Draft Preview: RHP Robert Tyler – University of Georgia

Robert Tyler
School: University of Georgia
Position: Right Handed Pitcher
Height/Weight: 6’4”/226 lb
B/T: L/R
D.O.B.: 6/18/1995 (20 years old)
Previously Drafted: 2013, 28th Round (Baltimore)
2016 Stats: 3-5, 14 G, 74.2 IP, 4.10 ERA, 53 H, 89 K & 46 BB (as of 6/3/16)
Scouting Reports:
“Tyler missed a little more than two months in 2015 with a forearm strain and came into the 2016 season as a clear first-round talent based on stuff but, a medical enigma with strike throwing issues.
Tyler works between 89-96 mph with his fastball and creeps into the upper 90s in spurts. His command comes and goes and he’s had some starts this spring where he’s walked six or seven batters. The delivery, while much better than what Tyler exhibited in high school, is still considered to be rather rough by most evaluators. Some are concerned it will lead to more injuries (though the veracity of those statements is debatable), while others think the stiffness in the forearm/wrist makes it hard for Tyler to snap off a decent curveball and they don’t project it to be a better-than-fringe average offering. Most scouts think that a curveball is, “either in the wrist or it’s not,” and for Tyler, who won’t likely be able to integrate an effective slider into his repertoire as an alternative because of his arm slot, the general consensus is that it isn’t.
Instead, Tyler’s best secondary pitch is his changeup, which flashes plus and projects there at maturity. He’ll go to it in hitter’s counts and generally maintains his arm fastball speed.
A two-pitch arm with spotty control is a reliever and it’s hard to justify drafting one of those in the first round. Add health questions to the equation and things are even more muddled. The team that drafts Tyler will be one that has belief in his long-term health and either thinks the curveball is a viable third pitch or that they can tweak something to make it work — or an entirely new pitch.” –Keith Law (ESPN)
“Georgia’s top high school pitching prospect in 2013, Tyler could have gone in the top five rounds had he been signable, but he ultimately turned down the Orioles as a 28th-rounder. Now he’s the University of Georgia’s best starting pitching prospect since Derek Lilliquist went sixth overall to the Braves in 1987.
Tyler has one of the best fastballs in the 2016 Draft. He can sit at 92-95 mph as a starter and reach the upper 90s in shorter stints. Tyler’s heater is even tougher to hit because it has good run and sink and he throws it on a steep downward plane.
Tyler will flash a plus changeup with some fade and sink, but he has yet to demonstrate much feel for his curveball or for throwing quality strikes. He has trouble repeating his mechanics and often rushes his delivery, and many scouts believe he’ll wind up in the bullpen. Tyler also has been shut down in each of the previous three seasons, missing three months in 2015 with a forearm strain.” –MLB.com

Listed at 6-4, 225, Tyler is young for a junior at age 20, born June 15, 1995. He throws quite hard, consistently at 94-96 with peaks at 98-99. His second pitch is a strong change-up that earns 55-60 grades. He also features an inconsistent breaking ball. Early this spring it received solid-average grades and he did a great job throwing strikes with all three pitches, but as the season has progressed the breaking ball has been erratic, his command has slipped, and his walk rate has risen.

At his best Tyler throws a nasty fastball and two good secondary pitches, making him a potential rotation member. It remains to be seen if the arm troubles will recur and he needs to be more consistent overall. His excellent K/IP and H/IP rates testify to the quality of his stuff. The upside package is still strong enough to make him a first round contender. – John Sickels (Minor League Ball)

Scouting Grades: 
Note: These grades are summations based on available scouting information from sources such as Baseball America, MLB.com, and Fangraphs.
(Present/Future value, 20-80 scale)
Fastball: 70/75
Curveball: 45/55
Changeup: 55/65
Control: 40/50
Overall: 50/60
Prospect Overview and Future Outlook:
After missing most of the 2015 season due to a forearm injury, Robert Tyler struck out 13 batters over just five innings on 2016’s Opening Day and hasn’t looked back. The former high school phenom honored his commitment to the University of Georgia and was a three-year starter, racking up 182 K’s over 179 innings while only allowing 135 hits. Injuries plagued him in 2014 and 2015, but he remained healthy all throughout 2016 with electric stuff which has seemingly cemented his first round status in this year’s draft. Opposing batters managed to hit just .200 against Tyler in 2016 and he struck out 89 batters and only allowed 53 hits over 74.2 innings. Twice in the season Tyler carried a no-hitter through six innings and on April 21st he battled possible #1 overall selection A.J. Puk to a draw in a 2-1 victory against #2 ranked Florida.
Robert Tyler’s arsenal is built around an electric fastball that sits 94-96 MPH but has been clocked as high as 99 MPH. Tyler has elite arm strength and his fastball has excellent run and sink to it. Tyler’s best secondary offering is a changeup that flashes plus on occasion. He maintains a regular arm speed and his changeup has good fade and sink to it when it’s on. After that, his repertoire gets murky as Tyler has a slow curveball that he can throw for strikes but doesn’t display much action. ESPN’s Keith Law points to a stiffness in his forearm/wrist as the reason for the lack of action on Tyler’s curveball, and doesn’t believe it will exceed more than a fringe-average offering.
Tyler’s delivery (video here) has been significantly cleaned up from his high school days but is still violent and considered rough. He uses his height (6’4”) well, especially on his fastball, and throws on a downhill plane. Tyler sometimes struggles with maintaining his release point, leading to bouts of wildness, and he has had outings where he has walked six or seven batters. Due to his violent delivery, history of injuries, and lack of a refined third offering, there is a real risk Tyler could end up a reliever at the major league level.
Tyler is a boom/bust type of prospect because of his tantalizing fastball and changeup but otherwise raw overall package. Simply put, you can’t teach the arm strength that Tyler displays on his major league ready heater or the feel he displays when his changeup is working. However, Tyler cannot start with only two pitches and needs to develop either his curveball or an entirely new breaking pitch. If Tyler is able to harness another above-average offering, he could easily become a dynamic mid-rotation starter with his iffy command as the only thing holding him back from ace status. If he doesn’t develop a third pitch, his floor (with health/command a variable) is a late-inning reliever with a 1-2 punch of his fastball-changeup combo making hitters look foolish.
Draft Day: 
Experts rank Tyler in the #22 to #32 range, which is right in the range of where the White Sox #26 compensatory pick is. There has been significant smoke linking Tyler to the White Sox as well, with ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com’s Jim Callis reporting “heavy” interest. Law and Callis also forecast that Tyler would be available when the Sox select at #26, though strangely neither have them selecting him. Instead Tyler has been projected to be picked at #28 and #32 in the latest mocks.
The White Sox have a strong reputation around baseball at excelling in developing young pitching and in particular targeting productive college starters. Robert Tyler would be a prime candidate of a prospect with all the necessary tools and only lacking some refinement. It is possible the White Sox have identified something that has caused some of Tyler’s struggles with command that in their estimation is fixable. If that is the case, the Sox could potentially select a top 10 talent at #26 and stock their system with one of the best power arms in this year’s class.
*Interested in other possible future White Sox? Check out our other published draft profiles below and keep an eye out for ones that are upcoming.*
C Zack Collins, Miami
RHP Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State
LHP Braxton Garrett, Florence HS (Alabama)
RHP Cody Sedlock, Illinois
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