Dodgers draft Georgia LHP Ben Harris in the eighth round, 252nd overall

The Dodgers selected their seventh consecutive pitcher of the draft, as they took Georgia left-handed pitcher Ben Harris in the eighth round with the 252nd overall pick.

In 2021, Harris appeared in 21 games with 20 of them coming out of the bullpen. He went 4-2 with three saves and a 2.33 ERA. He tossed 38.2 innings with 28 walks and 66 strikeouts. Opponents hit .125 off him.

Baseball America named him as one of the biggest sleepers of the draft last week. They said that he has elite spin characteristics, which is what helped him have a 15.4 SO/9. He sits in the low 90s and touches 95 mph, but scouts believe the pitch plays up from that, and while he did struggle with control (6.5 BB/9) there were promising steps forward in the strike-throwing department as the season progressed.

Some more from Baseball America on the left-handed pitcher.

His fastball sits in the low 90s and touches 95 mph but has close to elite spin characteristics, with exceptional riding life that analytics departments should love. His fastball whiff rate stacks up with some of the more elite pitchers in the country and he gets plenty of swings and misses up in the zone. Harris also throws a slow 12-to-6 curveball. While his walk rate was well below-average this spring, scouts noted that he showed improvement in his control as the season progressed when he stopped nibbling around the zone.