Calvin Ziegler, Photo by Ed Delany of MMN
No. 13 Calvin Ziegler, RHP
B/T: R/R
Age: 17 (10/03/02)
Ht: 6’0 Wt: 205 LBs
Acquired: Drafted in the Second Round of the 2021 Draft
ETA: 2026 Previous Rank: N/A
2021 Stats: N/A
The skinny on Calvin Ziegler seems to be that he has a very good fastball with a breaking ball that has shown some promise and a changeup that is a work in-progress. The righty from Canada was not selected in the shortened 2020 draft and pitched at the TNXL Academy in Florida to extend his high school playing career. That move paid off for him as he went in the second round of the draft to the Mets.
Likely due to a lack of visibility, each outlet had a different evaluation on Ziegler. Baseball America was a bit more bullish on him. Before he was even drafted, Alexis Brundicki praised his refined delivery. The new mechanics led to an increase in his spin rate and fastball velocity. Carlos Collazo said Ziegler had the best fastball of any 2021 draftee. This is a draft that included Dominic Hamel and his high spin fastball that also generates an extremely high velocity.
FanGraphs seems to be more wary of his future outlook. Their write-up on him shortly after the draft was as follows:
Ziegler is a pretty physical, medium-framed righty with big, high-effort velo. He’s been consistently in the mid-90s and up to 97. Ziegler was passed over in the 2020 draft and moved from Canada to an athletics school in Florida, where he showed more arm strength. He needs to find a more consistent breaking ball.
MLB Pipeline seems to agree with the assessment that his fastball is pretty electric and they also added that he can get whiffs with his breaking pitch. They think his inconsistent changeup and his command would be the two biggest reasons as to why he might not stick as a starter.
Last but not least, here is what a MLB Front Office Member told our own Michael Mayer:
From MLB front office member on Mets second rounder Calvin Ziegler:
"Ziegler is a great pick. Rides his FB well, and the slider has a really interesting break profile. Changeup has a ways to go still, but it's two pretty good pitches from a high school guy."
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 12, 2021
Overall, I the general consensus seems to be that the onus is on the Mets player development to turn him into a starting pitcher as opposed to having him become a reliever. Ziegler is still being molded but the fastball seems to be drawing rave reviews and his slider seems to show quite a bit of promise. The Mets have a good baseline to start, and I think they can take him to the next level.
I do anticipate them going slowly with him though. Starting in St. Lucie should not be ruled out, but he has also not done much pitching in the last 2 years. He could very well start pitching in the Mets complex and eventually start working his way into St. Lucie around May or June. In any event though, I anticipate that he will be on a pretty big innings limit in 2022. It will be curious if they limit his innings with shorter starts or with a shorter season.
Consider me an optimist on Ziegler’s future outlook. I think the Mets are starting to finally build their player development department more, and I do think they will be able to develop Ziegler properly. I think he could really fly up the rankings as soon as the mid-season rankings are ready. Getting him to start using his changeup more will be critical as will getting him to repeat his mechanics going forward. If he can do those things, then he will erase a lot of doubt about his future in the rotation.
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