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One of the very best arms in the 2016 draft belongs to right-hander Alex Speas, high school flamethrower from McEachern High School in Power Springs, Georgia.
You don't have to be a genius to see the talent in this one. Speas stands 6-4, 190 with remaining projectabilty. He already has outstanding arm strength, 93-96 MPH with occasional higher peaks, so any physical strength or positive size gains could result in truly elite velocity. The fastball isn't strait either, with action described as "overpowering," "riding," and "explosive," pick your juicy descriptor.
Speas also has a nasty breaking ball, described variously as a hard power curveball or a slider. A change-up exists but is not as impressive as the first two pitches and needs more work for him to start at higher levels. If he develops his third pitch and sharpens his command, he has upper-rotation potential. Even without a better change-up he could also develop into a potent bullpen force.
All that sounds like a tremendous package but there are some issues. Speas doesn't keep his delivery consistent and his command comes and goes. If he threw strikes more readily he would be a Top Ten pick; as it stands, his relative rawness puts a slight damper on his stock, pushing him into compensation round territory.
Speas is committed to Auburn and signability may come into play if he falls too far.
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