PIT @ WAS

• Craig Stammen made his major league debut tonight. The 24 year old stands 6 foot 3 and 210 pounds. The strike thrower (only 8 walks and 14 strikeouts in 40 innings at AAA Syracuse) featured a fastball at 88-92, a curveball at 78-81 and a changeup at 81-85. He has a medium to big frame that has a lot of projectability left. He attacks from an over the opt release and some cocking action in his arm right before the release. His fastball is a moving 2-seam that has good sink and helps him force groundballs. His change also features good sink and fade and is an above average offering. His curveball is a 12-6 that is more of an early strike pitch then an out pitch. Above average offering as well. His command was plus, as he showed an ability to move the ball in and out and up and down all night until the 7th. He shows a very clean delivery apart from the cocking arm and is very projectable there as well. It isn't inconceivable to see him sitting at 90-92 and touching 94 in a couple years. Overall, he is a back of the rotation starter right now with the potential to be a middle of the rotation starter if he adds some more velocity or develops a true out pitch, as his strikeout numbers show an inability to finish hitters.
• Ian Snell opposed him. The 5 foot 11, 200 pounder featured a fastball at 90-95, a slider at 81-88 and a changeup at 84-85 from a high 3/4 release. He has a smaller frame that is maxed out. He has almost a whip-like type arm action. His slider is sharp with good late bite and the bottom falls out of it. A true 2-plane pitch when on and it is a plus offering. His changeup has a little fade, flashes sink and is more of a show pitch then a pitch to get hitters out. It is an average offering and does look like a fastball when it comes out of his hand. Fastball has a little movement, but not much. He struggles with his command from batter to batter. First strike is very important for him and he tends to fall behind guys 2-0 or 3-1 and puts them in fastball counts. Overall, he is a middle of the rotation starter right now and if he can refine his command issues and also make a little bit more development in his changeup and gain that as a consistent pitch, then he can be an average # 2 starter.
• Jason Jaramillo is a 26 year old who stands 6-0 and weighs 200 pounds. The switch hitting catcher has a medium frame that still has some projection to it. He has a very quiet setup and stance and keeps his hands still throughout. His trigger is just a toe turn. He will never hit more much, if any, power. He shows some ability as a catch and throw and also an ability to hit for a little average from both sides of the plate. He is a career backup and the question the Pirates will be asking themselves when Ryan Doumit comes off the DL is whether or not to keep him or Robinzon Diaz with the big club.
• Julian Tavarez is a 35 year old who stands 6-2 and weighs 195 pounds. He has a high 3/4 release and attacked hitters with a 2-seam fastball at 88-92, a slider at 79-83 and a changeup at 82-85. Tavarez still gets plus movement to his 2 seam and continues to generate groundballs. His changeup shows good fade, but his slider has flattened out and is a below average offering. Tavarez is teetering between the brink of being a mop-up reliever and being retired.
• Tom Gorzelanny is back in the big leagues as a reliever. The 6-2, 200 pound 26 year old featured a fastball at 91-94, a slider at 79-82, a curveball at 76 and a changeup at 83-85. His fastball is a straight 4-seam while his change shows good fade and is an average offering. His slider showed some decent late break and his 1 curve had decent bite. Really, his fastball is above average and all his other pitches are average offerings, with the changeup showing a little better. He comes from a high 3/4 release and kicks his right foot out as he comes down from his balance point. He also really battles his command from pitch to pitch and batter to batter and looks to be like someone who throwing strikes will always be an issue for. He profiles best as a multiple inning reliever if he can get his command sorted out, but should be a good 1 inning reliever (was good in his first inning, but got knocked around in the 2nd). I think his upside is that of a Rafael Perez when he was having good years.
• Jesse Chavez is a 25 year old who stands 6-2 and weighs 170 pounds. He has a medium frame that still has a little projection left to it. From a high 3/4 release, he attacked hitters with a fastball at 94-96, threw 1 slider at 90 and a changeup at 85-86. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His changeup features some fade and sink and is a tick above average. His slider is a 2-plane breaker and is also above average. When I saw him 2 years ago, I thought his upside was that of a middle reliever. But, his fastball has jumped from 92-93 to 94-96 and is now looking at being a set-up man and potential closer. Chavez does battle his command every once in awhile, but it should come around, as his mechanics are very clean. Probably will settle in as a 7th inning reliever for a contender.
• Joel Hanrahan got the save and is a 6 foot 4, 250 pound behemoth on the mound. The 27 year old featured a straight, hard 4-seam fastball at 95-96 and a slider that was unusually flat at 85-86. He still looks like a closer to me.

2 scores tomorrow. Got the Mets (Santana) vs. Red Sox (Matsuzaka) and the Diamondbacks (Buckner) against the Athletics (Cahill).