Reynaldo Lopez

Position: RHP
Born: 1/4/1994
Ht: 6’1″ Wt: 220 lb
Acquired: Received from Washington in the Adam Eaton deal, Dec. 2016
Career Stats

FutureSox Prospect Rankings

  • #4 – 2017 Preseason
  • #5 – 2017 Midseason

FutureSox Media

Accolades

  • Futures Game, 2016

Scouting Report

Lopez is an example of a true diamond in the rough, as the Nats shrewdly signed him as an 18-year-old for a mere $17,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. Lopez quickly gained velocity, perhaps to the detriment of his arm, as he lost nearly all of his 2013 season thanks to a sore arm that was classified as a “bone weakness.”

He came roaring back in 2014, emerging on the prospect scene with a minuscule 1.08 ERA over 16 starts between Low A and A Ball. In 2015 he decreased his walks and increased his strikeout total while spending the year in High-A Potomac. However, he was much more hittable, inflating his ERA to 4.09. Washington promoted Lopez to Double-A to begin 2016, and he terrorized batters with 100 strikeouts over just 76.1 innings, having multiple starts with double digits K’s. The Nationals saw that he could help them in their pennant push, and he spent the rest of the season between Triple-A and the majors, accumulating 44 big league innings. Lopez was understandably inconsistent facing MLB hitters, but in his best start he struck out 11 batters over seven innings, only allowing two walks, four hits, and one earned run.

The White Sox acquired him the following offseason. He spent most of the year in Triple-A Charlotte, but did get 47.2 innings in the majors. Lopez had a promising 2018 with a 3.91 ERA over 32 starts, but command and inconsistent stuff led to the next two years being rough for Lopez.

Lopez’s arsenal begins with a plus fastball that has topped out at 100 MPH and is commonly graded as a 70-grade pitch. He utilizes excellent arm extension and has a relatively low effort delivery. Lopez backs up his fastball with a 78-81 slurvy curveball that is above average and projects plus. He is able to locate it well, throwing it down and in effectively to left-handed batters. His third offering is a below average upper 80s change-up that he barely uses.

There are some who doubt Lopez’s ability to stick as a starter (ESPN’s Keith Law bluntly called his chances 0%), due to concerns about his size, delivery, and command. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds he doesn’t have the prototypical front of the rotation starter’s body. However, he is built solidly and has a very strong upper torso, as evidenced by his arm-heavy delivery. His delivery action causes him to come across his body and leaves him unbalanced as he finishes towards the plate, though recently he seems to have improved on this issue. This is likely the cause of some of his struggles with command. Lopez will likely never have plus command, but the hope is his stuff is good enough to mask it. It is easier to get away with missed locations when you are throwing 97 MPH with heavy movement and can force hitters to expand their zone. If the White Sox can bring along his change-up to a point where it compliments his fastball and smooth out his delivery a bit, Lopez has the upside to be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. If not, Lopez would almost immediately be a force in the White Sox bullpen, letting loose his fastball and using his curve as a devastating 1-2 punch.