Bailey Ober didn't take it seriously when it released the top prospects for Minnesota twins in December 2019. The towering 6-foot-9 right-hander ranked first. 40 has 35+ FV. At that time, our prospect analysis team was not alone and had relatively low expectations for him. American BaseballProspect Handbook in 2020 did not include Ober in the 30-depth rankings of the twin system, and MLB Pipeline did not find space for him in his top 30.
Despite the lack of hype, Ober is now the midstream tay column for Minnesota rotation. He won a 12-round draft pick from Charleston College of Charleston in 2017, and he made his debut in May 2021, and he has since continued to log in to the 3.76 ERA, while 95 innings of 3.89 FIP, including 510 innings. Ober has beaten Rubber seven times so far this season and has a 4-1 record with 3.72 ERA and 3.85 FIP.
What was his Fangraphs scout report like at that time? Furthermore, what does he think about this over the years? To find out, I shared something written by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel and asked Ober to respond to it.
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“There is almost no precedent for those who have had a huge success in speed, but it's clear why his mid-80s fastball has been dominating at this point.”
“My Velo fell that year,” Ober said. “I was 92-94 before that. My mechanism was terrible. We tried to do something, but it went in the wrong direction. But I also had the best success statistically. My era was [0.69] That season, that's why no one is rushing to change anything. I was able to blow up the guys at 88 mph. ”
“His size and deceptive release points create tough angles on his stuff.”
“Yes, I threw more on the top,” Ober explained. “My delivery service is more stylish. My expansion is playing a big role in it. My fastball is joining men. They don’t want it to really stay real and carry, so it will beat them.
“In 2020, I obviously didn't get into the game because of this,” he added. “It took me a whole year to make a remodel, fix the mechanical stuff and send my velvet back to where I was before. I was able to do that and was lucky enough to add it to the 40-man roster.”
When asked if his release point dropped, the savvy right said it was true, although he didn't know the exact number. According to Savant, it fell to three-quarters of the slot, rather than the high issuance point he had when the Fanggraphs scout report. In 2021, Ober's first season after dropping the release point, he had an arm angle of 36 degrees. His lowest seasonal release point is 31 degrees in 2023. So far this year, it's 34 degrees.
“He missed the bats at the top of the area.”
“It might be my approach angle,” he thinks. “My release point is also extended. Being able to throw from that angle from my height… guys just can’t see it.
“Ober has also added a change.”
“It’s still there,” he said of his main speed pitch. “It's a change, but a little bit the same. I throw it away…it's just another part of the ball. It spins on another axis, but it's the best course I've had since high school. I've been playing in the secondary league and then I keep bringing these initial changes into 2021 and then I'm stuck in the fight in 2021. Swap a lot.”
“It may serve as a relief.”
“I think I am [exceeding expectations]Ober said. “I think this has always been the case.”
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Previous “Old Scout Report Revisit” interviews can be conducted through these links: Cody Bellinger, Matthew Boyd, Dylan Scease, Matt Chapman, Erick Fedde, Kyle Freeland, Randal Grichuk, Ian Hopp, Jeff Hoffman, Matthew Liberatore, Matthew Liberatore, Sean Newcomb, Sean Newcomb, Max Scherzer.
