Friday-night arm, swing-and-miss stuff, and a pro-level résumé
In the 2026 season, Colter McAnelly was Utah’s Friday-night starter and showed the kind of workload and bat-missing profile that scouts love: he finished with 70 strikeouts in 67.1 innings, reached 200 career strikeouts in May, and left Utah ranking fourth all-time with 207 punchouts. He also earned 2025 All-Big 12 First Team honors and was viewed as a top Big 12 draft prospect, signaling real starter upside. The hook here is durability plus strikeout feel; the concern is that his career win-loss record was uneven, but the arm talent clearly played up enough for Minnesota to draft him.
