashlor is on the cusp of being a major league contributor

Selected in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of South Georgia College, Ty Bashlor was given a $550,000 signing bonus, which seemed like an overpay for a junior college reliever. When he lost two years of developmental time in 2014 and 2015 thanks to Tommy John surgery and its subsequent rehab, the Bashlor pick looked even worse. When the right-hander finally returned to the mound in 2016, at the advanced age of 23, he only had 15.2 professional innings under his belt.

In the two years since, Bashlor has emerged as a high-leverage reliever, putting up video game strikeout numbers. This past season, the right-hander posted a 3.44 ERA in 49.2 innings split between the St. Lucie Mets and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, allowing 40 hits, walking 25, and striking out 84. Of note, Bashlor was a lot better in Binghamton than he was in St. Lucie, as he did not allow a single run to cross the plate in 14.2 innings and drastically cut his walk rate, all while being stingy allowing hits and striking out plenty.

Bashlor’s fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s and has touched as high as 98 MPH. He complements it with an inconsistent low-80s slider. Earlier in the season, the slider had an inconsistent shape and was slurvier, but as the 2017 season progressed, the pitch looked consistently tighter. The same can be said of his control. Earlier in the season, he was walking a lot more batters, but as the season progressed, Bashlor seemed to able to consistently get both his fastball and slider over the plate for strikes.

With his elite ability to strike batters out, there is no doubt that Ty Bashlor has the ability to make an impact in a major league bullpen. How effective he will be will depend upon his ability to maintain a reasonable walk rate.