Finally Healthy, Tucker Musgrove Moves Forward as a Pitcher

LAKE ELSINORE – Thanks to the dominance of Shohei Ohtani, major league organizations are more open to the idea of developing prospects as two-way players than in the past. The Padres are currently allowing TinCaps DH/relief pitcher Sean Barnett to work in a two-way capacity, albeit to mixed results so far. 

Initially, that was going to be the path for Storm right-hander Tucker Musgrove. Musgrove (no relation to Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove) excelled as a hitter during his time at the University of Mobile, an NAIA program in Alabama. The Padres selected him in the seventh round in the 2023 draft. Thanks to a series of trades, he is the highest drafted player from his class still in the Padres’ organization two years later. 

“He’s a guy who hit .400 for three years straight pretty much and steals 30 bags,“ said Padres scouting director Chris Kemp when the Padres drafted Musgrove in 2023. “He ran a 6.5 at our predraft workout in Atlanta, then got on the mound and was 93-94. He’s just one of those small-school recruits who didn’t get recruited out of high school. Kind of a late bloomer, and it’s a great story.” 

While he logged almost 100 innings pitching in his collegiate career, Musgrove’s calling card was his bat. Over three years playing center field for the Rams, he had an OPS of 1.174 with 23 homers in 124 games. 

“He could beat out ground balls,” said University of Mobile head coach Kyle Friday, who was an assistant coach with the program during Musgrove’s time at the school. “His power was unmatched, also. I watched him as a freshman hit three home runs in a game. One to left, one to right, and the last over the scoreboard to walk-off the game. He also hit for the cycle his last year.” 

“[However] it was his speed that most impressed, being that he was so tall and lanky. He could track down fly balls, and he stole 25 bases.” 

The path to college

Musgrove grew up in Semmes, Alabama, a town of just under 6,000, roughly 15 minutes from Mobile. After his sophomore year, the now 6-foot-3 Musgrove stood a foot shorter, keeping the athletic righty off scouts’ radar. 

“I would say I was a late bloomer,” said Musgrove before a recent Storm game. 

“I really [grew going] into my junior year in high school. After that, my senior year was [the COVID year]. After I kind of developed into my body and my skillset started to shine through, there wasn’t much exposure to be had at that point. Not many games were played because everyone was indoors.” 

At the University of Mobile, Musgrove mostly focused on hitting, but still pitched on the side. He worked primarily as a starter during his freshman year, starting 10 games, while accumulating 72 plate appearances. Despite playing both ways, his development placed a major emphasis on the hitting side. 

“I would say it was 75 [percent] to 25, in terms of hitting. I would go through a full day of defense, BP, and then do some arm care, and then throw a bullpen, and then I guess wait until I had to pitch in a game. I would say not much of my preparation went into the pitching side in college.” 

The breakout came during his junior year. Musgrove roamed center field for the Rams but also served as their closer. He had a 3.00 ERA with 10 saves in 18 innings. At the plate, he hit an absurd .397/.485/.635 with eight homers, 48 RBI, and 25 steals.

The Draft Process and Surgery

Musgrove’s breakout put him on the radar of major league organizations. However, during the medical screening process, it was revealed that Musgrove had a torn UCL that would require surgery, and that he would miss the rest of 2023 and all of 2024. 

“I never fully moved into, like, the pro ball lifestyle,” said Musgrove. “I went straight into rehab. So I had the surgery and kind of learned the ropes from rehab. So I don’t think it was a big adjustment for me.” 

The Tommy John surgery process was not exactly smooth for Musgrove, who had to endure a lengthy rehab stint plus a few setbacks in his recovery process. 

“I [had surgery] in August of 2023, and didn’t appear in a game until 2025. I started throwing in 2024. Just went through the progression – [throwing] bullpens, had a setback, got to throw live BP’s, had another setback; it ended up being far more of a journey than I expected it to be.” 

“I learned so much about being a pitcher from the surgery and just going through every day with the sole focus being throwing the ball. So I think I learned a lot about my body and my arm.” 

The transition to pitching full-time

As Musgrove’s rehab journey continued, it also came with a fairly significant career change; he was not going to develop as a two-way player, and he’d transition to becoming a full-time pitcher. 

“After I had the surgery, the [organization] told me I was going to be [a pitcher]. I wanted to [have a shot to do two-way]. It was hard to hear. I enjoyed hitting. I felt like I was good at it, but it’s a decision that was made, and I think I’ve come to terms with it, and I am ready to embrace the role of a pitcher.” 

“I get jealous of the guys hitting BP sometimes. But I think I have come to terms with it.” 

As Mugrove dug deeper into developing as a pitcher, he has relished the opportunity to learn from coaches as well as from his teammates. 

“I’ve discovered that there’s a lot more to pitching than I thought. My college career was spent mostly in the outfield. So, being able to pick the brains of these pitching coaches and really dive into the analytic side of pitching, I’ve been able to learn so much through these guys and through self-discovery and just doing it every day.” 

“I had no idea what a Trackman was until I got into pro ball. I didn’t know what spin efficiency was. I mean, I heard the terms, but I’ve never been measured and how they apply to me. I find it really interesting; I’m an engineering-minded person, so I found all of the physics behind it really intriguing.” 

Musgrove has used all of the data and coaching to work on developing his three-pitch mix: a fastball that sits in the 93-94 mph range but is capable of touching 98, a slider, and a curveball. Before the surgery, he also incorporated a splitter, but he has shelved that for now, due to the stress the pitch causes his elbow. The righty still believes he is capable of throwing harder. 

“Post-surgery, I’ve been up to 98. So no velocity has been lost. I’ve put on a few pounds being in pro ball, and I’ve gotten stronger, so 98 mph is great, but I think I want more than that. It’s fine-tuning the mechanics that we’ve been working on. Learning how to use the strength in my body that I’ve kind of rebuilt in rehab, towards being the most efficient.”

“Velocity is definitely flashy, it draws attention, it’s fun. It’s fun to be able to throw that hard. But there are definitely days when you know you’re not going to have it. There are days when your arm isn’t feeling the greatest, so you’re not necessarily worried about trying to light up the radar gun. It’s more about executing what you have that day and getting guys out.” 

On April 25, Musgrove made his long-awaited professional debut, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings, despite allowing a pair of hits and three walks in the outing. Despite the lack of command, it was still an experience that the 23-yeawr-old righty was able to find joy in. 

“It was amazing. I had a ton of fun. It didn’t go the way I would have wanted it to go; I would have wanted it to be perfect. Just being in that environment, the atmosphere was awesome. One of the things I wrote down that I need to work on is controlling the pitch clock tempo. I felt like it controlled me more than I controlled it, and so I’ve been working on [pitching with the pitch clock]. 

Thus far, the results for Musgrove haven’t been overly impressive. Through the All-Star break, he pitched to a 6.46 ERA in 15.1 innings. His 30.8% strikeout rate shows that his stuff can play in the Cal League, but a 15.4% walk rate shows the need for refinement. While he’s still learning to pitch on the fly, his potential as a power reliever with three pitches is intriguing. 

“[In terms of intangibles], he possesses a great work ethic and he’s fearless,” said Mobile’s Friday. “He did not care who was on the mound or at the plate. He wanted to beat them and compete against the best.”