Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 70 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Reifert has bounced all over the baseball map, first signing with the Brewers for $20,000 as a nondrafted free agent in 2020 and then getting flipped to the Rays a year later for Mike Brosseau. After a 2022 season in which he was sent back to the Florida complex to iron out command issues, he experienced his big breakout in the 2022 Arizona Fall League by striking out 25 and allowing only one hit over 11 2/3 scoreless innings. Right shoulder inflammation limited him in 2023, but he got back on the horse with a 1.96 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings at Double-A Montgomery this season. The Rays didn’t add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason, and the Nationals selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander’s 82-85 mph slider is the star of the show, and he pitches like it, throwing it 52 percent of the time at Double-A in 2024. Its sharp vertical drop out of a lower three-quarters delivery befuddles hitters, and they whiffed on 70 percent of their swings against the breaking ball last year. It’s so effective at backfooting that Reifert even throws it plenty against lefties, whom he held to a .117 average in ’24. Reifert’s fastball comes with velo around 94-97 but is more ordinary by comparison. It can still sneak up on hitters sitting on the breaking stuff.

Reifert has experienced serious control issues at times in his career, though his walk rate with Montgomery was a more modest 9.9 percent. He’s at his best when he isn’t nibbling and lets natural movement get his pitches to the edges of the zone. The slider alone will give him a terrific chance at sticking in Washington’s bullpen, and he has high-leverage potential if the command holds.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 70 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Reifert took an unusual path to prospect status. Selected by the Rangers in the 30th round of the 2018 Draft out of North Iowa Area Community College, the right-handed reliever returned to school and transferred to Central Missouri for the 2020 season. He only pitched 2 2/3 innings there before that spring season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reifert went unselected in the shortened ‘20 Draft but signed with the Brewers for $20,000. He pitched one season in Milwaukee’s system, striking out 103 batters in 60 innings while posting a 2.10 ERA across two levels, then the Rays picked him up in a November 2021 swap for utility infielder/postseason hero Mike Brosseau.

Reifert’s first year in Tampa Bay’s system couldn’t have begun much worse or finished much better. He lost his command in April, walking seven and hitting five of the 24 batters he faced for Double-A Montgomery, and earned a demotion to the Florida complex to get right. He moved to High-A Bowling Green and pitched fine, with a 3.67 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 20 appearances. Then he went to the Arizona Fall League and blew everyone away with his wipeout slider, striking out 25 of the 40 batters he faced with only four walks and one hit allowed in 11 2/3 innings over eight scoreless appearances.

There might not be a player in the Rays’ big league camp with a wider variance of possible outcomes for this season. He’s likely to begin the season back in Double-A, but if he’s the incredible pitcher he was in the Fall League -- some evaluators say as good as any reliever they’ve seen in the AFL -- he could be a big league bullpen weapon this season. If his command falters again, he may be a middle reliever in the Minors. With a mid-90s fastball and a low-80s slider that frequently freezes hitters in the box, it’s just a matter of control for Reifert.

Awards

SOU Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

AFL Reliever of the Year

Year	Team
2022

AFL Rising Stars

Year	Team
2022

AFL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
10/29/2022

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	12/11/2024	Washington Nationals purchased contract of RHP Evan Reifert from Tampa Bay Rays in the Rule 5 Draft.
	09/22/2024	Montgomery Biscuits activated RHP Evan Reifert.
	09/19/2024	RHP Evan Reifert roster status changed by Montgomery Biscuits.
	05/12/2024	Montgomery Biscuits activated RHP Evan Reifert from the 7-day injured list.
	04/17/2024	Montgomery Biscuits placed RHP Evan Reifert on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 16, 2024.
	04/02/2024	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Montgomery Biscuits from Bowling Green Hot Rods.
	03/07/2024	Tampa Bay Rays Prospects activated RHP Evan Reifert.
	08/09/2023	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Bowling Green Hot Rods from Montgomery Biscuits.
	07/28/2023	Montgomery Biscuits sent RHP Evan Reifert on a rehab assignment to FCL Rays.
	04/06/2023	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Montgomery Biscuits from Bowling Green Hot Rods.
	04/06/2023	Montgomery Biscuits placed RHP Evan Reifert on the 7-day injured list.
	01/19/2023	RHP Evan Reifert roster status changed by Tampa Bay Rays.
	01/19/2023	Tampa Bay Rays invited non-roster RHP Evan Reifert to spring training.
	11/05/2022	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to American League Fall Stars.
	09/16/2022	Mesa Solar Sox activated RHP Evan Reifert.
	09/16/2022	Mesa Solar Sox activated RHP Evan Reifert.
	06/30/2022	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Bowling Green Hot Rods from FCL Rays.
	04/26/2022	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to FCL Rays from Montgomery Biscuits.
	04/26/2022	FCL Rays activated RHP Evan Reifert.
	04/07/2022	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Montgomery Biscuits.
	11/16/2021	RHP Evan Reifert and assigned to Bowling Green Hot Rods.
	11/13/2021	Milwaukee Brewers traded RHP Evan Reifert to Tampa Bay Rays for 3B Mike Brosseau.
	05/25/2021	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Carolina Mudcats.
	05/03/2021	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Carolina Mudcats from AZL Brewers Blue.
	07/24/2020	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to AZL Brewers Blue.
	07/24/2020	Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent RHP Evan Reifert to a minor league contract.
	01/24/2020	RHP Evan Reifert assigned to Central Missouri Mules.