Choate led NCAA Division II with 16.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 2022, including games of 19 and 18 whiffs, and became the first Assumption (Mass.) player drafted in 29 years when the Giants selected him in the ninth round. Signed for an under-slot $87,500, he has exceeded expectations early in his pro career. He has breezed through the lower levels of the system and held his own in the Arizona Fall League last offseason.
Though he doesn't light up radar guns, Choate continues to miss bats with a fastball that parks at 90-92 mph and maxes out at 94. His heater confounds hitters because he uses his 6-foot-6 frame and low arm slot to create unusually wide angle and a deceptively flat approach angle. He uses a solid 78-82 mph changeup with sink to keep batters off balance and also has a fringy slider with similar velocity.
More athletic than the typical 6-foot-6, 249-pounder, Choate does a nice job of keeping his long limbs in sync. He patterns his mechanics after Chris Sale's and repeats them well, allowing him to pound the strike zone with his fastball and changeup. He's a potential back-of-the-rotation starter who'll have to keep proving himself at every step of the Minors.
