2019 Mets draft profile: Joseph Charles

Born: Celebration, Florida

Age: 19 (4/05/00)

Height/Weight:

Position: RHP

Bats/Throws: R/R

School: TNXL Baseball Academy (Kissimmee, Florida)

Joseph Charles’ name has never been in the upper echelon of high school follows and prospects, but the right-hander has suited up with and against the likes of Carter Stewart, Nolan Gorman, Mason Denaburg, Gunnar Hogland and Matthew Liberatore and has held his own against them, and as compared to them. The right-hander initially attended The First Academy, a private Christian school in Orlando, Florida but transferred to the TNXL Baseball Academy this past spring after the academy moved to the Osceola County Sports Complex, roughly 15 minutes from his home and where he usually practiced in his spare time to begin with.

At 6’3”, 190 pounds, Charles has an excellent pitching frame. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arming the ball. His pitches have deception as a result, but many scouts and evaluators point to his short arm and high elbow as the reason for his below-average command.

Charles’ fastball can touch as high as 97 MPH, but the pitch more consistently sits in the low-to-mid-90s, and regularly backs up into the high-80s-to-low-90s when his mechanics get out of sync or when he overthrows the pitch. He also throws a two-seam variant of the pitch, which features less velocity and more running life. In addition to his fastball, Charles throws a curveball, slider, and changeup. His slider and curveball sometimes blend together but the two are two distinct pitches. The slider sits in the low-80s and is a swing-and-miss pitch thanks to its late break. The curveball sits in the high-70s-to-low-80s and features 11-5 break. His changeup sits in the mid-80s and is the most unrefined of his pitches, though it does feature excellent fade, especially when thrown in the dirt.

Charles has a commitment to the University of North Carolina.