9/11: ATL @ STL

1) Jair Jurrjens: 105 pitches. 9 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs, 3 Changeups, 2 Sliders.

• Jurrjens came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a good run in on righties and a little sink, a change with some sink that looks like a fastball out of his hand that he will throw to righties and a 2-7 slider with solid bite.

1st: FB (88-93), CU (84)

2nd: FB (89-96), CU (83-84), SL (84-85) - FB, CU

3rd: FB (90-93), CU (82-83), SL (79-82) - SL

4th: FB (90-94), CU (82-84), SL (80-83) - 2 FB, SL

5th: FB (90-93), CU (83-84), SL (80-81)

6th: FB (90-96), CU (83-86), SL (81-82) - CU

7th: FB (88-93), CU (81-83), SL (79) - FB, CU

8th: FB (91-95), CU (80-83)

2) Joel Pineiro: 86 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 3 Curveballs, 2 Fastballs, Cutter.

• Pineiro came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth, a cutter with some cut and a change with some fade from lefties and some sink.

1st: FB (90-92)

2nd: FB (89-92), Cut (86), CB (78-80), CU (85) - CB, Cut

3rd: FB (88-91), CB (76)

4th: FB (88-90), Cut (87-88), CB (76-79), CU (84-85) - CB

5th: FB (88-91) - 2 FB

6th: FB (89-92), Cut (86), CB (76-79) - CB

7th: FB (88-92), Cut (86-88), CB (76)

3) Trever Miller: 14 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders.

• Miller came from a sidearm release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a sweeping 9-4 slider with good bite and a change with some fade from righties and some sink.

8th: FB (85-88), SL (75-76), CU (79-80) - 2 SL

9th: FB (85-87), SL (77)

4) Kyle McClellan: 17 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Curveball.

• McClellan came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink and a 1-7 curve with slightly above average depth.

9th: FB (91-93), CB (75-78) - FB, CB

5) Rafael Soriano: 7 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Soriano came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink

9th: FB (93-96) - FB

7/29: LAD @ STL (Cardinals Pitchers)

1) Joel Pineiro: 112 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 6 Fastballs (2nd, 3rd, 2 in 5th, 7th, 8th)

• Pineiro is a 6-1, 200 pound righty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from an over the top release. His fastball is a 2-seam with some run in on righties with solid sink. His curve is a 1-7 with slightly above average depth. His cutter has good cut and some sink. His change has some fade from lefties that he will throw to righties. Good # 4 starter.

1st: FB (89-91), Cut (87), CB (80)

2nd: FB (87-90), Cut (85), CB (78)

3rd: FB (90-92)

4th: FB (89-92), Cut (86), CB (80)

5th: FB (87-91), Cut (85-86), CU (83-85)

6th: FB (89-91), Cut (86-87), CB (77)

7th: FB (88-91)

8th: FB (90-92), CU (84)

2) Dennys Reyes: 9 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Reyes came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with above average run in on lefties and good sink, a change with good fade from righties with some sink and a 9-3 slider with solid bite.

9th: FB (90), CU (84-85), SL (83-85)

3) Kyle McClellan: 29 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Cutter (9th)

• McClellan came from a high 3/4 release and showed a cutter with good cut and sink, a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 1-7 curve with above average depth and a change with good fade from lefties with good sink.

9th: Cut (86-88), FB (91-92)

10th: Cut (85-88), FB (90-92), CB (74-75), CU (84)

4) Trever Miller: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Miller came from a low 3/4 and showed a 11-5 slider with good bite and a fastball with good run in on lefties.

10th: FB (86-88), SL (79)

5) Ryan Franklin: 16 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Cutter, 2 Curveballs.

• Franklin is a 6-3, 190 pound righty. The 36 year old righty has a medium frame that can add more muscle. He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a cutter with good cut, a split with above average dive, a 1-7 curve with average depth and a fastball with good run in on righties with some sink.

11th: FB (91-92), Cut (87-90), CB (77-78), Split (84)

6) Jason Motte: 22 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Splitter.

• Motte came from an over the top release and showed a 4-seam (94-98) with a little run in on righties, a 2-seam with some sink in addition to run (89-92) and a split with okay dive.

12th: FB (89-98), Split (78-81)

7) Blake Hawksworth: 47 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. Fastball (13th), 2 Changeups (both in 14th)

• Hawksworth is a 6-3, 195 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can get up to at least 210. He came from a 3/4 release with a max effort delivery that appears to put extra pressure on his shoulder. His fastball has some late run in on righties with sink. His cutter has good cut. His change has some fade from lefties with sink and he will throw it to righties. I think he fits best as a reliever and may be able to hold up in 2 inning outings and be a bridge to your setup men as a middle reliever.

13th: FB (91-95), Cut (87-89)

14th: FB (91-95), Cut (88), CU (82-84)

15th: FB (91-94), Cut (85), CU (82-84)

Chart Observations: CHC @ STL

Not much to report here:

• Ted Lilly attacked hitters with a fastball at 82 (YES, 82) to 91, a slider at 81-85, a changeup at 76-83, a soft curve at 71-74 and threw 1 harder curve at 79. Lilly likes to add and subtract to his fastball to keep hitters off balance. The 82 mile per hour fastball was a 3-1 pitch to Joe Thurston, a lefty stick, so it would make zero sense for it to be a change and had someone else double check my thought on that. Lilly really doesn't have a real plus pitch. His slider is average and sometimes acts more like a cutter. His changeup is also average and has some sink to it. His curveball is above average, but is more of a strike throwing pitch then a swing and miss pitch. His command is above average and allows him to get more out of his stuff. That being said, he can be very erratic from hitter to hitter in both velocity (whether planned or not) and his ability to hit his spots. A solid middle of the rotation starter, but he is a guy that there isn't any in between with. When he's done, the hitters will be jumping all over him.
• Kevin Gregg pitched the 8th and showed a fastball at 92-94, a slider at 80-84 and a splitter at 86. Gregg was acquired for Jose Ceda, who features lights out stuff as a reliever with command questions. I was a big Ceda fan, but watching Gregg makes me understand why the Cubs made the deal. Gregg's fastball is above average and his slider is a plus pitch that flashes plus plus, as it is a sharp breaker with good late bite. He made Albert Pujols look silly and that is very difficult to do. Gregg's splitter is just an average offering that is more of a show pitch to lefties. Solid set-up guy, but I would prefer a guy like Carlos Marmol as the closer with Gregg's above average command of his stuff setting him up.
• Joel Pineiro fired a 92 pitch complete game. He showed a fastball at 88-91, a slider at 84-88, a changeup at 84-85 and a curveball at 78-80. I have no idea how the Cubs didn't get more then 3 hits off of him. His fastball is above average due to its good movement. His slider was also above average and showed some good late break. his changeup and curveball are average offerings that flash above average. He has above average command, but it's not like he was painting the corners and was leaving quite a few pitches in the middle of the plate. His movement allowed him to get away with quite a bit, but it is still difficult to be consistenly successful when pitching in the middle of the plate as much as he did. A solid back of the rotation starter (# 4), but don't be expecting more complete game shutouts.

STL @ CIN

• Johnny Cueto is a very talented pitcher, but he is not better then Edinson Volquez. Cueto works with a fastball in the low to mid 90's, a solid average slider in the mid 80's and a decent change in the mid 80's. He has much better command then Volquez (probably above average), but Volquez's stuff is much better. Cueto is a very good # 3 starter and if he can tighten his slider a little more, he is a # 2. I think his ceiling is that of a # 2 for a contender.
• Joel Pineiro is a very useful starter to have at the back-end if your a contender. He attacks hitters with a high 80's fastball, mid 80's slider that moves like a cutter, mid to high 70's curve and mid 80's change. None of his pitches are great and he has occasional command problems, but he finds the "pitchability" to get hitters to put the ball in play weakly. He is pitching at his ceiling now and if he can maintain strong command, he should be a solid # 5 starter.
• Chris Perez lacked the explosive stuff I thought he had. He threw a low 90's fastball and mid 80's slider with some command issues. He still has the upside of a closer, but he seems to be a set-up man with his current offerings. He needs to refine his command tighten his slider a little bit more to reach his ceiling.
• Brad Thompson is an extra arm for a bullpen that can give you multiple innings. As long as he is earning the minimum, he is a good guy to have in a pen. If he is earning more, you are vastly overpaying. He attacks with a high 80's fastball and low 80's slider.
• Arthur Rhodes just keeps getting the job done. It appears he has lost very little from his fastball and he commands it so well that he doesn't need his mid 80's slider to be amazing. His fastball sat in the low 90's tonight.
• When Dave Weathers is missing in the zone, he is in trouble, as he throws a high 80's fastball and mid 80's slider. He typically has plus command, but you always have to wonder about a reliever his age and his ability to maintain his stuff for the season.
• Jared Burton got out his one guy. Burton attacks with a high 80's to low 90's cutter (Mariano style), a low 80's slider and a low 90's fastball.
• Francisco Cordero was great, with a mid 90's fastball and disappearing mid to high 80's slider. Is a legit closer for a contender and is pitching extremely well right now.
• Not sure why Tony La Russa stole Joe Thurston in the 9th. That was just bad baseball. Even if he makes it, you don't gain much. The only explanation would be stay out of the double play.

2 Charts tomorrow, with a baseball practice.