Reynolds was a solid two-way player coming out of the California high-school ranks, and the Marlins signed him away from Rice with a $600,000 bonus as a 2016 fourth-rounder. He showed impressive power but could never make consistent contact as a hitter and transitioned to the mound full-time in June 2021. His stuff earned him a 40-man spot in November 2022, and Miami moved him to the Padres in a deal that sent Ryan Weathers the other way. After spending the first half of the season with Triple-A El Paso, Reynolds made his Major League debut with San Diego on July 14.
The 6-foot-8 right-hander became a pitcher because of his high-octane velocity. He’s touched as high as 99.8 mph in 2024 and will generally settle in the 95-97 mph range. The pitch comes with a bit of arm-side run, allowing him to work up and in against righties. He’ll work in a hard-breaking upper-80s slider with bite, but the pitch can be inconsistent as he’ll hang a few. Reynolds has also shown a low-80s sweeper, upper-80s changeup and upper-70s curveball at times at Triple-A in 2024 but shelved those in July as he closed in on the Majors.
From a pure stuff level, you can see why Reynolds pushed for the bigs as a reliever. But to stick there, he needs to work on finding the zone more consistently. He walked 27 in 16 innings with El Paso last season after the trade and showed modest gains with his BB rate this season, though they’re still high for any level. His fastball-slider combo will keep getting him looks in The Show.
Reynolds drew scouting interest as both a hitter and a pitcher as a California high schooler, and Miami had him focus on slugging after signing him away from Rice with an over-slot $600,000 bonus in 2016's fourth round. Though he showcased some of the best raw power in the system, he also struck out at a 44 percent clip while slashing .178/.287/.344 in five pro seasons. He has developed rapidly since moving to the mound full-time in June 2021 and showed improved stuff and control last season, after which he claimed a spot on the 40-man roster. The Padres acquired him from the Marlins at the 2023 Deadline in a deal that sent Ryan Weathers the other way.
Reynolds' fastball hit 95 mph in his first game as a pro pitcher and sat in the low 90s in 2021 before jumping to 96-98 mph and touching 100 with nice carry up in the zone last season. He has surprising feel for killing spin on his upper-80s changeup, which shows flashes of becoming a plus pitch with fade and sink. His tight mid-80s slider has its moments as well and should give him at least an average third offering.
Though he's 6-foot-8 and relatively inexperienced on the mound, Reynolds is learning to keep his long limbs in sync in his delivery. He cut his walk rate from 15.4 percent in Single-A in 2021 to 12.1 percent in High-A and 9.3 in Double-A last year. It settled right around there in Triple-A this season before the trade. The Marlins believed his failures as a hitter toughened him mentally, and he relished the challenge of closing games in 2022, when he starred in the Double-A Southern League playoffs as Pensacola won the championship. His velo could be useful to San Diego’s bullpen in short order.
The Marlins went for sheer upside when they selected Reynolds in the fourth round out of Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) High. At 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, he attracted as much if not more interest as a right-handed pitcher than he did as an outfielder. However, Reynolds' athleticism and raw power from the left side of the plate intrigued Miami enough to give him an above-slot bonus of $600,000 as its fourth-round pick.
Reynolds' size and physicality gives him big-time power potential, as he's already capable of hitting tape-measure home runs. But with that size and power comes a swing that has considerable length as well as timing issues, and he struck out in 37 percent of his plate appearances in the Rookie Gulf Coast League in his pro debut. Reynolds is athletic for his size and moves well in the outfield, while his plus arm that produced low-90s fastball off the mound in high school is a clean fit in right field.
Reynolds draws physical comparisons to Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton based on his size, and the Marlins hope that the teenager can develop into a similar offensive force. Should things not work out for Reynolds as a position player, his size and potentially power arm give the organization an interesting fallback option.
The Marlins went for sheer upside with the selection of Reynolds in the fourth round out of Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) High. At 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, he attracted as much if not more interest as a right-handed pitcher than he did as an outfielder. However, Reynolds' raw power from the left side of the plate was too good to pass up and intrigued Miami enough to give him an above-slot bonus of $600,000 as its fourth-round pick.
Reynolds' size and physicality gives him big-time power potential, as he's already capable of hitting tape-measure home runs. But as is the case with many young hitters similar in size, his swing has considerable length and will need to be cleaned up as he develops. Reynolds is athletic for his size and moves well in the outfield, while his plus arm that produced low-90s fastball off the mound in high school is a clean fit in right field.
Reynolds draws physical comparisons to Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton based on his size, and the Marlins hope that the teenager can develop into a similar offensive force. Should things not work out for Reynolds as a position player, his size and potentially power arm give the organization an interesting fallback option.
How this works:
This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement.
On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown.
Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release.
On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
Team
Avg HR Trot
Actual HR
xHR
HR-xHR
Doubters
Mostly Gone
No Doubters
No Doubter %
2024
--
0
0.0
0
1
0
0
--
Player
--
0
0.0
0
1
0
0
--
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Player
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here