Prospect Profile- David Paulino

(MILB)

NAME: David Paulino
AGE: 22
POSITION: P
TEAM: Houston Astros
DRAFTED: Not Drafted, signed by DETROIT as an International Free Agent


SCOUTING REPORT:Aquired in trade with Tigers in 2013, part of the Jose Veras deal. Has responded well after Tommy John surgery in 2014. Has good control and maintains exceptional K/BB ratio. At 6'7", he can be an imposing opponent on the mound, and he adds to that figure with a mid-90s fastball that can get up to 97-98. He also has a very sharp curve with very crisp action that causes issues for opposing batters. He keeps the ball in the yard (only 6 home runs allowed in his minor league career that spans almost 200 innings) and his FIP of 1.96 is borderline phenomenal. It seems the only knock against Paulino is simply his lack of experience, but there is no questioning his talent or enormous potential.

STATS: Barely pitched from 2011-13 in the Tigers organization due to injuries. During that time he went 3-2 in 12 starts, spanning just 39 innings. His first extended work came with the Astros in 2015, when he made 12 starts in the farm system, posting a 5-3 record and 2.81 ERA. In 2016, he spent most of his season at AA Corpus Christi before making 3 starts at AAA Fresno. In 3 different levels this year, Paulino posted a 5-4 record with a glistening 2.00 ERA, along with 109 strikeouts in 90 innings.

PROJECTION: Paulino is an interesting case, because the book is still somewhat out on him. Clearly he has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher and could rank among the league leaders in strikeouts But again, because of his limited workloads, scouts have a very difficult time pegging what he could potentially become, ranking him anywhere from a #1 to a #3 starter. Personally, I will call him a high end #2, with the potential to be a low end #1. For a big league comparison, let's equate Paulino to Brandon Webb at his peak (16-18 win potential, ERA around 3) but with more strikeouts.