Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., has produced a good amount of Draft talent, most notably former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis. After three pitchers from the program got drafted a year ago, including current Giants’ Top 30 prospect Eric Silva, this year could be Gough’s turn, especially after he went to the MLB Draft Combine and struck out all five batters he faced in game action.

Gough is an aggressive right-hander with arm strength who has the chance to have at least three average or better offerings in the future. His fastball can touch 95 mph, but typically sits in the 91- to 94-mph range, thrown with good spin rates up in the zone. While he typically features a slurvy breaking ball in the upper 70s, he showed a distinct slider and curve, the latter of which led to three of his strikeouts at the Combine. He has some feel for his changeup, but it’s a work in progress.

The 6-foot-2 righty is more control over command right now, but he does a solid job of finding the strike zone. He attacks and goes right after hitters, leading some to wonder what he would look like in a relief role where he could just blow it out for an inning at a time. He’s committed to Oregon State, where he’d likely get a chance to start.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Coming from a JSerra Catholic High School program that has produced big leaguers like Royce Lewis and Austin Hedges, Gough passed up on an opportunity to pitch at Oregon State to sign as a ninth-rounder in the 2022 Draft with an over-slot $275,000 bonus after being one of the standouts at the MLB Draft Combine that summer. His pro debut in 2023 was limited, amassing just 30 innings with Single-A Modesto as the Mariners built him up slowly, and he missed three months of the season with an oblique injury. He headed back to Modesto to start the 2024 season with better early results.

Gough’s stuff doesn’t jump off the page, but his arsenal does have some interesting characteristics. His fastball sits 91-92 mph, but it plays up some with good spin and ride up in the zone and excellent inverted vertical break. His best secondary pitch is now his changeup. He still has a traditional slider and curve but doesn’t use them much, instead leaning on a sweeper that’s fringy right now.

While Gough’s walk rates have been a little high at the outset of his career, he tends to repeat his delivery and has decent feel, leading to confidence he’ll be a better strike-thrower for the long haul. The Mariners plan to let him keep developing in a rotation, but it’s hard to be a fastball-changeup starter without a bigger heater. He does like to go right after hitters, and the Mariners love his makeup, making one wonder if a move to the bullpen might suit him better down the road.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Gough so badly wanted an opportunity to pitch in the Mariners’ system that he opted to forgo a commitment to Oregon State, culminating with the club selecting him in the ninth round in ’22 and giving him an over-slot bonus of $275,000 to sign him. He raved about all the success stories of pitching in the Seattle pipeline, and in turn, the club was impressed with his big performance at the MLB Draft Combine, where he K’d each of the five batters he faced. They also loved his social and emotional makeup.

Since then, player development can’t stop raving about the arm, aptitude and work ethic. His fastball can touch 95 mph, but typically sits 91-94 mph, thrown with good spin rates up in the zone. While he typically features a slurvy breaking ball in the upper-70s, he showed a distinct slider and curve. Like the rest of Seattle’s high school pitching selections, he didn’t pitch competitively at an affiliate or in the Arizona Complex League the rest of the year, a health-dictated decision.

How the Mariners deploy Gough in the coming years will be of great intrigue. Stuff-wise, he profiles more for relief, and he has the go-right-after hitters mentality for the role, but he does have the arsenal and is around the zone enough to give him an opportunity to start.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., has produced a good amount of Draft talent, most notably former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis. After three pitchers from the program got drafted a year ago, including current Giants’ Top 30 prospect Eric Silva, this year was Gough’s turn. Gough opened some eyes at the MLB Draft Combine, striking out all five batters he faced in game action. He was taken in the ninth round and signed with the Mariners for $275,000.

Gough is an aggressive right-hander with arm strength who has the chance to have at least three average or better offerings in the future. His fastball can touch 95 mph, but typically sits in the 91- to 94-mph range, thrown with good spin rates up in the zone. While he typically features a slurvy breaking ball in the upper 70s, he showed a distinct slider and curve, the latter of which led to three strikeouts at the Combine. He has some feel for his changeup, but it’s a work in progress.

The 6-foot-2 righty is more control over command right now, but he does a solid job of finding the strike zone. He attacks and goes right after hitters, leading some to wonder what he would look like in a relief role in which he could just blow it out for an inning at a time, though expect the Mariners to give him every chance to start.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/28/2024	Modesto Nuts placed RHP Tyler Gough on the 7-day injured list.
	08/27/2024	Modesto Nuts placed RHP Tyler Gough on the 7-day injured list.
	09/09/2023	Modesto Nuts activated RHP Tyler Gough from the 7-day injured list.
	06/07/2023	Modesto Nuts placed RHP Tyler Gough on the 7-day injured list.
	06/07/2023	Modesto Nuts placed RHP Tyler Gough on the 7-day injured list.
	04/03/2023	RHP Tyler Gough assigned to Modesto Nuts from Mariners Organization.
	04/03/2023	Modesto Nuts activated RHP Tyler Gough.
	08/16/2022	RHP Tyler Gough assigned to Mariners Organization.
	07/26/2022	Seattle Mariners signed RHP Tyler Gough.
	06/11/2022	College Workout activated RHP Tyler Gough.
	06/11/2022	RHP Tyler Gough assigned to College Workout.
	07/13/2021	PG National 7 - Orange activated RHP Tyler Gough.