Isaac Stevens | @coachfunnyman11 | April 22, 2024
In 2023, the Rockies, as a team, had the slowest average fastball velocity at 92 MPH. They also had the second-highest xBA (expected batting average) against. Third, the Rockies pitching staff had an abysmal K% (strikeout percentage) of just 17.0%, again, last in MLB.
To summarize, the Rockies pitching staff was not good in 2023. However, all hope is not lost. 2024 Rookie reliever Victor Vodnik is killing it. Hard-throwing relief prospects Angel Chivilli and Juan Mejia are already on the 40-man and pulling their weight in Double-A. Even 2023 first-rounder Chase Dollander is looking like a legit prospect. But the focus here is not on any of those players. It’s on RHP Luis Amoroso of the Spokane Indians.
Luis Amoroso was born in Valencia, Venezuela on December 12th, 1999. The recently turned 24-year-old was signed back in December of 2017 as a 17-year-old. Amoroso’s first two professional seasons were in the Dominican Summer League, where he had a 4.00 ERA in 54 Innings pitched.
In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Amoroso started to gain traction as a prospect. He was an ACL Postseason All-Star in 2021, where he had a 1.47 ERA to go along with a 34.8 K% and 1.5 BB%. Then in 2022, Amoroso was assigned to Single-A, and put up a solid 3.84 ERA across 77.1 IP, showing how much of a workhorse he can be. Since then, Amoroso has dealt with injuries and an honest run of bad luck (check out his 2023 splits here, they’re the weirdest splits I have ever seen). Amoroso had an ugly ERA of 6.75 in his first season in High-A, but he’s looking to improve on that in 2024.
What does Luis Amoroso bring to the table?
Coming off of a 6.75 ERA can be scary for a minor leaguer; you could feel the pressure of performing or losing favor in the eyes of the organization. However, for Amoroso he brings something special to the organization that not many other players offer: he spins the ball with the best of them. That’s not it though. This Spring Training, Luis Amoroso threw 100 MPH, and was averaging in the upper 90s. The Rockies have lacked pitchers who could both throw hard and move the ball funkily for a long time now. With somebody like Luis Amoroso in your organization, it gives the Rockies hope that they might have a future bullpen stalwart on their hands.
Amoroso’s ability to spin the ball should not be taken with a grain of salt. The MLB average RPM (revolutions per minute. Adding together the amount of backspin, topspin, sidespin, and gyroscopic spin) on a changeup is 1750, while Amoroso’s is 2400. Which would be the third highest in MLB behind Devin Williams, and Trevor Richards.
Not only his changeup nasty, but his sweepy slider is one of the better pitches in the organization. It has gotten as much as 19 inches of horizontal break, which would be one of the highest marks in MLB. His changeup and slider move in opposite directions on the horizontal line, and that gives in to many potential swings and misses.
While Amoroso uses a fastball grip, his heater gets a lot of arm-side run and should be considered a sinker. When he is healthy and is on his A-game, Amoroso’s sinker can average 96-98, and a possible 99-100 here and there.
What can Luis Amoroso do to be an MLB pitcher?
To make it to MLB, pitchers need to be precise in their execution, to pair with pitches that are hard to hit. Luis Amoroso has pitches that are, in theory, hard to hit. But if he can’t hit his spots that diminishes the nastiness of his arsenal. For as good as his slider and changeup are, if he leaves either one of them hanging they lose that quality. While you can’t predict if a pitcher will ever have good command, it must improve for Amoroso for him to make the majors.
While Amoroso’s sinker is fast, it doesn’t work well high in the zone, as is the case with most pitches that approach the plate steeply. If sinkers are thrown high in the zone, they won’t have the redeeming factors of a sinker, so that does make it easier for batters to hit, since the pitch doesn’t move like a typical fastball but more a flat sinker.
Amoroso has the velocity to overpower guys, but since his repertoire only works effectively down in the zone, guys can sit on the velocity more than someone that can gun it up in the zone. A guy like Amoroso could benefit off of a pitch that can work high in the zone like a 4-seamer or a cutter. While that’s easier said than done, the Rockies should try and tinker with something new. If he could throw even a below-average 4-seam, that would expand his zone tremendously. And a result of that being tougher at-bats, and more strikeouts.
Luis Amoroso has genuine MLB-caliber stuff, and if he hones in on his command while finding a new efficient way to get strikeouts, he will be on a clear path to MLB. It isn’t uncommon for pitchers from Latin countries to blossom out of nowhere, and Amoroso can be that guy.
Final Thoughts
Luis Amoroso has generally gone unnoticed throughout his entire MiLB career. Even though he has elite stuff and an electric aura on the mound, he will continue to not gain popularity if he can’t hit his spots more consistently. However, that shouldn’t stop him from progressing. Spokane is a hitter’s haven, and it’s generally hard for pitchers to do well at home. So when Amoroso gets his promotion to Double-A it will be a good test to see how close exactly he is to the MLB. Overall, Luis Amoroso is a fun prospect and should be on the radar for anyone that is a fan of unnoticed prospects.
Thank you for reading!
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