the No. 3 pick in this year\u2019s draft<\/a>, allowing two runs in six innings to the eventual NCAA champions. It was a high-pressure environment, but he didn\u2019t let it bother him.<\/p>\n\u201cI try not to really put that on myself, and just try to have faith in the work I put in,\u201d Witherspoon said of pitching in front of scouts.<\/p>\n
Witherspoon never walked more than three batters in any start this season and was generally efficient with his pitch count. In two years with the Sooners, Witherspoon continued to gain velocity \u2014 he topped out at 99 mph this season \u2014 while also smoothing out his mechanics and significantly improving his command and his changeup, a pitch Law gave a 55 grade.<\/p>\n
He cut his walk rate significantly from last season, a big reason behind his improved overall numbers. This season, he threw at least five innings in all but two of his 15 starts and threw at least seven innings in five starts. He credits the improvement to his work with Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson on his mindset and changes he made to his mechanics.<\/p>\n
A shortstop in high school, Witherspoon admits it took him a while to commit to the idea of being a full-time pitcher. He was a two-way player in junior college but he was having trouble keeping on weight trying to handle both roles and knew he needed to choose one or the other. He had touched 95 mph in a scrimmage so he wasn\u2019t surprised when his coaches pointed him toward the mound when he asked whether they thought pitching or playing shortstop was best for his future. Still, it was a bit of a mental hurdle to let go of his dream of playing shortstop.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne door closed and one door opened,\u201d he said at the Combine site, Chase Field, in June.<\/p>\n
There are echoes of his days as a shortstop in his pitching mechanics, with his shorter arm stroke somewhat reminiscent of a shortstop\u2019s throwing motion. He\u2019s made tweaks to his motion over the past year, working to be more fluid.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, I was a bit more wild with my lower half. I\u2019d fall off really hard to my glove side,\u201d he said. \u201cSo really trying to stay stacked, just kick over, be in an athletic position so I can catch a play. It really just translates to me being in more control. And then definitely trying to keep both my eyes on the glove. Just go to the glove, execute a pitch, and simplifying it as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
His vision was something else that changed this season. Witherspoon used to wear goggles when he pitched, but when he switched from weekly to daily contact lenses this season, he didn\u2019t need the on-field specs anymore. His teammates wanted him to revive the goggles for a start, but with a four-seam and two-seam fastball, two breaking balls and an above-average changeup, Witherspoon doesn\u2019t need any accessories to be intimidating to hitters.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/USATSI_22956447-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Witherspoon with the goggles in 2024. (Bryan Terry \/ The Oklahoman \/ USA Today Network)<\/p>\n
He can throw all five of his pitches in any count but he says if he\u2019s looking for a swing and miss, the curveball is his best put-away pitch against both righties and lefties. He likes using the cutter because he knows hitters have to be ready for his upper-90s fastball and the cutter comes out of his hand looking like the fastball but with different movement and velocity.<\/p>\n
Witherspoon didn\u2019t grow up with a favorite team but he points to fellow Florida native Jacob deGrom as his favorite pitcher to watch. He also named hard-throwing relievers Mason Miller and Aroldis Chapman as pitchers he watches closely. Although he\u2019s a starter, he likes the aggressive mindset used by elite relievers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to compete in the zone, keep the pitch count low so I can go as far as I can into games,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that mindset also helps me just carry my velo as far as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Witherspoon has emerged as the higher-rated prospect, his twin brother is expected to hear his name called in the top 10 rounds. Malachi\u2019s command isn\u2019t as sharp as his brother\u2019s, but he also has a plus fastball that has touched triple digits and an above-average slider, a combination that profiles well as a reliever at the next level. Whether the brothers continue to develop as teammates or in separate organizations remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Kyson says having his brother as a teammate throughout his life has made him a better pitcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that we\u2019re both here, it\u2019s just a testament to how hard we worked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kyson Witherspoon credits his mom, Meg, for instilling the work ethic in him and his brother that has allowed them to reach this point in their baseball careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s by far the most influential person I know,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s the one that taught me how to work hard, and the way that she\u2019s put me, my brother, and even the rest of my family above her, it\u2019s just really inspiring. That\u2019s all I do it for really. Baseball would be the best job in the world I think, but it\u2019s all really for my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
With both brothers on the same team, Meg hasn\u2019t had to wear a split jersey yet like the moms of some other famous athlete brothers. But she did have No. 25 and No. 26 Oklahoma jerseys and earrings that she\u2019d wear to match which brother was starting that day.<\/p>\n
Depending on where Malachi ends up in the draft, Meg might be faced with the tough decision of having to split her attention between two different teams to watch her sons for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s going to have to watch one of us start and then watch the other guy on TV and the next time, we\u2019re just going to take turns. We\u2019ll have to figure it out,\u201d Witherspoon said.<\/p>\n
Though it will be an adjustment if he isn\u2019t teammates with his brother in professional baseball, Witherspoon is ready for his next step.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s really just like another door opening,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to be me, just becoming more of an individual, in a sense. Really trying to build my own story. It\u2019ll be a change, for sure, but something I\u2019m excited to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Top photo: Gary Cosby Jr. \/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Boston Red Sox\u2019s newest first-round pick, Oklahoma right-hander Kyson Witherspoon, was so far off the draft radar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,7286,1203,6,12,2400],"class_list":{"0":"post-168961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston-red-sox","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-draft","13":"tag-oklahoma-sooners"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114848756120941757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}