Chart Observations: DET @ CHA

• Justin Verlander is a 6-5, 225 pound righty. The 26 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle (235 maybe, 230 easy). He comes from a high 3/4 release. He generates easy velocity from a nice, clean drop and drive delivery. His fastball shows above average fade and some sink on occasion. His curveball is a power 12-6 pitch that is a knee buckler with great depth and bite. His change moves like his fastball, but with a little more sink. He has added a SL that is extremely inconsistent, being anywhere from below average to above average. It can be a sharp 2-7 offering, but he can also bury it in the dirt with no chance of having a hitter swing or leave a spinner in the middle of the plate. A legitimate ace, Verlander has above average command and looks to be a good bet to keep this level of pitching going for awhile.

NOTE: The following pitches per inning should not be seen by hitters with faint hearts. Last pitch of the game (about # 120) was a 100 mile per hour fastball.

1st: FB (93-97), CB (82), SL (88)

2nd: FB (93-97), CU (84)

3rd: FB (94-97), CB (79-82), CU (83-84)

4th: FB (94-98), CB (80-84), CU (85)

5th: FB (96-98), CB (81-83), SL (90), CU (86)

6th: FB (97-100), CB (79-84), SL (87-94)

7th: FB (93-98), CB (78-81), SL (89), CU (83)

8th: FB (93-98), CB (82-84)

9th: FB (96-100), CB (83)

Jermaine Dye's Hell: Dye came up in the 6th and saw 6 fastballs (with the slowest being 99, 2 at 100) and 2 sliders (at 93 and 94 respectively). He struck out looking at a 100 mph fastball.

• John Danks is a 6-1, 205 pound lefty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4-seam with some late fade and sink. His change has a little fade and good sink and looks like a fastball out of his hand. His cutter shows good cut and shows biting action. Has slider (10-5) movement at times with good late action. His curve is a big, late breaking 11-5 offering with good depth that he didn't throw much. He does a good job holding runners and will mix in a slide step. Was primarily FB-CU the 1st time through the order and then began to mix in more cutters. He has plus command. Danks is very close to being a legimiate # 1 and just needs to pitch a little more to the corners then he did in this game.

1st: FB (91-94), CU (84-86)

2nd: FB (91-93), CU (84-85), Cut (87-88), CB (78)

3rd: FB (91-93), Cut (86)

4th: FB (92-93), CU (84), Cut (86)

5th: FB (91-92), CU (82), Cut (86-88), CB (77)

6th: FB (91-92), Cut (86-87), CB (77-79)

7th: FB (91-93), CU (83-84), Cut (86-89)

8th: FB (90-91), Cut (86)

• Octavio Dotel is a 6-0, 215 pound righty. The 35 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some fade and sink and his slider is a sweeping 3-8 offering. Very good middle reliever who can spot set-up and close.

8th: FB (92)

9th: FB (92-93), SL (80-83)

• Gordon Beckham is a 6-0, 190 pounder. The 22 year old is a righty thrower/hitter. He has a medium frame that can add more muscle and should be able to get up to at least 205. His trigger is a step with a cocking of the bat with a hip turn towards the catcher. His swing can get long at times. He has a slightly above average arm and above average speed. I talked with the scout who drafted him and he compared him to Michael Young and I think that is a very valid comparison. He should be a .280-.300 hitter with 20-25 home runs annually as he settles in.
• Dane Sardinha is a 6-0, 215 pound back-up catcher. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He takes a big leg kick and cocks his bat as his trigger. He holds the bat close to his body. Playing to his potential, which is an emergency catcher who will spend most of his time in AAA.

Chart Impressions: CHW @ KC

• I have to imagine that watching Zach Greinke pitch nowadays is like being a fan of painting and getting to watch Leonardo Da Vinci work. Greinke attacked hitters with a mid-90's fastball, a mid to high 80's slider and a low 70's curveball. Every pitch he threw was plus. He didn't even have to throw his low 80's changeup today to throw a complete game shutout. His command has been otherworldy thus far. He is definitely the front-runner for the AL Cy Young as long as he stays healthy, which he should, as his mechanics are still very clean.
• Bartolo Colon was the unlucky pitcher who had to realize he was getting a loss no matter what he did. Colon attacked hitters with a low to mid 90's 4-seamer, a plus high 80's to low 90's 2-seamer, a below average mid 80's slider and a below average mid 80's change. Colon threw about 90 % fastballs and this is because his offspeed stuff is not where it once was. However, his 2-seam fastball can compensate for that due to its movement and its ability to keep the hitters from hitting it. He likes to start it on the outer half to righties (or inner half to lefties) and run it back over the plate for a strike. He then pitched off of that and had it start further outside and end up just outside the plate, having hitters make weak contact on fastballs out of the zone.
• Clayton Richard was the only other pitcher to throw in this game. He attacked hitters with a low to mid 90's fastball, a high 70's to mid 80's slurvy slider and a low to mid 70's changeup. I also believed he has added a mid to high 80's cutter to his repetoire this year as another weapon. His fastball is a 4-seam that is fairly straight and is likely barely above average due to the velocity. His slider, changeup and cutter are all average pitches. He likely profiles better as a starter then a reliever, as he doesn't have that one above average pitch that would make him a LOOGY. A back-end starter is his upside as a starter and is a 10th or 11th guy as a reliever.
• Jayson Nix returned to the big leagues after flaming out last April with the Rockies. Nix is a very muscular guy whose frame is completely maxed out. He has a little hunch in his setup, but nothing too major that results in a detriment to him hitting. He played 3rd base tonight after coming up as a 2nd basemen. He also played right field. That is likely his best role on a team, as a supersub. The White Sox are a good team to try and make it with, as they employed the likes of Pablo Ozuna for a good while and Nix is a little slower but has more power. He has his uses, just not as an everyday player, as I have heard he isn't great defensively at 2B and doesn't have the stick to provide average production as a 3B or RF.
• I like Chris Getz as an everyday 2B, but he is likely more of a 2-hole hitter then a lead-off hitter. He is crouched in his stance and shows the ability to control the strike zone. He doesn't have any real plus tools, but all his tools are at least average. He is likely a .280 hitter with a .340-.360 on-base percentage and a .400 slugging. Pretty solid player for a 2Bmen.
• Alexei Ramirez has struggled this year when I have seen him. Pitchers are feeding him off-speed pitches that start on the outside corner and break off and Ramirez has flailed at them everytime. I don't think this is anything shocking, as he showed an inability to control the strike zone last season despite putting up strong numbers. I think he is very similar to Jeff Francouer and will have a similar career path, where he will need to undergo some major plate discipline changes to reach his potential. The question is does Gordon Beckham (when talking to the scout that drafted him, he compared him to Michael Young) put extra pressure, since Beckham can likely handle SS and Getz can handle 2B? Time will tell. If it had to, I believe Beckham has the offensively capability to carry 3rd base.
• David DeJesus is a very underrated OF. His production doesn't carry a corner (and having Coco Crisp in CF, Mark Teahen at 3B and Billy Butler at 1B doesn't really give him an opportunity to not provide the pop necessary for a corner outfielder), but he is a valuable player nonetheless. He is a typical .290-.360-.440 type hitter in my mind and is hitting in his ideal spot, 2 hole. Does he have the ability to go higher? You can never say never, but I think he is playing at his peak right now, as a valuable OFer who can play 3 spots and provide top of the order like on-base production.
• Brent Lillibridge should lose his spot to Nix. Lillibridge hasn't even proven he can hit AAA pitching, let alone major league pitching. Lillibridge is still young and can develop his plus speed into a more usable asset by working counts better and adding a lot more muscle. Not saying he isn't a big leaguer down the road, as he can likely be a legit super-utility guy in 2 or 3 years, but he isn't ready for big league pitching yet.

Got the Astros-Nationals live score coming up in half an hour with a pitching matchup of Oswalt and Olsen.