If you were to line up 4th round pick RHP Tim Elliott and 3rd round pick RHP Levi Stoudt in a bullpen, you might see a very similar profile. Elliott is a 6’1, 200 lbs righty working 90-94 with his heater and getting most of his whiffs on a late biting changeup. He’ll mix in a slider and curveball, but both could use work. The difference is one of track record and quality of competition.
Elliott is a junior draftee out of the University of Georgia, where he had been predominantly a reliever until this year. Refining his command, Elliott was one of the better pitchers in the SEC, and certainly the best midweek starter, running a 2.93 ERA and a 60/21 K/BB through 61.0 innings in 13 starts. Elliott works a bit more high-effort than Stoudt but the results have been impressive, as is his confidence.
“My stuff is better than theirs and I’m going to do the best I can,” Elliott said. “We got the job done and pretty much didn’t change the approach at all.”
Elliott comes in ranked lower than Stoudt all the same - 244th by Baseball America, getting a 35 FV grade from FanGraphs, and outside MLB Pipeline’s reach. Here’s video of Elliott working against Texas A&M recently.
At his best, Elliott has been ultra-efficient, throwing a CG SO Maddux against Florida Atlantic this year, but the low-90s velo, size, and short track record in the rotation no doubt are question marks that push him to a 4/5 starter or bullpen expectation.
That is now FIVE straight college pitchers for the Mariners. There are things to like about each pick, particularly Kirby and Campbell, and the refreshed depth of the pitching in the system is absolutely wonderful. It has to be said all the same that this is a surprising run in a draft not hailed as rich in college pitching depth.