Top 5 Most Underrated Prospects-Pat Venditte

With so many players in farm systems across baseball, sometimes players get lost in the shuffle. While some players are sometimes grossly over-rated, there are some that are very highly underrated, and yet, they go-on to have long Major league careers.

In this 5-part series, I will name 5 players that are very highly underrated, and could be that sneaky "player to be named later" of a trade that haunts the organization that traded them away, forever.

1. Pat Venditte, SHP, New York Yankees (AAA)
No, that is not a typo, and no you did not read that wrong. The New York Yankees, have a Switch-handed relief pitcher, in their system.


Venditte makes the list at number 1, because the thought of a pitcher who throws, and throws well with both hands, is insane. Literally, he is one of a kind. He is so significant in fact, that there is a rule in baseball named for, and after him. The rule was created after an incident, you can see below:

The Pat Venditte rule is explained like this:


" The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from.

The pitcher must throw one pitch to the batter before any “switch” by either player is allowed.

After one pitch is thrown, the pitcher and batter may each change positions one time per at-bat. For example, if the pitcher changes from right-handed to left-handed and the batter then changes batter’s boxes, each player must remain that way for the duration of that at-bat (unless the offensive team substitutes a pinch hitter, and then each player may again “switch” one time).

Any switch (by either the pitcher or the batter) must be clearly indicated to the umpire.
There will be no warm-up pitches during the change of arms.

If an injury occurs the pitcher may change arms but not use that arm again during the remainder of the game."

Venditte uses a 6 fingered glove, with 2 webs, so he can easily switch from hand to hand, and although this may seem gimmicky, it is not gimmick. He has been throwing switch handed since he was very young.

Right-handed he has an over the top delivery and throws a fastball, slider and a curve ball, while left-handed he has a side-armed delivery and throws a fastball and a slider. His fastball right-handed hits 94 mph, and his left-handed fastball hits 85 mph.

 Pat Venditte's deliveries, side by side.

He definitely backs-up his obvious skills with stats, pitching to a 0.83 ERA in his first professional season, with 42 Ks in 32.2 Innings, and a 1-0 record over 30 games in relief. In 5 minor league seasons, he has a 14-12 record, with a 2.30 ERA, and 318 Ks in 277.2 Innings, as well as 51 saves.

However, he is not considered a prospect per-Se, as he is 27, but I doubt there is another player in any minor league system that could provide the type of immediate impact he could. With so many teams, having so much trouble in their bullpen, how this guy is not on a major league roster is beyond me.

To me, there is no more ultimate of a reliever, he could be a left-handed specialist, a right-handed specialist, or a dominant closer, the ultimate tool for a playoff team.