Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 75 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 55 | Splitter: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Doyle was Coastal Carolina's most effective starter as a freshman in 2023, then filled the same role at Mississippi last spring. He averaged 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which would have ranked 13th in NCAA Division I (behind four 2023 first-rounders) if he hadn't fallen an inning shy of qualifying. The 2025 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, he led D-I in strikeout rate (15.4 per nine innings) after transferring again and headlining Tennessee's rotation, vaulting himself into top-five-pick consideration.

Doyle's success centers primarily around his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph during his sophomore season and now operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 100. It has been the most untouchable heater in college baseball this year, coming out of a high release point and exploding at the top of the zone, and he topped D-I by finishing 105 strikeouts with the pitch. His 82-85 mph slider has become a solid offering but he leaves it in the middle of the plate too often, which is also an issue with his upper-80s cutter.

While he throws his fastball nearly two-thirds of the time, Doyle has four effective pitches after switching to using an upper-80s splitter as his changeup. Despite his dominance this spring, there are concerns about his ability to succeed as a starter at the next level because he has an unorthodox delivery and constantly throws with maximum intent. He does provide consistent strikes and has held his stuff deep into games and throughout this season.

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Splitter: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Doyle was a constant mover in college, going from Coastal Carolina (2023) to Mississippi (2024) to Tennessee (2025) while leaving a lot of missed bats in his wake. He had an increased focus on conditioning as a junior with the Volunteers, losing 19 pounds, and took off just in time for the Draft, winning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors while leading Division I with a 42.6 percent strikeout rate over 95 2/3 innings. He appropriately shot up Draft boards and went fifth overall to the Cardinals, who signed him for $7.25 million. Doyle rounded out his year with brief trips to Single-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield. 

The 6-foot-2 southpaw comes with a lot of intensity on the mound -- he credits having a chip on his shoulder as a northeasterner from New Hampshire -- and his delivery is both high-tempo and high-energy. He gets down the mound to generate a low release height but blows his 95-97 mph four-seamer (touching 100) past and typically above bats. Doyle relied on the heater heavily in school, and for good reason, it generated whiffs at a 40 percent rate. He played off that with an 84-87 mph splitter that was just as effective, if less often used.

A natural pronator, Doyle will have to work to find a set of breaking balls that can fool pro hitters. He’ll display a low-80s version -- he’s shown it as a curveball but it has more slurvy/slider shape -- that can catch too much of the plate, and a harder version in the upper 80s that acts like a cutter. Some evaluators see him as a future high-octane closer, while others believe the current ingredients are too good to keep him away from starting, noting that Max Scherzer also came with concerns about his high level of intent. 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 75 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 55 | Splitter: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Doyle was Coastal Carolina's most effective starter as a freshman in 2023, then filled the same role at Mississippi the following spring. He averaged 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which would have ranked 13th in NCAA Division I (behind four 2023 first-rounders) if he hadn't fallen an inning shy of qualifying. The 2025 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, he led D-I in strikeout rate (15.4 per nine innings) after transferring again and headlining Tennessee's rotation. The Cardinals selected him fifth overall in July and signed him for $7.25 million.

Doyle's success centers primarily around his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph during his sophomore season and now operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 100. It has been the most untouchable heater in college baseball this year, coming out of a high release point and exploding at the top of the zone -- he topped D-I by finishing 105 strikeouts with the pitch. His 82-85 mph slider has become a solid offering but he leaves it in the middle of the plate too often, which is also an issue with his upper-80s cutter.

While he throws his fastball nearly two-thirds of the time, Doyle has four effective pitches after switching to using an upper-80s splitter as his changeup. Despite his dominance this spring, there are concerns about his ability to succeed as a starter at the next level because he has an unorthodox delivery and constantly throws with maximum intent. He does provide consistent strikes and held his stuff deep into games throughout his junior season.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	09/09/2025	LHP Liam Doyle assigned to Springfield Cardinals from Palm Beach Cardinals.
	09/04/2025	LHP Liam Doyle assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals from FCL Cardinals.
	08/04/2025	FCL Cardinals activated LHP Liam Doyle.
	07/16/2025	LHP Liam Doyle assigned to FCL Cardinals.
	07/16/2025	St. Louis Cardinals signed LHP Liam Doyle.
	06/03/2025	LHP Liam Doyle assigned to College Workout.
	02/21/2025	LHP Liam Doyle assigned to Tennessee Volunteers.