Chart Observations: 9/12 KC @ CLE

1) Luke Hochevar: 98 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, Split). 8 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs, 3 Curveballs, Slider.

• Hochevar came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and solid sink, a cutter with some cut that he added to his repetoire in July, a big breaking 12-6 curve with above average depth, a 2-7 slider with solid bite and a

1st: FB (91-94), Cut (89-92), CB (78)

2nd: FB (92-94), Cut (89-91), CB (78-80), SL (84) - CB

3rd: FB (91-93), Cut (91), CB (79), SL (84) - 2 FB

4th: FB (91-94), Cut (89-91), CB (76-80), SL (84) - 2 FB

5th: FB (91-94), Cut (88-89), CB (76-77), SL (83-84), Split (85) - SL, 2 CB

2) David Huff: 109 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 9 strikes swinging. 5 Fastballs, 2 Sliders, 2 Curveballs.

• Huff came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and a little sink, a 11-5 slider with solid bite, a change with good sink and some fade from righties that he will throw 2-0 and to lefties and a 11-5 curve with above average depth.

1st: FB (91-93), SL (80-83)

2nd: FB (90-93), CB (78), CU (82-83)

3rd: FB (91-93), SL (82-83), CB (76-77), CU (82-84) - 2 FB, SL, CB

4th: FB (90-92), SL (81-84), CB (78-79) - SL, CB

5th: FB (87-91), SL (80-81), CB (77), CU (81-82) - FB

6th: FB (90-92), SL (81), CB (78), CU (81-82) - 2 FB

3) Dusty Hughes: 14 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Changeups, Fastball.

• Hughes came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink, a straight change that may have a little fade from righties that got better as the appearance went on and showed good fade from righties with good sink that he will throw to lefties and a 11-5 slider with some bite.

6th: FB (85-91), CU (78-83), SL (83) - FB, 2 CU

4) Victor Marte: 18 pitches. (FB, CB, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Marte came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties with good sink that had good tilt to it, a change with good fade from lefties and sink that he will throw to righties and a 12-6 curve with below average depth.

6th: FB (93-95), CB (81-83), CU (85-86)

5) Jensen Lewis: 16 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 5 strikes swinging. 5 Fastballs.

• Lewis came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a change with good fade from lefties and some sink that he will throw to righties.

7th: FB (86-91), CU (81-83) - 5 FB

6) Bruce Chen: 20 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Chen came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and a little sink, a change with some fade from righties with good sink, a 11-5 slider with good bite and a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth.

7th: FB (84-90), CU (78-80), CB (76), SL (82-83) - FB

7) Jess Todd: 51 pitches. (Cut, SL, FB). 5 strikes swinging. 3 Sliders, 2 Cutters.

• Todd came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and a little sink, a 2-7 slider with slightly above average bite and a cutter with some cut.

8th: Cut (90-91), FB (90), SL (83-85) - Cut, 2 SL

9th: Cut (88-91), SL (82-83) - Cut, SL

8) Yasuhiko Yabuta: 20 pitches. (FB, CU, Split, SL). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Splitters, Fastball.

• Yabuta came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball that had a little run in on righties, a straight change, a split with slightly below average dive and a 2-7 slider with okay bite.

8th: FB (87-93), CU (84), Split (75-78), SL (83-85) - FB, 2 Split

9) Rafael Perez: 3 pitches. (FB, SL). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Perez came from a high 3/4 release and showed a sharp 11-5 slider with slightly above average bite.

9th: SL (86-87) - SL

• Michael Brantley is a 6-2, 200 pound lefty. The 22 year old outfielder has a medium frame that should be able to get up to about 215 or 220 down the road. He has a slightly crouched stance similar to Coghlan's, but a little more crouched. His trigger is a small stride and a cocking of the bat. He has a bat tap as a timing mechanism, similar to that of Garrett Anderson.

Chart Observations: 9/2 KC @ OAK

1) Brian Bannister: 32 pitches. (Cut, CU, FB, CB). 2 strikes swinging. 2 Changeups.

• Bannister came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and good sink, a cutter with some cut, a change with good fade from lefties and good sink and a 12-6 curve with above average depth. He threw a lot of fastballs in this outing, more then he normally does. Hurt? And then the inning after I wrote that, he left the game due to an injury (injured neck/shoulder).

1st: FB (88-91), Cut (88-90), CU (84-85), CB (75-76) - 2 CU

2nd: FB (89-91), CU (85)

2) Trevor Cahill: 84 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 6 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 2 Sliders, 2 Changeups.

• Cahill came from an over the top release with a fastball with good run in on righties and above average sink with good tilt on his fastball, a change with some fade from lefties and above average sink that he will throw to righties, a 2-7 slider with good, but inconsistent, bite.

1st: FB (91-94), CU (79-83)

2nd: FB (89-94), CU (80-82), SL (85) - 2 CU, SL

3rd: FB (90-92), CU (77-85), SL (85) - FB

4th: FB (89-92), SL (81-83) - FB

5th: FB (89-93), CU (81), SL (81-85) - SL

3) Yasuhiko Yabuta: 30 pitches. (FB, Split, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Yabuta came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a straight change with a little sink that he will throw 2-0, a 2-7 slider with some bite and a split with some dive.

2nd: FB (87-93), Split (74-79), SL (83-84), CU (81-84)

4) Bruce Chen: 70 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider.

• Chen came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some tail in on righties, a change with a little late fade from righties and good sink that he will throw 2-0 and 3-2 and to lefties, a sweeping 9-4 slider with solid bite that he will throw 3-1 and a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth.

3rd: FB (85-90), CU (76-80), CB (80), SL (82-84) - SL

4th: FB (85), CU (78-80), SL (82-83)

5th: FB (86-91), CU (78-81), CB (77-80), SL (82-84) - FB

6th:FB (86-90), CU (78-81)

5) Brad Kilby: 24 pitches. (FB, SL). 3 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs.

• Kilby is a 6-1, 235 pound lefty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out with a very thick lower half. He has a little bit of the Jimenez arm action on the backtake, but he almost rubs the ball along his butt before throwing it. Some weird wrist action. He came from a high 3/4, almost a 3/4 release. His fastball has a little late run in on lefties and a touch of sink. His slider is 10-5 with solid bite, though it can flatten out. Interesting guy with solid velocity for a left hander, looks like he could be a solid middle reliever or LOOGY.

6th: FB (91-92)

7th: FB (90-93), SL (82-83) - 3 FB

6) Roman Colon: 20 pitches. (FB, SL, Split). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Colon came from an over the top release and showed a 2-7 slider with good downward action and good bite, a fastball with a little run in on righties and a splitter with some dive.

7th: FB (93-96), SL (79-84), Split (87-88) - SL

8th: FB (94-96), SL (83)

7) Jerry Blevins: 21 pitches. (FB, CB, Cut, CU). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Blevins is a 6-6, 180 pound lefty. The 26 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle. He came from a high 3/4 release with fairly clean mechanics, though his release point can drop on occasion. His cutter has some cut. His fastball has some run in on lefties. His curve is kind of a loopy 10-5 with slightly above average depth. His change has some fade from righties and some sink. More of a LOOGY candidate then full inning guy, as neither the cutter or change is good enough to get out righties consistently. Curveball can really screw with lefties.

8th: FB (91-93), CB (72-73), Cut (85-88), CU (85) - FB

8) Dana Eveland: 11 pitches. (FB, SL, CU, CB, Cut). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Eveland came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some sink and a little late fade from righties, a 11-5 curve with average depth and a 11-5 slider with good bite. Got screwed over on the run he allowed, as Rajai Davis misplayed a fly ball out into a double.

9th: FB (88-91), SL (85), CB (79) - SL

KC @ PIT

The LAA vs. ARI game was in the FOX time slot, so it was blacked out everywhere. I just did the play by play for it. With that in mind, here is the other games observations:

1) Paul Maholm: 85 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 2 on Fastballs (both in 2nd), 1 on a Curve (4th) and 2 on Changeups (3rd, 6th)

• Maholm is a 6-2, 225 pound lefty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball has some run in on righties and sink. His slider is an 11-4 pitch with solid bite. His change is a straight change with some sink. His curve is a big breaking 11-5 pitch that can be flat. He is a middle of the rotation starter (# 3, # 4) guy masquerading as an ace. Useful pitcher when he has above average defense behind him, as he won't walk many.

1st: FB (88-90), SL (80), CU (82)

2nd: FB (87-90), SL (80-81), CB (74)

3rd: FB (88-90), SL (75-83), CU (84-85), CB (75)

4th: FB (88-89), CU (83-84), CB (73-75)

5th: FB (89-91), SL (81), CB (75)

6th: FB (89-91), SL (82), CU (83-85), CB (74-75)

7th: FB (89-90), CU (83-85), CB (73-74)

2) Bruce Chen (Seriously?): 76 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball (2nd), Changeup (4th)

• Chen is a 6-1, 215 pound lefty who has seemingly been around forever. The 32 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His 2-seam fastball has some sink and run (typically 83-86) had some run in on righties and some sink. His 4-seam (87-89) was straight. His curve was a big breaking 11-5 and his changeup was a straight change with some late fade from righties and sink. He was primarily FB-CU with a few curves mixed in. He got into a pattern of, when he threw a first pitch strike with a FB, of immediately coming back with a changeup. He works fast and has above average command. Basically, he will be hammered by AL teams that have an idea at the plate. Emergency arm.

1st: FB (84-88), CU (76-77), CB (73-76)

2nd: FB (84-88), CU (76-77)

3rd: FB (83-89), CU (76-79)

4th: FB (84-89), CU (76-77), CB (74-79)

5th: FB (83-88), CB (73-77)

6th: FB (85-88), CB (76-79)

7th: FB (84-86), CU (76)

3) Roman Colon: 11 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• He came from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam while his slider is a 2-7 pitch with good downward bite, though he will hang them. His fastball command was also off and he showed his Jekyll and Hyde side in this game.

7th: FB (93-94), SL (80-82)

4) John Grabow: 16 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders, 1 Changeup.

• Grabow is a 6-2, 205 pound lefty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is an 11-5 offering with good bite that is slightly above average when on, but it can be flat. His change showed some fade from righties and a little sink. Solid full inning lefty reliever.

8th: FB (90-91), SL (82-84), CU (83-84)

5) John Bale: 25 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a 3/4 release with a fastball that has a little run in on righties, a slurvy 10-5 curve with solid depth and bite and a straight change. He will also throw pitches from a high 3/4 release.

8th: FB (87-89), CB (70-72), CU (78-80)

6) Jeff Karstens: 12 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball (on a debatable check swing)

• Karstens is a 6-3, 185 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can get up to 205. He comes from an over the top release that hides the ball well, as his glove hand breaks high and covers the spot where he will be releasing it, a la Jair Jurrjens. His fastball is a pretty straight 4-seam. His slider is a 2-7 with solid bite and his curve is a 12-6 with good depth. He lost his job in the rotation and is more of a swingman and is a borderline 4-A arm.

9th: FB (87-91), SL (79), CB (71)

2 charts and a baseball game tomorrow.