2023 Cleveland Guardians prospect scouting report: #46 RHP Trenton Denholm

The velocity is in there for Denholm. He just needs to hold it consistently to breakout as a possible rotation regular.

Background, Build and Delivery

The Guardians selected Denholm in the 14th round of the 2021 draft out of UC-Irvine. He did not pitch in 2021 following the draft. In 2022, Denholm posted a 24.8% K rate, 9.3% BB rate, and 4.79 ERA in 97.2 innings for Lynchburg. Denholm is on the shorter end for a pitcher at 5 '11, with a medium build. His delivery features a prominent leg kick and is quite linear to the plate, without much excess motion.

What Denholm Does Well

Denholm was considered a soft-tossing command artist when Cleveland selected him in the draft, but in the following months he gained over 3 miles per hour of fastball velocity, allowing the pitch to play at the top of the zone. His premier pitch has always been his fading changeup, which he is very adept at commanding to his arm-side. Denholm’s curveball and cutter aren’t huge bat-missers, but they are adequate pitches that complete his MLB caliber arsenal.

Steve Fiorindo @SoCalSteve9

@PitchingNinja @aaronfitt One of the best CH's on the Left coast right here, Trenton Denholm, tripled up right here, then finished off w/ the FB

Where Denholm Needs to Improve

While he has the stuff to profile as an MLB starter, Denholm will have to be more consistent to reach that level. His velocity often fluctuated from start to start and even within appearances. Maintaining mid-90s velocity consistently will be key for Denholm, as the pitch doesn’t have tremendous movement and he tends to attack hitters at the letters with it. Denholm will also need to improve the consistency of his pitch execution, as he tended to mislocate his pitches more often than expected given his collegiate profile as a command artist.

Intangibles

Denholm showed a huge capacity for growth in the 2021-2022 offseason by both adding velocity to his fastball and utilizing a new cutter.  

Burke Granger @burkegranger

Some old video of #Indians 14th rounder Trenton Denholm (rhp, @UCIbsb) pitching with the Collegiate National Team back in 2019.

Future

Denholm currently has the pitch mix to be a successful back of the rotation starter. His success will be dependent on making incremental improvements in consistency. Given his transformation in the past season, it is also possible that Denholm will pop as a legitimate potential ace, in a similar fashion to Tanner Bibee. Denholm will begin the 2022 season as a starting pitcher with Lake County and may be a fast riser with continued improvement.

Role

40 - Back of the Rotation Starter

Justin L. @JL_Baseball

🌟🌟🌟RHP Trenton Denholm (Lynchburg): 4IP, 2H, BB, 7K - 66 pitches/46 strikes (69% strikes. Nice!) Really nice mix of a deceptive low-mid 90s FB, CB and CH here.