Tarpley is a 20-year-old lefty who is 6'2", 200 lbs, and can reportedly throw a 94 mph fastball.
The Orioles used the 98th pick in the draft to select a lefty pitcher out of Scottsdale Community College, Stephen Tarpley. Born on 2/17/93, Tarpley was ranked the 64th best player in this year's draft by MLB.com. Here is what MLB.com has to say about him:
Scouting Grades* (present/future): Fastball: 5/6| Curve 4/5 | Slider: 4/6 | Changeup: 4/5 | Control: 4/5 | Overall: 4/5
An eighth-round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2011, Tarpley initially went to Southern California to start his college career. After one season there, he transferred to Scottsdale Community College, thus making him eligible for this year's Draft.
The strong and athletic lefty can crank the fastball up to 94 mph with easy effort. Both his curve and slider can be at least average, if not better. His changeup is behind the breaking stuff, but should also be a Major League average pitch for him.
Tarpley can throw strikes and has terrific mound presence. It's a combination, especially from the left side, that will intrigue many teams on Draft day, with an upside as a future member of a big league rotation.
Matt Garrioch's ranking at Minor League Ball doesn't like Tarpley as much, ranking him at #138.
Conor Glassey at Baseball America wrote a story on Tarpley back in February. It's short but worth checking out. He speaks Japanese and taught himself to play guitar, so he's a renaissance man.
Keith Law wrote about Tarpley for ESPN Insider after watching him play in April. He claims he is a late second round or third round talent, and included this tidbit:
Tarpley left USC after his freshman year under a cloud of rumors, mostly surrounding his off-field makeup, that will likely cause him to go later in the draft than his raw ability would indicate. The fact that his delivery often looks lazy, like he's just playing catch rather than making an effort to finish all of his pitches out front, is more glaring because of the makeup concerns. Perhaps cleaning up his delivery will be about more than just teaching him to rotate his hips and lengthen his stride.
Video of Tarpley courtesy of MLB.com: