Age: 20 (08/12/2004)

Birthplace: Kansas City, MO

High School: Duncan Fletcher HS - Neptune Beach, FL

Height/Weight: 6’2” 206 lbs

Year: Junior

Kyson Witherspoon ranks as my third best college pitching prospect in this year’s coming draft as he’s also ranked 26th overall by MLB Pipeline. The 6’2” right hander kicked off his college career with an impressive freshman year at Northwest Florida State before transferring to Oklahoma for his sophomore season. Witherspoon is another guy that worked both in the bullpen and in the rotation in 2024, logging 11 starts as a starter in his 17 total appearances. In his 80 innings last year, Witherspoon posted a 3.71 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 14.0 K-BB%. The numbers don’t pop off the page by any means, but the tools that Witherspoon brings to the table are what makes him a potential first round pick in July.

Witherspoon is a very projectable athlete that moves very comfortably on the mound, generating upper-end velocity without too much effort. He has seemed to simplify his delivery over the past two seasons into a much more compact operation with minimal arm action.

Witherspoon features a three pitch mix, primarily focusing on his four-seam fastball and slider. He can run his fastball up as high as 99 mph while it typically averages 96 mph. It gets a ton of life through the zone, averaging nearly 20 inches of IVB and a -4.5 VAA. His command and control have been his biggest weakness, so if he can develop that aspect of his game, his fastball can be a truly elite offering. He has already shown some improvement in that department, with the fastball yielding a 69.4 zone% in a recent seven inning outing.

His slider is his go-to secondary, but what makes it unique is his ability to manipulate its shape, turning it into a cutter at times. His main slider, along with his fastball, is a 60 grade offering, which he throws in the mid-80s. When he throws it with a cutter shape, he runs it up closer to the low-90s with more ride and nearly the same amount of horizontal break (-5.0) as the traditional slider (-5.9). The slider is his put-away pitch while the cutter is more of an equalizer and a pitch that misses barrels.

His changeup is a work in progress as it’s only a 45 grade offering, but he seems to be working on a sinker that he has flashed a few times in recent starts. Another arm side pitch to complement his fastball would really complete his arsenal as his fastball is definitely more of a north-south pitch than an east-west pitch. Such pitch types work well to keep left handed sluggers in check.

Although the command has been the biggest question mark surrounding Witherspoon’s profile entering the season, he has seemingly made strides in that department, walking just three batters over his 18 innings of work in his three starts thus far. His BB% has dipped all the way down to 4.4%, while he has struck out 28 of the 68 batters he has faced, yielding a 41.2 K% which is good for a 36.8 K-BB% - well over double his number from 2024. With all that being said, Witherspoon appears to be a big league starter in the making and has the potential to be the best college pitching prospect in the draft by the end of the college season.