Astros Draft Profile: Right-Handed Pitcher Mack Anglin

Mandatory Credit: The Greenville News
Mandatory Credit: The Greenville News
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Under general manager James Click, the Houston Astros picked one left-handed pitcher and seven right-handed pitchers in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, each of them from the college level, suggesting that maybe there’s a certain profile that the Astros braintrust is drawn to.

Right-handed hurler Mack Anglin of Clemson fits that profile for the Astros.

Despite being from the tiny city of Marengo, Ohio, the right-hander is making a big name for himself on the mound.

A versatile athlete out of Highland High School, Anglin was named the Gatorade Player of the Year, a Perfect Game All-American, three time all-state baseball selection, scored over a 1,000 career points in basketball and lettered four times in both sports.

Coming out of high school, Perfect Game rated Anglin the No. 1 player in Ohio and the No. 45 player overall nationally, No. 17 best right-hander and designated a rating of 10.

For those not familiar with the Perfect Game Player Rating System, a ’10’ is defined as a “potential very high draft pick and/or elite level college prospect”.

Anglin’s fastball topped out at 93 mph which was in the 98th percentile at the time, but has since reached 96 as his body has developed.

Physically mature with a projectable frame, solid build and strength in his lower half, Anglin is listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, having put on 25 pounds since high school.

Mandatory Credit: The Greenville News
Mandatory Credit: The Greenville News /

What stands out about Mack Anglin?

Anglin compliments his fastball with a tight slider that bites and a hammer curve. When it’s on, the righty’s slider is a thing of beauty that freezes hitters. But, Anglin’s freshman year at Clemson was limited to four appearances and seven innings due to the pandemic.

In 2021, as a redshirt freshman, Anglin accumulated a 3.99 ERA over 13 appearances (eight starts) and struck out 75 in only 56.1 innings, while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.

For his efforts Anglin was selected as an All-ACC Freshman and was subsequently selected by the Washington Nationals in the 13th round (383 overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft, having turned 21-years-old just days before.

Anglin’s improvement continued this past summer with Wareham in the Cape Cod League where he allowed no earned runs and three walks while striking out 16 in 12.2 innings over three starts.

During his time on the Cape, Anglin’s fastball was clocked at 91-95, with his slider coming in at 85-87 and changeup at 87 mph. This season Anglin earned the Friday starter role for Clemson and promptly no-hit Indiana for five innings while striking out eight, walking two and dominating Hoosier batters.

Firing first pitch strikes to 12 of the 18 batters he faced, Anglin threw 55 strikes on 82 pitches and gained more control as the game developed.

In his second start this past Friday, Anglin again was dominant against an overmatched Hartford squad, but not quite as sharp, again throwing five innings, giving up a hit and walking three on 81 pitches (45 strikes).

There are obviously things to work on for any young pitcher, and control is a major one for Anglin, who will be 22 in July, who walked 5.3 per nine innings last year at Clemson and is at 4.5 per nine innings in two starts this season.

While he may not project to the “very high draft pick” that Perfect Game projected, Anglin will certainly find himself much higher than a 13th-round pick in this year’s draft, especially if his control continues to improve and he stays healthy.

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