Daniel Ponce de Leon Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Track Record: A senior sign in 2014, Poncedeleon's career nearly ended in 2017 when he took a comebacker off his right temple, fracturing his skull and requiring emergency surgery to stop the bleeding in his brain. After months of inactivity followed by rehab, and with a permanent dent in his head, Poncedeleon amazingly returned in time for 2018 spring training. On July 23, just over 14 months after the comebacker nearly killed him, Poncedeleon fired seven no-hit innings against the Reds in his big league debut.

Scouting Report: More than just an inspiring story, Poncedeleon has real stuff. He starts his arsenal with an above-average, sinking fastball that sits 93-94 mph and touches 96 mph. He has an average 83-85 mph changeup he uses against lefties and an average 89-92 mph cutter for righties, along with a mid-70s curveball he'll mix in. Poncedeleon is throwing a tick harder since his return, and his strikeout rate (9.8 per nine innings) jumped to a career-high in 2018, but so did his walk rate (4.4 per nine).

The Future: Poncedelon excelled as a long reliever/spot starter in 2018. That is his expected long-term role, and he will fill it with the Cardinals in 2019.