Peyton Palette
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| Photo: Southside Sox |
Bio:
Age: 23
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Hometown: Benton, Arkansas
Draft Profile: 2nd round, 62nd pick of the 2022 Draft by Chicago White Sox
Drafted Out of: Arkansas University
Career Stat Line: 90.1 IP 1-7 W/L 4.68 ERA 102:49 K:BB .234 AVG. 1.43 WHIP
From the rolling flatlands of Arkansas to the Chopping Lines' Minor League Spotlight, what a journey it's been for right hander Peyton Palette. One with substantially greater accolades then blog post this mind you!
Peyton's baseball journey began in Benton, Arkansas, just southwest of Little Rock-- not to be mistaken for Walmart's central location in Bentonville. He attended Benton High for his four years of prep ball, where he also was a receiver on the school's football team.
During his early days on the diamond, Panthers' head coach Mark Balisterri had Pallette mostly on the the hot corner rather than the mound, to take advantage of his live arm and quality defense as often as possible. After helping lead the team to a runner-up finish in the 6A playoffs during his junior year in 2018, he texted his travel coach Chase Brewster and expressed his desire to focus on pitching that upcoming summer with the Arkansas Sticks-- a prestigious, local travel team.
He put his money where his mouth is, hitting the weight room hard while steadily improving his pitching mechanics. Pallette's commitment to the craft bore fruit, quickly noticing an uptick in his velocity as he carved out a prominent bullpen role for the Sticks (Whole Hog Sports). That July, the fifth ranked prospect in Arkansas committed to the state University to continue his playing career.
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| Photo: Whole Hog Sports |
Despite his improvements, Peyton still was hard pressed to get on the mound as a senior at Benton, only logging 8.2 innings during his final prep season (247Sports). He did notch 15 strikeouts in this limited window however, providing plenty of promise for his ascension to the collegiate level.
COVID cut his first year with the Razorbacks short, but not before Pallette could show a little bit of what he'd been working on. The freshman posted a 1.59 ERA in four appearances, totaling 5.2 innings, 3 strikeouts and 3 walks (Baseball Reference). The abbreviated stint left many wanting more, fascinated with the kid's rapid development.
2021 gave us what we were asking for! Head coach Dave VanHorn decided to transition the righty from the bullpen to the rotation during his sophomore campaign, much to the benefit of the team as well as Pallette's future draft prospects. The second year man went just 1-2 over 11 starts, but had a K/9 rate just under 11 while limiting opposing batters to a .237 average (Arkansas Razorbacks). His sharp season earned him All-SEC honors, as well as helped set a program record for most strikeouts.
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| Photo: Andy Shupe/ NWA Democrat |
Unfortunately, he suffered a slight UCL tear in a game versus Florida that never improved, in what'd ultimately be his last time on the field for the Razorbacks. Tommy John surgery put the junior on the shelf in what would be his final season at the school.
The injury didn't deter Peyton's professional aspirations, as he entered himself into the 2022 MLB Draft. The right hander boasted an effective three pitch arsenal, featuring a fastball that sat in the low-mid 90's, a changeup in the upper 80's and a curveball with impressive spin rate (Baseball America). It was more than enough on paper to entice a franchise or two.
Come July 17th, 2022-- he didn't have to wait too long to hear his name called, ultimately sliding to the 62nd pick overall before the Chicago White Sox took a swing at kid the from Arkansas. The club offered him a $1.5 million dollar signing bonus, slightly above the $1.16 million slot value, and things were made official.
After a few more months of rehabbing and ramping up, Pallette was ready to go for 2023. Chicago assigned their second round pick to Class-A Kannapolis, where he'd spend the entire season. In 22 starts for the Intimidators, the 22-year old posted an 0-4 record with 78 strikeouts in 72 innings (MiLB.com). He walked a few more batters than the team would've preferred, but a .213 average against and no setbacks to the elbow were plenty encouraging.
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| Photo: Tiffany Wintz/South Side Sox |
2024's been a bit more unkind thus far, with the White Sox' 12th ranked prospect currently rocking an ERA north of six for the High-A Winston Salem Dash. Not abnormal for their to be some growing pains as these guys ascend through the minors however, so we anticipate that number to come down sooner than later. A deeper look at the numbers shows his K/9 and K:BB rates have improved steadily, just a matter of forcing a few more swings and misses now.
Make sure to keep an eye on this exciting arm as he continues his push to the pros.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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