The Show Notes #11: Who Will Be The Next Black Ace?
Highlighting Black starting pitchers in MiLB and MLB who may one day join the esteemed Black Aces fraternity.
Winning 20 games in a single season is one of the greatest achievements a starting pitcher in MLB can attain in their career. The first Black pitcher to win 20 games in an MLB uniform, James “Mudcat” Grant from Lacoochee, Florida, established the Black Aces group to celebrate African-American pitchers who have reached this prestigious milestone. When confronted with criticism from Afro-Cuban 20-game winner Luis Tiant III regarding the exclusion of Black 20-game winners from outside the United States, Grant extended an olive branch by widening his scope to include Afro-Latino and Afro-Caribbean pitchers. Black Baseball Culture urgently needs a new Black Ace, especially considering that the 20-season mark without a Black 20-game winner is approaching.
Conrad Cason, Boston Red Sox
Conrad Cason is the latest two-way high school phenom from the state of Georgia, following in the footsteps of Michael Harris II, Tai Peete, Taj Bradley, and Bubba Chandler. He was drafted out of Greater Atlanta Christian School in the 8th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. Boston’s front office was able to get Cason to forego a commitment to Mississippi State to begin his professional career. He was given a signing bonus well over the assigned value for his eighth-round draft slot that reflected his first-round level talent as a potential two-way player.
During the 2024 MiLB season, Cason spent time at the Red Sox facilities getting internal evaluations so the front office could weigh the idea of him remaining a two-way player in MiLB. Later, it would leak that the Red Sox brass was extremely confident in attempting to see whether Cason has viability as a two-way player. He has a large number of tools in his 6’1’’ frame, headlined by his legit 80-grade speed and 80-grade throwing arm. Cason’s fastball has been recorded sitting at 95 miles per hour and reaching as high as 98. He also has an intriguing slurve and a changeup with a lot of potential. While he has yet to play in the minors, Cason deserves to be on this list and is a name that should be remembered.
Isaiah Lowe, San Diego Padres
Isaiah Lowe was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Combine Academy in North Carolina. He decided to forgo a commitment to Wake Forest’s baseball program in order to launch his professional career with San Diego. The Padres front office viewed him as a fourth- or fifth-round talent and was ecstatic to select Lowe with their selection for the eleventh round. After facing challenges with injuries and a lack of experience early in his career, he made a significant impact during the 2024 MiLB season with San Diego's Low-A and High-A affiliates. He pitched 105.1 innings with a 3.33 ERA, firmly establishing himself as a noteworthy prospect in the Padres' talented farm system.
He utilizes a fastball-slider combination that has garnered considerable attention as above-average to plus. Although his changeup is still developing, it is at least an average pitch, and he has ample time to enhance his cambio. Some people are skeptical about Lowe’s future as a starter because of his below-average size and the absence of a credible third pitch. How he performs during a longer period with San Diego’s High-A affiliate in the 2025 MiLB season will significantly influence his future in professional baseball.
Gary Gill Hill, Tampa Bay Rays
Gary Gill Hill is the latest phenom from an organization that consistently produces effective Black starters. He possesses a wide variety of pitches complemented by simple and repeatable mechanics, all within a highly athletic yet somewhat undersized physique for a starting pitcher. These traits make him a quintessential pitching prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays.
In the months leading up to the 2022 MLB Draft, the young right-hander was seen as a high-risk, high-reward prospect by many due to being an undersized, cold-weather pitcher despite having an arsenal that was steadily improving and a body with a lot of room for positive growth. The 20-year-old was taken by Tampa Bay in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of a high school in Westchester County, New York. He was given a bonus of over half a million dollars, which shows how high the Rays front office and scouting department thought of him.
Hill has a quick, loose arm that enables him to consistently generate velocity. He typically sits in the mid-90s but can reach up to 98 on the radar gun. He features three different fastballs: a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, and a cutter. In addition, he has a curveball, slider, and changeup in his arsenal, all of which are rated at least average. He pitches from a high three-quarters arm slot with a simple and clean delivery. The Rays' front office had concerns about his fastball velocity and arm slot gradually declining throughout the 2023 season. He addressed these concerns by adding 20 pounds of muscle to his flexible and wiry frame between the 2023 and 2024 MiLB seasons.
Hill nearly tripled the number of innings he pitched in 2024 while decreasing his ERA by over two runs and cutting his walk rate by almost 50%. Only 20 years old for most of the 2024 MiLB season, he has positioned himself on a fast track in an organization that typically does not allow its high school starters to progress swiftly through the minors. Depending on his performance in High-A during the 2025 MiLB season and whether the Rays front office permits him to jump to Double-A if he excels, there is a realistic possibility we could see Gary Gill Hill make his MLB debut in 2026. He has a very solid foundation that offers him a high ceiling. Now, how he performs in the upper minors remains to be seen.
Carlson Reed, Pittsburgh Pirates
Carlson Reed is a right-handed pitcher from the Marietta suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Over the past decade, the Greater Atlanta area has produced a significant number of Black players in MiLB and MLB. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Reed in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of West Virginia University, the second pitcher they selected after first-overall pick Paul Skenes. The Pirates front office converted the lanky right-hander to a starter after spending parts of three years in WVU’s bullpen during his first stint in the Florida Complex League.
He spent most of the 2024 MiLB season with Pittsburgh’s Low-A affiliate in the Florida State League before receiving a late-season promotion to the Pirates' High-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League. He posted a 1.99 ERA across 23 starts and 108.2 innings, establishing himself as a legitimate prospect in a farm system with considerable depth. He projects as a potential back-of-the-rotation arm who might exceed expectations and be a solid third starter. How Reed fares in High-A and Double-A during the 2025 MiLB season will determine if the full-time starter role is a truly viable one.
Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox
Brayan Bello is a late bloomer from the Samaná province of the Dominican Republic who signed his first contract as an 18-year-old amateur international free agent. The Samaná-American-Dominican was trained in the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo by a cousin of fellow Samaná-American Fernando Rodney, one of the greatest Afro-Latino relief pitchers of all time. He is an undersized groundball pitcher who persisted through a lack of attention from scouts as an amateur. After being noticed by scouts from the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds organizations, a small bidding war ensued that almost tripled the amount Bello was able to receive as his signing bonus when he agreed to terms with Boston.
After a successful sophomore season where he won 12 games and threw 157 innings, the Red Sox signed him to a five-year, $66 million dollar extension just before the beginning of the 2024 season. Despite owning a 4.42 ERA for his career so far, he has already won double-digit games in consecutive seasons and shown a legit feel for navigating deep into games. Firmly established in the middle of the Red Sox rotation behind Garrett Crochet and Tanner Houck, Bello strikes me as a player who has the qualities to win 20 games even with an ERA above three and a half.
His signature pitch is a Fernando Rodney-style changeup that plays well with his very effective two-seam fastball. The next step is for Bello to find a viable slider and/or curveball so that he can effectively pitch to certain quadrants of the zone based on the opposing hitter's handedness. Boston is one of the best organizations at pitching development after struggling to modernize during the mid-to-late 2010s, so it will be intriguing to see just how much value they can get from Brayan Bello’s right arm.
Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers
25-year-old Kumar Rocker is one of five players in MLB history to be selected in the top ten of two different drafts. He is also the first person of Indian descent to wear an MLB uniform. The Georgia native has been on the radar of MLB scouts since middle school and is one of the few active starting pitchers under 30 years old who can be described as a generational talent. The right-hander was unquestionably the best player in college baseball during his three years as Vanderbilt University’s ace from 2019 to 2021. He posted a 2.89 ERA across 236.2 career innings in the SEC, the most competitive conference in college baseball. One of his notable accomplishments is throwing a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts during the 2019 NCAA Super Regionals tournament against Duke University as a true freshman.
He was selected tenth overall by the New York Mets in the 2021 MLB Draft, but he could not reach agreeable terms due to concerns about his throwing arm's elbow, as indicated in his medical reports. He opted not to return to Vanderbilt for his senior year and instead had minor shoulder surgery. He also joined the independent Frontier League for the 2022 season and excelled in a few brief starts, preserving his high draft stock as the 2022 MLB Draft approached. Rocker impressed evaluators with a fastball that reached as high as 98 miles per hour, and opposing hitters were tormented by his signature slurve.
The Texas Rangers front office shocked the realms of baseball and chose Rocker with the third overall pick in a 2022 MLB Draft class loaded with talent. Both parties reached an agreement within just a few hours. His MiLB career began with a cup of coffee in the Arizona Fall League, where he struggled with mechanical inconsistencies and ineffective pitch shapes. The next season, he made six starts for Texas's High-A affiliate in the Frontier League before suffering a UCL tear in the elbow of his throwing arm in May 2023.
Rocker returned to action in July 2024 and literally pitched his way onto the Texas Rangers' 25-man roster, recording a 1.96 ERA over 36.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League, Double-A, and Triple-A. He made his MLB debut in September of the 2024 season after rosters were expanded, throwing 11.2 innings across three starts with a 3.86 ERA. Currently third in the Rangers' starting rotation behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, Rocker has the talent and the opportunity to become the ace of the rotation by the end of the 2025 season.
Rocker is the son and nephew of former NFL defensive linemen, and He has inherited their physique and athleticism. Since joining the Texas Rangers organization, he has gradually adjusted his mechanics. He has eliminated some unnecessary movements, and his windup is more efficient. The area where he has improved the most is pitching from the stretch with runners on base; he has learned to utilize his athleticism and massive body as leverage when executing slide steps.
He throws a pair of fastballs: a four-seamer and a sinker, which range from 93 to 99 miles per hour. The shape of Rocker’s four-seamer has faced significant criticism due to its lack of ride and a notable amount of arm-side run. Even though he can throw hard, his four-seamer remains hittable because of its natural downward movement. I think the most realistic solution for Rocker’s fastball woes is developing a strong sinker, as his arm slot and release point create natural downward movement on his fastball. This approach is quite viable with the increase in power pitchers using sinkers in recent seasons.
He also throws a slurve (a slider/curveball hybrid) and a changeup. His slurve is thrown with a traditional curveball grip but has more of a slider-like shape. It is a bonafide out pitch, capable of inducing whiffs at an extremely high rate. It is also difficult to square up when successfully put in play. There is a sizeable amount of individuals who think it is the best secondary pitch in MiLB. The changeup sits in the high 80s and reaches 91 miles per hour. While Rocker uses it sparingly, it is graded as an above-average pitch.
When looking at the position player corps that he calls teammates, I think Kumar Rocker has a very great chance to win 20 games in a Texas Rangers uniform. All that is left to see is how “Rock” holds up against MLB-caliber hitters and whether he can endure an entire MLB season. It wouldn’t shock me if Rocker averaged north of 200 innings for the next five seasons and if he turned out to be Gen-Z’s equivalent of JR Richard. Starting pitchers with his combination of physicality, athleticism, and stuff come around once every one or two generations.
