There was a simple theme surrounding the Dodgers’ 2021 draft class – pitching. To be more precise, it was pitching, pitching, and then more pitching. And they followed that up with even more pitching.
Los Angeles’ front office practically tried to corner the market on amateur arms two years ago, using 17 of their 19 selections on hurlers. Their first everyday player, Mike Sirota, wasn’t drafted until the 16th round.
The organization was also very particular on what type of pitcher. More specifically: college-aged moundsmen. Of the 17 arms they nabbed that season, 13 of them were in four-year college programs and another pair, Ronan Kopp and Antonio Knowles, were plucked out of warm-weather JuCo’s.
A convincing argument could be made that they best prospect they drafted that year wasn’t first rounder Maddux John Bruns, who was named after Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. Nor is it their third round selection, Peter Heubeck, another high ceiling prep arm. Nor was it their fourth or fifth round picks either.
Their best pick, of course, could be Emmet Sheehan, the 192nd overall player taken that summer.
Who the hell is Emmet Sheehan?
He’s just a Boston College product, a former sixth rounder, who possesses what might be the best fastball in the minor leagues.
A rollercoaster starter for his three years with the Eagles, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander wrapped up his college career with a ton of strikeouts (12.5 K/9), way too many walks (5.8 BB/9), and an ERA befitting of a midround draft pick (4.80) – though, to be fair, he took major strides during his junior campaign with the ACC-based school. He tossed 76.2 innings across 13 starts, posting a 4.23 ERA and a 106-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Dodgers’ brass quickly shoved the big right-hander through three stops during his brief, oft-times dominant, debut that year. Sheehan spent the majority of the 2022 season with the club’s High-A affiliate, averaging an impressive 14.3 strikeouts and 4.0 walks per nine innings.
This season, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound broad-shouldered righty has been practically unhittable through his first 10 appearances, including eight starts, at the minors’ toughest level. Throwing 44.0 innings with the Tulsa Drillers, the organization’s Double-A affiliate, Sheehan owns a whopper of a strikeout total (76) while allowing just 18 free passes. He’s currently sporting a 1.64 ERA, a 3.41 FIP, and a 3.01 xFIP.
I scouted his four-inning, nine punchout performance against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (05/23/2023). And here’s what I saw:
| 05/24/23 | CS | SW | Foul | Ball | Contact | Total | % | CSW | Strike % | Velocity |
| FB | 8 | 20 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 57 | 75.00% | 49.12% | 64.91% | 95, 97, 98, 99 |
| CB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.63% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 76, 79 |
| SL | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 14.47% | 27.27% | 45.45% | 88, 90 |
| CH | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7.89% | 16.67% | 50.00% | 86 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.32% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
The most impressive part about Sheehan’s start: he generated 20 – TWENTY! – swings-and-misses on his fastball that day. He only threw 37 heaters for strikes, by the way. The former Boston College alum isn’t shy about what he wants to do. And that’s to throw it by every single hitter. The plus-plus offering was sitting comfortably in the 95- to 98-mph and touched a tick higher at least once that game. It’s explosive with noticeable giddy up and hop. I don’t have access to any data, but it has to be an absolute spin monster. Northwest Arkansas knew what was coming – hell, he threw it three-quarters of the time – and they couldn’t do anything with it.
His second best pitch is a plus changeup with plenty of arm side run and fade. Not only does he throw it with phenomenal arm speed, but there’s tremendous velocity separation combined with the impressive movement.
Sheehan mixes in an interesting power slider, sitting in the 88- to 90-mph range. It’s inconsistent, sometimes resembling a late-darting cutter, other times looking like a traditional slider. It’ll flash above-average a few times. He’ll also mix in a very rate mid- to upper-70s curveball that he uses to catch hitters completely off guard.
While Sheehan’s throwing far more strikes than he has in the past, the command’s a 40 – but, again, it doesn’t need to be better to be a quality big league arm – at least until the velo drops.
There’s a very high, Spencer Strider-like ceiling here, but that comes with some significant risk as well. Can he consistently throw his heaters past big league bats beyond one trip through the lineup? Can he command the strike zone well enough at the game’s pinnacle level? He’s likely going to be somewhere in the 40- to 60- range on everyone’s midseason prospect lists as well.
