The Phillies are loading up on 6’0” Pitchers, with Gage Wood in the First and now Obermueller in the Second. This time they grabbed a Lefty. Cade has a whippy, almost sidearm motion that has to be very uncomfortable for left handed hitters.
Here’s the MLB Pipeline summary of him.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 65 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50Wes Obermueller pitched five seasons in the Majors after the Royals took him in the second round of the 1999 Draft out of Iowa, and his son could go in the same range after a strong season for the Hawkeyes. A Draft-eligible sophomore a year ago, Cade turned down the Rangers as a 19th-rounder. He has been a favorite of scouts dating back to his high school days and they’re happy to see him increase his velocity and his strike-throwing as a junior.
Obermueller works from a low arm slot that produces outstanding metrics on his fastball and slider. He sits at 91-94 mph and can reach 98 with his heater, showing the ability to create carry, run or sink from an unusually flat approach angle. He imparts huge horizontal break, as well as good depth, on a low-80s slider that eats up lefties and righties.Obermueller has yet to show much feel for a sinking mid-80s changeup that he barely uses, though he’ll flash a solid one on occasion. The biggest question about his ability to remain a starter is his lack of physicality at 6 feet and 170 pounds, though he’s helping his cause by cutting his walk rate nearly in half from his sophomore to junior year. He’ll get a chance to prove himself in the rotation in pro ball, though if he immediately headed to the bullpen he could surface in the Majors by the end of 2026.
He’s got big K numbers, but also some big Walk numbers in his history to iron out. This may be 2 guys targeted as future Bullpen pieces in this draft.