Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Cutter: 50 | Slider: 70 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Fluharty was a three-year reliever at Liberty and notched 83 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings as a junior in 2022, leading the Blue Jays to take him in the fifth round. He established himself as one of the organization’s best relief arms in his first full season with a 3.52 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings between High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire. He jumped to Triple-A Buffalo for his age-22 season this summer and is knocking on the door of the Majors as an impact southpaw.

The 6-foot-2 left-hander developed his cutter-slider in college, moving away from a previous fastball-curveball-changeup mix. The cutter stands in for the heater as his primary pitch and sits 87-89 mph with sharp movement. It’s a control pitch that Fluharty can land for strikes to get ahead in counts, setting up his best pitch -- a 78-81 mph sweeper. His version of the slider, which he throws roughly 46 percent of the time, breaks 17-18 inches on average, and entering early August, it was getting whiffs on 38.1 percent of swings. Without a cambio, the sweeper is something Fluharty will use against both lefties and righties, but expectedly, he’ll face some serious splits issues, even though he can backfoot the breaking ball against opposite-site hitters.

Because he isn’t an overthrower, Fluharty has better control than a typical relief prospect. He’d be a perfect lefty specialist in a previous era of the game, but his profile is still workable in the modern age because of the individual quality of his pitches. After taking to Triple-A in ’24, he looks like a surefire Major Leaguer in some capacity, and he could get high-leverage spots if he can improve against righties. 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Cutter: 55 | Slider: 60 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

A three-year reliever at Liberty, Fluharty struck out 83 in 50 2/3 innings in his final season on campus, impressing Toronto officials enough to snag him in the fifth round of the 2022 Draft. He signed for below slot at $222,500. The southpaw had separate stints at High-A Vancouver the past two seasons but quickly jumped to Double-A New Hampshire in his first full campaign with his underlying numbers looking great through his first two months.

Fluharty keeps the ball moving with his arsenal. His upper-80s cutter comes in with late life, snapping in on righties and away from lefties to make it difficult to square up for anyone. He treats it almost like others do a fastball, though he can touch 92 mph with a four-seamer that is more mundane but sometimes sneaks up on batters. His low-80s sweeper has a longer tail than the cutter and can make left-handers look silly.

The 6-foot-2 left-hander sits on the extreme first-base side of the rubber and stands closed off from the stretch before delivering from a three-quarters angle. In other words, lefties can’t see him well, while righties have a bit better chance with a longer look at the cutter/slider. Those splits issues are worth following, but it’s looking clearer by the month Fluharty should be able to get Major League lefties out, potentially by as early as next summer.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/29/2024	LHP Mason Fluharty assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
	02/05/2024	Toronto Blue Jays invited non-roster LHP Mason Fluharty to spring training.
	05/23/2023	LHP Mason Fluharty assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians.
	05/23/2023	New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated LHP Mason Fluharty.
	02/28/2023	LHP Mason Fluharty and assigned to Toronto Blue Jays.
	08/09/2022	LHP Mason Fluharty assigned to Vancouver Canadians.
	07/26/2022	Toronto Blue Jays signed LHP Mason Fluharty.