ACE IN THE MAKING?
D-Backs prospect Cecconi’s powerful arm generates buzz
When right-hander Slade Cecconi’s name comes up, it tends to elicit one of two reactions from people in the Diamondbacks organization: They are either unabashedly enthusiastic about the club’s new frontline pitching prospect — or they recognize his talent while trying to guard their optimism with caution.
Either way, there is no denying the splash Cecconi made during his time at the club’s alternate site in September and during instructional league over the past month. He displayed an overpowering fastball, swing-and-miss offspeed stuff and good command to go along with it. He is big and physical, works with a repeatable delivery and has the kind of confidence required to be a top-of-the-rotation starter.
Which, as it turns out, is exactly what he expects to become one day.
“An ace for the Diamondbacks,” Cecconi said. “I think that’s my potential.”
When the Diamondbacks selected Cecconi with the No. 33 overall pick out of Miami in June, they landed a pitcher whose stuff did not line up with his results. He reportedly would have trouble maintaining command throughout an outing or his velocity would fall off as he got deeper into a start.
But the version of Cecconi that showed up to the alternate site in September had no such issues.
“This guy came in and was one of the most polished college pitchers I’ve seen in a long, long time,” Diamondbacks farm director Josh Barfield said. “He jumped right into the 60-man camp and dominated — flat-out dominated — there from Day1, and he continued to do the same thing at instructional league. He’s got a lot of people really excited.”
Cecconi credits his improvement to the work he put in during the quarantine period. In March, he left Miami to return home to Orlando, where he
quickly got to work. He set up a home gym in the garage with his dad and brother and began working out five or six days a week while throwing bullpens, focusing on the kind of things he wouldn’t normally be able to during a regular season.
He said he added strength to his 6foot-4, 224-pound frame and improved his endurance. He tinkered with his change-up to make the pitch more firm. He put increased emphasis on his curveball, a pitch he wanted to throw harder and more often. And he focused on specific pitch locations, like fastballs up in the zone.
Those improvements, plus a slider that already is viewed as a plus major league pitch, allowed him to make the most of his time in Arizona.
“I don’t think he gave up a run the entire time,” Barfield said, estimating that Cecconi threw around 25 innings. “He was really, really impressive. I don’t even know if he gave up more than a handful of hits.”
Said Cecconi: “I knew I had it in me and I knew I had the ability and I just hadn’t showcased it yet. I showed the raw talent in college, but I hadn’t shown the command and consistency, which is what I really worked on over break and was able to increase my game in that aspect. That’s a big reason why the buzz is happening.”
Many in the organization believe, despite Cecconi never having pitched in a professional game that counts, he already has become the club’s top pitching prospect. Some believe he soon will rise to the status as the organization’s top prospect overall.
“He definitely looks like he’s not too far off,” Barfield said. “He’s as polished as any guy I’ve seen coming out of college and that’s to go along with really big stuff. He’s a guy who could be ready sooner than later. It’s weird with this season — or the lack thereof — it makes it hard to evaluate. But I could see this guy moving really, really quickly.”
Cecconi’s performance and his prospect status come with no shortage of qualifications. He was not throwing more than a few innings per outing. He was facing hitters with varying degrees of talent and experience. He has not shown he can pitch that effectively every five days for a full season, nor has he shown he can do so while staying healthy, perhaps the biggest unknown for any pitching prospect.
But if what the Diamondbacks saw is an indication of what is to come, he would represent a caliber of pitcher the organization has not seen in its pipeline in years. Not since the 2011 draft, when the club drafted Trevor Bauer and Archie Bradley with two of the top seven overall picks, have the Diamondbacks had a pitching prospect who elicits the sort of excitement from player development personnel as Cecconi has over the past two months.
Cecconi did all he could to open eyes during the year, which he said was his goal all along. “I kind of wanted to show everyone why they drafted me and why they should trust what I’m able to do,” he said. “Basically, prove them right for drafting me.”