Underrated LA Angels prospect enjoys freedom with pitching

He isn't ranked with any of the top prospects among the Major League Baseball websites that cover prospects, but LA Angels prospect Connor Van Scoyoc has been tossing the ball well in Low-A ball with the 66ers. He was drafted by the Angels in 2018, but didn't get to pitch until 2019, with an injury and then the shutdown of 2020 for the minor leagues, this season should be seen as his first full season.

Van Scoyoc doesn't necessarily throw hard, so he relies on his sinker, curveball, and a newly acquired pitch, the cutter. He commends minor league pitching coordinator Bo Martino on helping him with his pitches and showing him how it opens up for a plethora of options for him. Van Scoyoc understands that there are plenty of other guys within the system that they have to help, so he appreciates any suggestion he receives and applies it to his outings.

"They don't really try to get in your way, I mean obviously I mean I'm a big boy, I'm 22 years old, I can make my own decisions. It's more just guidelines, they try pointing you in the right direction," said Van Scoyoc when asked about getting that kind of freedom when he's on the mound.

That definitely helps with confidence, and it seems to have been helping him well as of late.

Everything coming together for LA Angels prospect Connor Van Scoyoc.

As mentioned before, LA Angels prospect Connor Van Scoyoc has not pitched a full season yet and it looks like this season might be it as he's already logged 100.1 innings. The first two months of the season were ones to forget as he had a 7.20 ERA in the month of April, and a solid 9.00 ERA in May. However, he turned it around in June and July, with a 2.54 ERA in June and a fantastic 1.83 ERA in the following month. He still has a ways to go in his development, but these types of outings can go a long way.

"I came in here when I was 18 years old and obviously I wouldn't be this far unless I grew up a little bit," said Van Scoyoc when asked how much has changed since starting his professional career.

His experience has helped him grow and seeing that he's in complete control of his destiny, one pitch at a time, is a positive thing with some direction along the way.