Scouting Report

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

Tom Candiotti pitched for parts of 16 years in the big leagues, floating his knuckleball to a career WAR over 40. While his son, Clark, hasn’t followed in the family knuckler business, he should get a chance to pitch professionally. It hasn’t been an easy path, with Candiotti pitching at five schools in five years, starting at St. Mary’s in 2020, spending two seasons at two different junior colleges (Vernon College in 2021 and Grayson County Community College in 2022), heading to Wichita State in 2023 and finishing his journey at Arizona this season. A consistent season in the Wildcats’ weekend rotation has made him a very intriguing Day 2 senior sign option for teams.

A 6-foot-4 right-hander, Candiotti proved to be a durable starter with three or four pitches at his disposal. His fastball tops out at 96-97 mph, and he pitches comfortably at around 93 mph. He backs it up with two distinct breaking pitches, a sharper, shorter mid-80s slider and a more power 12-to-6 downer type curve thrown in the 78-82 mph range, with both potentially being above-average offerings in the future. He does have a changeup that is usable, but he more often than not uses his two breaking balls as offspeed options.

Because he’s already 23, there might be an inclination to move him to the bullpen to get him up the ladder quickly. But Candiotti is big and strong and did an excellent job filling up the strike zone all spring, giving him all the ingredients to be a starter long-term.

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

Tom Candiotti pitched for parts of 16 years in the big leagues, floating his knuckleball to a career WAR over 40. While his son Clark hasn’t followed in the family knuckler business, he’ll get a chance to pitch professionally as the 135th overall pick in this year’s Draft. It hasn’t been an easy path, with Candiotti pitching at five schools in five years, starting at St. Mary’s in 2020, spending two seasons at two different junior colleges (Vernon College in 2021 and Grayson County Community College in 2022), heading to Wichita State in 2023 and finishing his journey at Arizona this spring. A consistent season in the Wildcats’ weekend rotation made him an intriguing Day 2 senior sign, and while he only signed for $80,000, that speaks more to his lack of leverage than his true ability.

A 6-foot-4 right-hander, Candiotti proved to be a durable starter with three or four pitches at his disposal. His fastball tops out at 96-97 mph, and he pitches comfortably at around 93. He backs it up with two distinct breaking pitches -- a sharper, shorter mid-80s slider and a more power 12-to-6 downer-type curve thrown in the 78-82 mph range, with both potentially being above-average offerings in the future. He does have a changeup that is usable, but he more often than not uses his two breaking balls as offspeed options.

Because he’s already 23, there might be an inclination to move him to the bullpen to get him up the ladder quickly. But Candiotti is big and strong and did an excellent job filling up the strike zone all spring, giving him all the ingredients to be a starter long-term.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/05/2024	RHP Clark Candiotti assigned to ACL Padres.
	07/17/2024	San Diego Padres signed RHP Clark Candiotti.
	03/06/2024	RHP Clark Candiotti assigned to Arizona Wildcats.
	06/09/2023	Brewster Whitecaps activated RHP Clark Candiotti.
	05/19/2023	RHP Clark Candiotti assigned to Wichita State Shockers.
	05/19/2023	RHP Clark Candiotti assigned to Wichita State Shockers.