Chart Observations: 8/31 TOR @ TEX

1) Brett Cecil: 85 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, CU). 4 strikes swinging. Fastball, Curveball, Slider, Changeup.

• Cecil came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a little late run in on lefties and some sink, a change with a little run in on righties and above average sink that he will throw to lefties, a 11-5 slider with good bite and a 12-6 curve with average depth.

1st: FB (87-89), CU (81), SL (81)

2nd: FB (87-91), CU (82), SL (82) - CU

3rd: FB (86-89), CU (82-84), SL (82), CB (79-80)

4th: FB (86-89), CU (78-80), SL (79-80)

5th: FB (85-90), CU (79-81), SL (80-82), CB (77-79) - FB, CB, SL

2) Derek Holland: 71 pitches. (FB, SL, CU, CB). 7 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, 2 Curveballs, 2 Sliders.

• Holland came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball that had a little run in on lefties, but was fairly straight, a 11-5 curve with average depth, a change with some fade from righties and some sink and a sharp 11-5 slider with solid bite. The slider serves as his out pitch and he only threw it in this outing when he had 2 strikes on a hitter.

1st: FB (88-92), CU (82-85), CB (74)

2nd: FB (89-92), CU (82), CB (72-75), SL (82) - SL

3rd: FB (90-93), CU (81-82), CB (72-73) - 2 FB

4th: FB (88-90), CU (82), CB (72-74), SL (77-79) - FB, 2 CB, SL

3) Doug Mathis: 50 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, CU). 1 strike swinging. Curveball.

• Mathis came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball that has some run in on righties and flashes some sink and flashes above average run and above average sink at times, a 2-7 slider with solid bite, a 12-6 curve with average depth and a change with good sink and some fade from lefties. He just peppered the outside corner to righties with his good moving fastball and they were all at the knees just on it or just off it.

4th: FB (89-90), SL (83-84)

5th: FB (88-90), SL (81-83), CB (75-77)

6th: FB (87-90), SL (83), CB (78-79), CU (81) - CB

4) Casey Janssen: 25 pitches. (FB, Cut, CB, SL, CU). 4 strikes swinging. 3 Curveballs, Cutter.

• Janssen came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 2-7 slider with some bite, a sharp 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a cutter with some cut

6th: FB (89-90), Cut (85-90), CB (74-76), SL (81-83) - Cut, 3 CB

5) Jesse Carlson: 21 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Carlson came from a sidearm release and showed a sweeping 9-4 slider with good bite, a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink and a change with some fade from righties with some sink that he spiked at about 45 feet.

6th: FB (87), SL (79-80)

7th: FB (85-88), SL (79-81), CU (80)

6) Scott Downs: 19 pitches. (FB, CB, SL). 0 strikes swinging.

• Downs came from a 3/4 release and showed a 10-5 curve with slightly above average depth and a fastball with good late tailing action in on righties and some late sink.

7th: FB (87-89), CB (73)

8th: FB (86-88), CB (74)

7) Darren O'Day: 27 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 7 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 5 Sliders.

• O'Day came from a sidearm release and showed a 3-8 slider that has some bite that almost moves like a cutter, a fastball with good run in on righties

7th: FB (83-85), SL (76-77) - 2 FB, 4 SL

8th: FB (83-85), SL (75-77) - SL

8) Jason Grilli: 15 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Grilli came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a 1-7 slider with good bite and a change with some fade from lefties and good sink.

9th: FB (90-92), SL (82-83), CU (82) - SL

9) Pedro Strop: 40 pitches. (FB, SL, Split). 5 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, Slider, Splitter.

• Strop came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball that flashed a little run in on righties, a sharp 1-7 slider with good bite and a splitter with some dive. Had no problems getting ahead, but then he tried to be too fine with his pitches and ended up walking guys. Struggles to throw his off-speed stuff for strikes.

9th: FB (93-95), SL (80-83), Split (84-87) - 3 FB, SL, Split

10) Jason Frasor: 14 pitches. (FB, SL, Split, CU). 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider.

• Frasor came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties, a sharp 2-7 slider with average bite and a split with good dive.

9th: FB (91-93), SL (83-84), Split (83-85) - FB, SL

Random Observation: Chris Davis received a steady diet of curveballs from Blue Jays pitching and even saw Jesse Carlson (the Jays LOOGY who throws primarily sliders) pulled in favor of Scott Downs (primarily curveball lefty). The reports on him are obviously that he can't hit a curve or see it well.

8/29: TOR @ BOS

1) Ricky Romero: 116 pitches. 9 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs, 4 Changeups, Slider.

• Romero came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink, a change with good fade from righties and good sink that looks like a fastball out of his hand that he will throw 3-1, 3-2 and to lefties, a 11-5 slider with some bite and a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth. Worked in and out of trouble in the first 2 innings, mainly due to him falling behind counts constantly. Fastball command can change from at-bat to at-bat and from inning to inning. He loses 2 or 3 miles per hour out of the stretch. Rarely throws a fastball 3-2, throwing either changeups or sliders.

1st: FB (91-95), CU (86-87) - 4 FB

2nd: FB (90-94), CU (85), SL (83-85) - 2 CU

3rd: FB (91-95), CU (84-86), SL (81-83), CB (76-80) - CU

4th: FB (88-93), CU (82-84), SL (81-83), CB (77-79) - CU

5th: FB (90-93), CU (83-84), SL (81-82), CB (76) - SL

6th: FB (89-93), CU (83-84), SL (81-82), CB (76-78)

2) Clay Buchholz: 107 pitches. 15 strikes swinging. Fastball, 2 Sliders, 11 Changeups, Curveball.

• Clay came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 2-7 slider with above average bite, a sharp 12-6 curve with above average depth and a change with good fade from lefties and good sink that he will throw to righties. Throws a lot of 1st pitch fastballs for strikes (not quality strikes, catch a lot of the plate) and will need to throw some breaking pitches for 1st pitch strikes to keep hitters off balance. After writing that, he threw a 1st pitch change to Lind that he swung right through. In the 5th inning, he lost his fastball command, but got it back in the 6th. Changeup was filthy in the 7th and 8th and he had command of it, which isn't fair for Toronto hitters. Best stuff from him I have seen all year.

1st: FB (93-95), CU (78), SL (87), CB (77)

2nd: FB (92-95), CU (78-80), SL (84-85), CB (75) - SL, CU

3rd: FB (92-94), CB (77) - FB

4th: FB (92-95), CU (79), SL (86), CB (76-77) - CB, CU

5th: FB (90-95), CU (77)

6th: FB (92-95), CU (77-79), SL (84-87), CB (77) - 2 CU, SL

7th: FB (89-93), CU (76-79), CB (75-77) - 4 CU

8th: FB (93-95), CU (78-80), CB (76-78) - 2 CU

9th: FB (92-94), CU (79), CB (75-77) - CU

3) Casey Janssen: 4 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Janssen came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 2-7 slider with good bite and a 2-seam fastball with some run in on righties and some sink.

6th: FB (91-92), SL (84)

4) Jesse Carlson: 3 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Carlson came from a sidearm release and showed a 9-4 slider with good bite

6th: SL (80-82) - SL

5) Brandon League: 27 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 3 Splitters, 2 Sliders.

• League came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a 3-8 slider with good bite and a splitter with good dive.

6th: FB (94-96), SL (84), Split (83-84)

7th: FB (95), SL (85-86), Split (84-86) - 3 Split, 2 SL

6) Scott Downs: 26 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Curveball.

• Downs came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink and a sharp, sweeping 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth.

8th: FB (87-90), CB (75-76) - FB, CB

7) Hideki Okajima: 4 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Okajima came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on lefties and some sink and a 12-6 curve with average depth.

9th: FB (86-87), CB (76)

8) Jonathan Papelbon: 5 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Papelbon came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties and a little sink, a 3-8 slider with good bite

9th: FB (94-95), SL (80)

Chart Observations: TOR @ ATL

• Casey Janssen, a 6-3 225 pounder, made his return to the big leagues last night after being away for over a year due to injury. Formerly a reliever, the 27 year old has come back as a starter, which he was when he first came up. Janssen has a medium to big frame that looks like it can still add muscle. His mechanics are very similar to those of Jordan Zimmermann of the Nats, but is slower through them. He attacked from a high 3/4 release with a fastball at 89-92, a cutter at 87-91, a curveball at 73-76, a changeup at 79-82 and a slider at 81-82. His main pitch was the cutter to the lefty heavy Braves order he faced. His cutters shows good cut and he will throw it to both sides of the plate. His fastball is a 2-seamer with some good fade to it. The sliders shows a lot of downward bite, but not much in regards to side-to-side movement. His curveball is a 12-6/11-7 type offering with good movement and is a big breaker. It is more of a pitch to get an early strike with then to rack up strikeouts, but he likes to throw it with 2 strikes. Changeup shows good fade and sink and is somewhat late breaking. His cutter will occassionally show some good downward movement. His pitches (and mostly his cutter) appeared to start playing down in the third and they lost some movement. He is a back of the rotation starter who has a shot to be a solid # 3. He features 3 above average offerings in his arsenal (cutter, change - needs to throw more, curveball) and his fastball and slider are average. He also has plus command. This is the mold Toronto tends to develop pitchers in and a season similar to that of Shaun Marcum or Dustin McGowan from last season isn't out of reach.
• Derek Lowe opposed him and is really paying off for the Braves. The 35 year old who stands 6-6, 230 has a big frame that could still add muscle, but no sense in projecting a 35 year old. He featured a fastball at 85-89 and a slider at 79-83. His fastball is a dynamite sinker that is just a tick below Brandon Webb's and he also has great command of the pitch, able to start it off the outside corner so it comes back or start it on the outside corner at the knees and have it break out of the zone. His slider is a 3-7 type pitch that has good late break and has good depth. Lowe is a solid # 2 starter, but would ideally be a # 3 starter. His plus sinker and above average slider help him get out most teams with good defenses behind him and he has proved his durability over the years. He is a big body though, so you have to wonder just how much longer he can do this.
• Diory Hernandez is a 25 year old shortstop who stands 6-0, 185. His medium frame can add a little more muscle, but appears to be close to maxed out. He has soft hands with an above average arm and has very good fielding mechanics and is very smooth. He features a fairly straight-up stance and bounces the bat off his shoulder as he waits for the pitcher to begin his motion. A slightly open stance, he takes a double step, stepping in and then towards the pitcher. On a team full of utility infielders, he is another. His bat appears to be fringy, as he struggled badly against the Blue Jays arms. He looks like, at best, a gap hitter who could hit .280. He will never hit for a lot of power, but did appear to have above average speed. A utility player who won't hit enough to beat out the likes of Omar Infante or Martin Prado, but one that can fill in ably.
• Jordan Schafer is a 22 year old who stands 6-1, 200. He has a medium frame with room to add a lot more muscle. He has a fairly straight-up stance and triggers with a toe turn. Hands never really move in the trigger. He is still learning how to command the strike zone and not swing at pitches he can't do anything with. He is an interesting guy. I saw him in AA and saw a 4th OF. He has improved since then mechanically, but his latest struggles make him difficult to analyze. He has a strong swing from the left side of the plate, allowing you to project him to hit 15-20 home runs a season down the road. He has above average speed and is above average defensively. His ability to hit for average will need to be answered though (and it should be once he learns to command the zone). He should be a guy that hits .280-.400-.450 in his prime and shows a good eye right now. Those are valuable numbers and he profiles decently as an everyday player in CF. Another knock may be a need for a platoon partner against hard throwing lefties.
• B.J. Ryan is a 33 year old who stands 6-5, 250 pounds. From a high 3/4 release, he featured a fastball at 87-89 and a slider at 79-83. Put simply, his days in the back end of a bullpen are over. His big frame is maxed out and his arm hasn't recovered from his latest couple of injuries. His fastball is a straight 4-seam and 87-89 is a big difference from the 93-95 he used to be at. His slider is a 10-4 breaker that is just an average offering now. Still a solid lefty to have in the pen, just don't want him to the be the ONLY lefty you have in the pen. Solid 2nd lefty, which isn't what Toronto is paying him big bucks for.
• Peter Moylan is a 30 year old who stands 6-2, 200. The sidearmer was 89-91 with his fastball. His medium frame is maxed out. His fastball showed good fade, but not much in regards to sink. He has good velocity for a sidearmer, but it is hard to make a read on him without seeing an off-speed offering.
• Brian Wolfe is a 28 year old who stands 6-2, 230. He has a medium frame that is close to being maxed out, but may be able to add another 5 or 10 pounds of muscle to his lower half. From a high 3/4 release, he featured a fastball at 91-96, a cutter at 92 and a curveball at 80-81. Wolfe's fastball is explosive and teases you with great downward bite and fade, but isn't consistent with the movement, as it sometimes flattens out. His curveball is a hard-breaking 12-6. His cutter has some action in to lefties, but not much. Solid middle reliever.
• Mike Gonzalez is a 31 year old who stands 6-2, 215. His medium frame is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 92-93 and a slider anywhere from 80-85. He rocks back and forth on the rubber as he is getting the sign to make the hitter not feel very comfortable in the box and when to start his trigger. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is a 10-5 type pitch that has gotten a little loopy and is just an above average offering as opposed to the plus offering it used to be. It does have good downward movement and depth. More of a set-up guy to me then a closer.
• Rafael Soriano is a 29 year old who stands 6-1, 220. He has a medium frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, he featured a fastball at 92-93 and a slider at 80-83. His fastaball is a straight 4-seam while his slider is a 3-7 pitch that has good depth and is somewhat late breaking. I think he profiles better as a closer then Gonzalez, but neither is a real lockdown guy and he is another who is better off in a setup role.