Track Record: Silseth began his college career as a reliever at Tennessee, transferred to the JC of Southern Nevada as a sophomore and transferred again to Arizona as a junior, where he took over as the Wildcats' Friday night starter. Silseth delivered a lackluster performance on paper, but his loud stuff intrigued the Angels enough to draft him in the 11th round in 2021 and sign him over-slot for $485,000. Silseth flourished immediately after the Angels reworked his pitch design and became the first player from the 2021 draft to reach the majors when the Angels called him up in May, just 10 months after he was drafted. He returned to the minors and spent most of the year at Double-A Rocket City, where he won Southern League pitcher of the year honors.
Scouting Report: Silseth is a short but strong righthander who has steadily improved his four-pitch mix. Silseth reshaped his fastball to make it a livelier pitch that now sits 95-96 mph and touches 99. Both his tight, mid-80s slider and low-80s, curveball with 12-to-6 action flash plus and collect swings and misses after he revamped their shapes. He rounds out his arsenal with a upper-80s splitter with good depth that flashes average and gets swings and misses, though it is inconsistent. Silseth works around the zone, but his control comes and goes the deeper he goes into outings. His size and durability questions lead some to projections that he will be a multi-inning power reliever, but with strength and conditioning gains and a full arsenal of weapons, he will get every chance to remain a starter.
The Future: Silseth has the arsenal to reach an upside of No. 3 or 4 starter, but he has to prove he can hold up late into outings. He should return to the majors again at some point in 2023.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 55. Slider: 50. Splitter: 45. Control: 45
