Over the last decade-plus, Vanderbilt’s baseball program has been one of the premier incubators for pitching talent at the amateur level. They’ve been so successful recruiting and molding arms that their relievers often transition back to starting successfully in pro ball. In the 2020 draft, a pair of their short relief arms were drafted as starters- lefty Jake Eder went to Miami and would go on to one of the most explosive pro debuts of the 2021 MiLB season, but righty Tyler Brown was actually drafted ahead of him by the Astros.
A power righty with spin to match, Brown generated more excitement in pro circles for his pitch data than his college resume, but both were strong.