Miami Marlins draft spotlight: Vincenzo Aiello, 28th round

The Miami Marlins continued to restock their lower level pitching depth with in the 28th round. Vincenzo Aiello marked their fifth consecutive pitcher selected.

Miami Marlins 28th round selection Vincenzo Aiello is the quintessential three true outcomes pitcher. His strikeout numbers are otherworldly, but he’s struggled with his walk rate in the past and he induces far too many flyballs for comfort.

Miami has had success with his type though. He’s a big, beefy right-hander that will come out of the pen. Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 220-pounds, Aiello has the goods to blow it by just about anybody.

The Oklahoma Sooner put together a successful campaign in his first taste of professional baseball and undoubtedly earned an invitation back next year.

Aiello made only two appearances in the Gulf Coast League before being promoted to short-season Batavia. He was impressive, striking out 31 batters in only 19.1 innings; 41.8-percent of batters Aiello faced were set down on strikes.

His home run totals are surprising low through his first year of pro ball. He surrendered only two home runs in his 15 appearances, but as he advances, better hitters will be better able to take advantage of mistakes. More than half of the balls put in play against him were flyballs.

Aiello managed to avoid issuing walks at a high-clip as well. Only eight-percent of batters reached via the base-on-balls. His 2.33 ERA is an accurate representation of his performance at Batavia, and he his 1.086 WHIP sets high expectations for his second year.

Aiello has the makes of a one-inning specialist if he can sustain his success through higher levels of professional baseball. Hitters will become tougher to set down on strikes, and that’s been his bread and butter since college.

Projections

Vincenzo Aiello fits the Drew Steckenrider mold. He doesn’t do much dancing around, coming right after hitters and daring them to hit his fastball. Most of the time, they can’t. Aiello is already 23-years old, so the Miami Marlins will aggressively advance him if he has continued success.

There is no doubt that he has an arm capable of coming out of contributing out of major league bullpen. But right now, Aiello is more of a thrower than a pitcher. His control was a pleasant surprise in year one; he allowed 18-walks in only 24.2 innings at Oklahoma.

He’ll likely never be asked to turn over a lineup, so a two-pitch mix will serve him well in short bursts of action.

Next: Miami Marlins draft spotlight: Gunner Leger, 26th round

If all goes according to plan, you might see Aiello make his debut in 2020 or 2021; he’ll be 26 or 27 years old.

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