re: Arkansas Baseball 2024 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread

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Questad is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound right-handed pitcher who throws a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, changeup and sinker from a clean, athletic and smooth delivery and high arm slot.

His above-average fastball is his best offering and features plenty of movement. It sits in the mid-90s, touches 97 mph with ride, and generates plenty of swings and misses. He also has quality control and command of his four-seamer.

Questad is a strong and athletic pitcher with a competitive mindset. He projects as a starting pitcher in the college and professional ranks.

“The ability to command my fastball in all four quadrants,” said Questad on his biggest strength. “In my training, we have bullpens dedicated just to command. Every pitch gets a grade, so I will try to hit certain quadrants. Focusing on command and not worrying about other things eliminates the variables I can’t control.”

This offseason, Questad is working on refining his secondary pitches and improving his command. Questad wants to differentiate the velocities between his curveball and slider. His goal is to have his curveball sit in the high-70s and his slider be a firm high-80s pitch, so it plays well off his fastball.

Questad’s slider is his best secondary pitch and serves as an outpitch. He likes to throw his changeup to left-handed hitters, which features late fading action and tunnels off his fastball.

His curveball plays well off his fastball, featuring a 12-to-6 break. Questad’s sinker is a developing offering he recently started throwing in hopes of having another consistent pitch he can use to generate ground balls.

“My goal is to dominate games without relying on my fastball,” Questad said. “I want to show that I am not just a fastball pitcher and that I do have these off-speed offerings.”

Questad credits his transformation into a top player in the 2023 class to his work with Nate Brown of Optimum Performance and Physical Therapy in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Brown was a 40th-round draft pick by the New York Yankees out of Arrowhead High School in 2016 before pitching collegiately at Florida and Arizona.

Questad has worked with Brown for about three years. During that time, Brown has helped Questad develop into a Division I college recruit and pro prospect.

Besides his status as a draft prospect, Questad is an Arkansas commit. He verbally committed to Arkansas as a high school junior in September 2021. Arkansas is one of the top programs in college baseball and has a track record of developing players for the pro ranks.

“I really believe Arkansas has one of the best fanbases in all professional or college sports,” Questad said. “Arkansas sports are the biggest thing in the state. We went down there for a scrimmage, and they had like 10,000 people there just for a scrimmage. It was a really cool experience. The facilities are great, and the coaches are awesome.”

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Questad turned in a series of strong performances on the showcase circuit last summer, including three perfect innings while sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball at the Area Code Games in August. His stuff wasn't as sharp during his Wisconsin high school senior season, though he did earn Gatorade's state player of the year award. He still has a chance to become the first Badger State high school pitcher taken in the top five rounds since 2006 third-rounder Tony Butler. Questad leans heavily on his fastball, which sat at 92-94 mph and peaked at 97 last summer before dropping a tick or two this spring, albeit still with plenty of run and downhill plane coming out of his high arm slot. He gets good depth on his upper-70s curveball and low-80s slider, though he's still learning to land them for strikes. He can impart some nasty late fade on his low-80s changeup but struggles to control it as well. Questad is strong and athletic, but he may be physically maxed out at 6 feet and 200 pounds. His arm works well but to succeed as a starter at higher levels, he'll need to improve the quality of his secondary pitches and his ability to locate them where he wants. He has had more of a reliever look in 2023, which could land him in college as part of Arkansas' top-rated recruiting class. - MLB.com

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Fastball sits 93-96 in shorter outings, low-90s over prolonged starts. Heater features serious ride (up to 24" IVB) and run on a separate two-seamer. Curveball flashes hammer potential with great bite in the upper-70s, though command wavers. Flashed low-80’s SL and mid-80’s CH as well. Shorter, bulldog-esque frame with some effort suggests a bullpen role may be in his ultimate pro profile.

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