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2019 MLB Draft Preview: Josh Wolf scouting report
The 2019 MLB Draft is just under four weeks away — the first round kicks off on June 3, 2019 — its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #8, their second round pick is at #50, and they have Milwaukee’s competitive balance pick, acquired in the Alex Claudio trade, which is #41.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today, we are looking at Houston high school pitcher Josh Wolf.
Josh Wolf is a 6’2”, 165 lb. righthanded pitcher out of St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas. Wolf is a fastball/curveball guy who throws in the low-90s currently but can touch the mid-90s, and who has a quality curveball that folks think projects as plus as his second pitch. The reports on Wolf indicate that his changeup needs work, and there are questions about the consistency of his command, but he’s projectable and has a chance to stick as a starting pitcher.
Baseball America currently has Wolf as the #46 guy on their draft board, saying he’s moved up the board with a strong senior season. Fangraphs has Wolf at #50 on their board, while Keith Law in the same slot as BA, at #46, in his top 50 draft rankings. MLB Pipeline is the high site on Wolf, having him come in at #34 on their board, and saying scouts rave about his makeup.
Wolf isn’t showing up in the early mock drafts, and at this point, would seem to be someone who has a good chance of still being on the board when their second and third picks come up, though some late helium from him could change that. The Rangers prioritize makeup and projectability, so he’s someone you could see the Rangers targeting at that range. Wolf is a Texas A&M commit, but at this point, it seems likely he will go high enough that he won’t actually end up pitching for the Aggies.
Video of Wolf is below: