A big, strong two-way player initially from the Georgia high school ranks, Ross began his college career at Eastern Kentucky. After pitching just four relief innings as a freshman in the shortened 2020 season, Ross switched gears to pitch for Northwest Florida Junior College in 2021. He first put his name on the map during a dominant turn in the Florida Collegiate Summer League, after which some teams tried to sign him, then threw well at Major League Baseball’s Regional Scouting Series event in Georgia last fall before showing off his power stuff in the JUCO ranks this spring.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Ross is all about power. He can crank his fastball up to 99 mph and will sit in the mid-90s with ease, though he can exert too much energy in trying to light up the radar gun at times, moving it well in and out and elevating it well when he’s locked in. His best secondary pitch might be his splitter, which looks just like his fastball coming out of his hand, then disappears off the table in the upper-80s. His slider comes with a similar look and velocity with more cutter action to it than slider-like break. He does have a changeup, but he doesn’t throw it much.
Ross has struggled with command at times but has a sound enough delivery where some scouts believe he’ll find the strike zone consistently enough at the next level. He could use something a bit softer in his repertoire, but he has the weapons and durability to have the chance to start, which should allow him to get taken in the top five rounds, though he has a commitment to Georgia if the Draft doesn’t work out.
Ross moved all over the collegiate spectrum, spending time at Eastern Kentucky (2020), Northwest Florida State College (2021) and Georgia (2022). But he lasted only two starts with the Bulldogs before needing Tommy John surgery, and the elbow procedure pushed him down into the 13th round, where the Mets took and signed him for $125,000. A TJ revision pushed his pro debut back to September 2024, and after a trip to the Arizona Fall League, he was ready for a healthy breakout in ’25. Ross accomplished just that, posting a 2.17 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 54 relief innings across three levels before getting called up (but going unused) by New York in late September. His long-awaited debut finally came on Sept. 1 this year.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander can run his four-seamer up to 102 mph and generally sits 96-98 with it. The heater also comes with above-average extension, putting it right on top of hitters. But the velocity is the biggest standout there, and it doesn’t miss as many bats as expected, making it more plus than plus-plus. Ross uses his 87-90 mph splitter as his primary weapon against lefties; it’s averaged only 547 rpm at the Minors’ top level in ‘26, making it a real spin killer. Ross’ upper-80s slider dominated righty bats with limited gloveside movement, just enough to give him something the other way. He also occasionally flips in a mid-80s curveball.
Ross’ walk rate exploded to 17.3 percent at Syracuse last year and has held close to there this summer; without a big breaker or armside runner, the movement profile might make him more predictable horizontally, limiting the chase he needs to dominate. His control will be the biggest determining factor in his future MLB role because batters can’t touch his stuff when they do swing.
Ross bounced from Eastern Kentucky in the shortened 2020 season to the junior-college ranks at Northwest Florida State College in 2021 to the big time at Georgia for 2022, only to need Tommy John surgery two starts into his time with the Bulldogs. The Mets still took him in the 13th round that summer and signed him for $125,000. Ross needed another revision surgery on the UCL in ‘23 and didn’t make his pro debut until Sept. 7, 2024, before making up for more lost time in the Arizona Fall League. He’s been a revelation this summer, climbing from High-A to Triple-A as a reliever in his age-24 campaign.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander brings a ton of heat with a four-seamer he’s run up to 102 mph this season but generally sits around 96-99. He generates seven feet of extension as well, putting that fastball right on top of hitters and giving them little time to react. Ross has thrown his 88-91 mph splitter more than his fastball in the early going at Triple-A, and that’s true to both righties and lefties. It’s a real spin killer below 900 rpm and mirrors the slight armside movement of the heater with 7-8 mph of separation and 16 extra inches of drop, making hitters look defenseless when they swing too early. A hard upper-80s slider gives him something moving gloveside, and he’ll flip in the occasional mid-80s curveball for a breaking ball with more depth.
Ross is still finding his command as he gains innings coming off of both surgeries, and that will be a process that could extend beyond his impending Major League debut. The velocity and extension will always give him a shot at blowing by hitters in a bullpen role, so long as he can keep this healthy streak going.
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.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
! 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
