Scouting grades 20–80
60Fastball
60Slider
55Curveball
50Changeup
45Control
After electing to head to Arkansas following being drafted in the 20th round by the Reds in 2023, Gaeckle has quickly established himself as having some of the more electric stuff in all of college baseball. Gaeckle is undersized, standing at 6-0 190 lbs, not a ton of projection left in his frame muscle wise, however the body is extremely strong presently. He's got more of an efforty reliever look at times, as he hasn't shown a ton of success in the rotation at Arkansas but the stuff is straight up electric.
Gaeckle's fastball has been up to 99 mph, sitting regularly in the mid 90's with life and carry. It's a high spin offering that will explode out of his hand and generate whiffs on the top rail. Gaeckle has two of the better breaking balls in all of college baseball. His best is a tight spin high 80's slider, that shows bite and depth. It grades as a plus if not better pitch. He'll also throw a curveball that he'll spin in the 3,000s, its got nasty depth and he'll run in up to 83 mph. There's a upper 80's fading changeup here as well, that Gaeckle will throw specifically against lefties, and its been a solid pitch for him so far.
Gaeckle clearly possesses some of the better stuff in all of college baseball, potentially three, even four plus pitches. The big thing Gaeckle will have to prove this year will be that he can start at the next level, something he hasn't addresses up to this point. Even if Gaeckle doesn't start, it's a late inning reliever type arm. There are definitely strong similarities between Gaeckle and former Arkansas teammate and 2025 Phillies first rounder Gage Wood, and if he can show solid performance from a starter role, there could be a similar rise in stock that Wood experienced this past year.
