Allen Facundo on the cusp of a breakout season (with video)

Allen Facundo is poised to become a household name for followers of the Yankees farm system.  If he keeps up what he’s done through his first five games this season, he’ll be the next in a long line of success stories with Sam Briend at the helm. The lefty hurler has opened some eyes in the early going with the Tampa Tarpons.

Height: 6-foot-0

Weight: 171-pounds

Handedness: Left

Age: 21

Level: Low-A

Facundo began his career with the DSL Yankees in 2021, where he appeared in 14 games and had a 4.25 ERA in 48.2 innings. He had an astounding 84 K : 27 BB and a .195 average against. At that point Facundo piqued my interest, but there is limited data available on advanced scouting reports in the DSL.

After missing all of 2022 due to injury, Facundo spend the 2023 season in the FCL, where he pitched mostly in relief and had a 2.37 ERA and 40 K : 13 BB in 30.1 innings. Again batters were flummoxed by him, hitting just .185.

Not expected to be a leading candidate for the Low-A rotation this year, many were surprised by his inclusion to begin the 2024 season. I must admit I am included in that group. If I had known what I know now, I wouldn’t have been (more on that below). Facundo has a 2.76 ERA and 15 K : 9 BB in 16.1 innings so far. His best start was his most recent. Though he has struggled with walks thus far, hitters are batting just .123 against him in the early going.

So where is all of this success coming from? The scouting report will probably shed some light on that for you.

Facundo works out of a low ¾ slot and stays mostly around the zone, though he obviously has some trouble staying in it. He has a four-seam fastball that sits around 94 and tops out at 97. It has about 6 inches of tail and 16-18 inches of vertical break on it.  His sinker sits in the low 90’s and moves 12-18 inches laterally and 18-24 inches vertically. His slider sits at 83 mph and has 42 inches of vertical break with 6-12 inches of horizontal movement. Lastly, his changeup sits around 88-89 mph and has 18 inches of tail with 33 inches of vertical break.

Batters have trouble squaring him up, which is why you see such low averages against him. He has a bit of trouble locating the changeup, which is something he’ll have to work on going forward. His slider is nasty though, and it works well off the four seam fastball.

When he’s going right, he is very efficient for his age. During his last outing, he took just 61 pitches to get through five innings.

Facundo is on the smaller side, so his projection is likely limited. Still, he is quite thin at 171-pounds. If he packs on some muscle, I could see the fastball ticking up 1-2 mph. His main area of focus is working on control. If he can increase the percentage of strikes he throws, more success will follow.

I would expect Facundo to stick in Tampa most of the year, with a late season promotion to High-A likely if he continues to play this well. He has the ceiling of a number two starter in the mold of Carlos Rodon, with the floor of a middle reliever.

Without question, Allen Facundo is on the rise. His name has not popped up on many prospect lists thus far, but he’s well on his way to being included in that conversation.