Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

In 2022, high school right-hander JR Ritchie garnered a lot of buzz coming out of the Pacific Northwest and ended up going No. 35 overall to the Braves. Multiple scouts have compared Schoenwetter, a standout from Southern California, to Ritchie in terms of his stuff and athleticism. Schoenwetter put himself on the map with strong performances over the summer, particularly at the Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Schoenwetter has the chance to have three at least above-average offerings in the future. While he typically throws his fastball in the 92-94 mph range, it plays better than some harder fastballs because of its spin and his ability to command it up in the zone, leading to plenty of swings-and-misses. His spike curve has hard, downer depth in the zone and has the chance to be a true out pitch, though he sometimes doesn’t stay on top of it, lessening its bite. He sells his fading changeup with good fastball arm speed, and he’s confident in throwing it against all hitters.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander is athletic and projectable on the mound, repeats his delivery well and should have solid command as a result. The UC Santa Barbara recruit gets high marks for his makeup and focus on the mound, and he could end up landing in the same area of the Draft as Ritchie, who went in Compensation Round A.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Schoenwetter made a name for himself on the summer showcase circuit in 2022, standing out on a national stage at the Perfect Game All-American Classic. A solid senior season at his Santa Barbara-based high school put him in top two round conversations based on talent, but there was a commitment to stay home and go to UC Santa Barbara to contend with. The Reds, by virtue of having the No. 7 overall pick and a Competitive Balance Round A selection, had one of the larger bonus pools in baseball and were able to snag the athletic right-hander in the fourth round by giving him $1.9 million to sign.

A prototypical projectable prep pitcher, Schoenwetter enters pro ball with the foundations of an exciting three-pitch mix. His fastball currently sits in the low-90s, but not only could there be more in the tank, it already plays up because he throws it with high spin rates and misses a ton of bats up in the zone. He uses a spike curve to get swings-and-misses as well, typically thrown in the mid-70s with hard, downer depth to it. His fading changeup, thrown with excellent arm speed, is a third at least above-average offering.

As the 6-foot-3 Schoenwetter adds strength to his frame, he should be able to continue to repeat his delivery -- which does have some effort at times -- and find the strike zone consistently. There are always things high school arms need to improve as they begin the climb, and if Schoenwetter can maintain his stuff and stay on top of his breaking ball consistently, he has the chance to grow into a mid-rotation starter.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

In 2022, high school right-hander JR Ritchie garnered a lot of buzz coming out of the Pacific Northwest and ended up going No. 35 overall to the Braves. Multiple scouts have compared Schoenwetter, a standout from Southern California, to Ritchie in terms of his stuff and athleticism. Schoenwetter put himself on the map with strong performances over the summer, particularly at the Perfect Game All-American Classic, and while he was taken in the fourth round by the Reds, his over-slot bonus of $1.9 million to sign him away from his UC Santa Barbara commitment was equivalent to second-round money.

Schoenwetter has the chance to have three at least above-average offerings in the future. While he typically throws his fastball in the 92-94 mph range, it plays better than some harder fastballs because of its spin and his ability to command it up in the zone, leading to plenty of swings-and-misses. His spike curve has hard, downer depth in the zone and has the chance to be a true out pitch, though he sometimes doesn’t stay on top of it, lessening its bite. He sells his fading changeup with good fastball arm speed, and he’s confident in throwing it against all hitters.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander is athletic and projectable on the mound, repeats his delivery well and should have solid command as a result. The Reds saved money with three of their first four selections enabling them to sign Sammy Stafura and Schoenwetter, who could develop into a solid mid-rotation starter.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/06/2024	RHP Cole Schoenwetter assigned to Daytona Tortugas from ACL Reds.
	05/03/2024	ACL Reds activated RHP Cole Schoenwetter.
	08/10/2023	RHP Cole Schoenwetter assigned to Reds Organization.
	07/21/2023	RHP Cole Schoenwetter assigned to ACL Reds.
	07/21/2023	Cincinnati Reds signed RHP Cole Schoenwetter.
	06/14/2023	RHP Cole Schoenwetter assigned to College Workout.
	07/18/2022	RHP Cole Schoenwetter and assigned to High School Workout.
	07/18/2022	High School Workout activated RHP Cole Schoenwetter.
	02/03/2022	RHP Cole Schoenwetter and assigned to Visiting Team.