Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

• Braden Looper is a 34 year old who stands 6-3, 235. The right hander has a medium to big frame that is maxed out. His fastball is a 2-seam with late fade. His split shows good dive and sink. His slider is a 2-8 type offering that wasn't on at all. He has a somewhat violent head jerk and also appears to jerk most of his body. Looper was primarily FB-Split (40 %- 35 %) and his slider did not have good movement today. This left him with 2 pitches the 2nd and 3rd times through the order and he began to get pounded. A pitcher that needs to have all 3 of his pitches to be at least average to have a chance at a successful start, Looper is the 3rd 5th starter on the Brewers I saw in this series (Parra, Suppan).

1st: FB (86-90), SL (84-85), Split (81-82)

2nd: FB (88-90), SL (86), Split (83-84)

3rd: FB (89-90), SL (84), Split (82-84)

4th: FB (88-89), SL (84), Split (80-83)

5th: FB (88-90), SL (83-85), Split (78-83)

• Sean West opposed him. I have seen all of West's starts and this was by far his worst one. West comes from a high 3/4 release. His change is straight with some sink. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with some run. His slider is a 2-7 offering with some bite, but was loopy. He was missing down and in with his fastball early. He almost looked to be guiding the ball instead of throwing it and really struggled with his command. His slider looked fringy in this outing and his change was just a tick above average while his fastball velocity was down. Just a bad outing that was made worst by Penn.

1st: FB (90-92), SL (80-81), CU (83)

2nd: FB (87-90), CU (81)

3rd: FB (88-91), SL (80-82), CU (80-84)

4th: FB (86-90), CU (81-84)

5th: FB (89), SL (81), CU (79-83)

• Hayden Penn was the 2nd reliever in this series to be cast away after an outing (Julio). Penn has a high 3/4 release and shows a fastball with some fade and a 12-6 curveball that is inconsistent, but will flash above average. He has a fairly violent head jerk in his delivery, which may cause some of the command issues. He has no command, but strikeout stuff. His numbers say it all (22 IP, 20 BB, 27 K) and he will get more chances.

5th: FB (88-92), CB (73-77)

• Brian Sanches attacked from a high 3/4 release. The right hander showed a fastball with some run or fade (depending on what he felt like doing) with sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite and his curve was thrown over the head of J.J. Hardy.

5th: FB (88-89), SL (82-83)

6th: FB (87-89), SL (78-83), CB (72)

• Seth McClung served as the bridge from Looper to Hoffman. He had an over the top release and showed a sharp slider that is a 2-7 offering that flashes plus with great bite, a straight fastball, though me mixed in a 2-seam with good fade and sink, mostly to lefties. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6. His change shows some fade and sink (and could be a splitter), but the one he threw went about 54 feet.

5th: FB (93-95), SL (83)

6th: FB (91-95), CB (76-79)

7th: FB (91-95), SL (81-84)

8th: FB (92-96), SL (83-84), CB (78), CU (85)

• Kiko Calero came from an over the top release with a fastball that had some fade and sink and a 2-7 slider that continues to show good bite. He has plus command of the slider and threw about 70 % in this outing, as is typical for him.

7th: FB (90-91), SL (79-83)

8th: FB (89-91), SL (80-82)

• Dan Meyer attacked from a high 3/4 release. He featured a sweeping slider that is a 10-4 offering with decent bite, though it can move more like a cutter. He also showed a straight 4-seam fastball and a change that had some fade and sink, though it was fairly straight.

9th: FB (90-91), SL (82-84), CU (78-80)

• Trevor Hoffman is a 41 year old who stands 6-0, 220. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He attacks from an over the top release. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade. He still has his lights out change, as it looks like a fastball out of his hand and almost appears to hang there. It shows above average sink and average fade. Hoffman doesn't have long left and I wouldn't like him as my closer due to his lack of real swing and miss stuff. He did give up a couple of hard hit line drives that turned into outs and I personally think this is his last season.

9th: FB (84-86), CU (72-73)

• Alejandro De Aza is a 6-0, 175 pound outfielder. The lefty hitter/thrower has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle. The 25 year old has an open stance with a little crouch. He has the slap hitter trigger, as his body moves forward while his hands stay back. He chased 2 splitters from Looper out of the zone in his 1st AB and Looper made him swing and miss on his good splitters (he threw quite a few bad ones). De Aza showed above average speed and an average arm. Your classic 4th OF potential, as I would be shocked if he ever hit more then 5 home runs (and hasn't yet done it in the minors). He is a slap hitter that doesn't seem to be skilled in pitch recognition or fast enough to make a defense change how to defense him. AAA OF is his more likely ceiling (think Freddy Guzman but slower. Yea, that isn't a great package)

Reliever Study Update:

DL Database is complete and all the pitcher's DL information has been entered into my main pitcher datasheet. There are 2 columns in there, days missed due to an arm injury and days missed to a non-throwing arm injury. This will allow me to compare players returning from a prolonged injury to the arm, not to the hip or back and see the likelihood a player can return to his previous success.

Also have completely finished the modifying of the pitch type data and it is ready for it's basic calculations (% regression for those that throw over 80 % FB's for example) and will get deeper. I am hoping these single pitch evaluations will help lead me to a weight system to quantify the impact throwing these pitches has on a player's arm (For example, every % fastball is 1, every percent slider is 4, etc.). Then similarity scores can be made based off a pitcher's repetoire "score". That is my basic hope though, we will see what happens.

Got the Stros-Rockies tonight featuring 2 pitchers I haven't yet seen, but have wanted to: the Rockies Jason Hammel and the Astros Wandy Rodriguez.

Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

• Manny Parra is a 26 year old who stands 6-3, 215. The left hander has a medium to big frame that can add at least another 10 pounds of muscle. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with some run, though he will mix in a 2-seam fastball with some sink and fade. His changeup shows some fade and a little sink. His splitter shows good dive and run and is his out pitch. His curveball is a big breaking 11-4 offering. His slider is not thrown often and is a 10-4 type offering. He likes to pitch with FB-CU-CB until 2 strikes, when he will look to bury a splitter. Parra's main issue is consistency with his command. He tends to fall behind early or throw too hittable of strikes early in the count. His ceiling is that of a # 3 starter, though he is currently a # 5. His fastball is average and has lost some velocity. His split, change and curve are slightly above average offerings. He needs command.

1st: FB (87-91), CB (75), Split (81-84), CU (80)

2nd: FB (88-91), CB (75), Split (82), CU (83-84)

3rd: FB (88-91), CB (74-75), Split (81-84), CU (82-85), SL (83)

4th: FB (88-91), CB (74-75), Split (83), CU (82-84)

• Anibal Sanchez, a 6-0 180 pound 25 year old, opposed him. This was Sanchez's first start since coming off the DL and was pulled after 3 innings due to his pitch count. The right hander has a medium frame that has room to add a little more muscle. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seam with good fade and sink and it also flashes some cut as opposed to fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with very subtle bite and it can be late breaking. His change is fairly straight with some fade and sink. His curveball is a 1-7 offering that he really struggled to get into the zone and left them up. He really only has 4 average pitches and doesn't have a real out pitch. # 4 starter is his ceiling and he is currently a # 5. He needs to refine his command to reach his potential.

1st: FB (91-94), SL (82-87), CB (74-77), CU (82-85)

2nd: FB (88-94), CU (81-83)

3rd: FB (86-91), SL (82-84), CB (76)

• Burke Badenhop threw 5 innings in relief to get the win. The right hander attacked from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seam with excellent fade and some sink. The change shows good fade and sink while his slider is a 3-8, 3-9 offering with some late bite. Still struggle to understand how he gets people out, but looks to be a long man similar to that of Brad Thompson, able to get outs with less then stellar stuff.

4th: FB (88-91), SL (81), CU (83-86)

5th: FB (86-89), SL (78-81)

6th: FB (87-90), SL (79), CU (80-82)

7th: FB (86-89), CU (81)

8th: FB (85-89), SL (77)

• Mike Burns was in to pitch in the first game he was part of the Brewers after being recalled from AAA Nashville. Burns is a 30 year old right hander who stands 6-1, 210. He has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes at you from an over the top release. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent bite and depth. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with a little sink. His curveball is a big 12-6 offering with good depth. His split shows average fade and sink. He likes to start the slider on the corner and have it break off the plate. He has above average command, but is a 4-A pitcher and I don't think he has enough stuff to be a long reliever.

5th: FB (88-89), SL (80-82), CB (70), Split (82)

6th: FB (86-88), SL (79), CB (68-69)

7th: FB (85-89), SL (78-82), CB (68-70), Split (77-79)

8th: FB (84-89), SL (77-79), CB (68-69)

• Hayden Penn, a 24 year old who stands 6-3 200, finished the game. The right hander has a medium to big frame that has room to add more muscle. He comes at you from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam and will mix in a 2-seam that has good fade. His curveball is a sharp 12-6 that flashes plus, but never comes closer to the strike zone. His change is a straight change with a little fade and sink. Penn has a potential plus pitch in his curve and his fastabll and change are both slightly above average offerings. He has no idea where the ball is going to go. He struggles to consistently repeat his release point and struggles to finish his curveball, which I have not seen him throw for a strike. Potential to be a good setup man, but he is a guy that will likely be bouncing back and forth, as I don't think he will learn command.

Got the Mets-Pirates (Pelfrey vs. Ohlendorf) and picked up an extra with the Phils-Padres (Happ vs. Young).

Chart Impressions: CIN @ FLA

Today we got to pick our 2 games to chart (b/c I am usually amongst the first in the office, I can choose any game). First game I did was the Reds @ Marlins to get a look at Volquez and Volstad.

• Edinson Volquez continues to pitch extremely well. He extended his streak of shutout innings to 16 with 8 shutout last night. Volquez attacks hitters with a plus low 90's moving fastball, low 80's changeup and will mix in a low 80's slider and low 70's curveball. The change can be anywhere from a plus to a plus-plus pitch. The slider is average and the curveball is an above average offering. He likes to throw the changeup to hitters on both sides of the plate and it can sometimes look like a slider. Continues to look like a bona fide # 2 for a contender and if his command can ever come around, he is an ace.
• Chris Volstad got the start for the Marlins and he is a big guy who has a lot of room to add muscle to his frame. He currently sits in the low 90's with his fastball and also throws a high 70's curveball and low 80's changeup. Volstad's fastball is average, his curveball is everywhere from average (a couple) to plus-plus (1 of those) and his changeup is an above average offering. Volstad typically needs to have plus command to succeed and he didn't quite have that last night. He is also somewhat predictable when facing RH's, as he only attacks them with his FB and CB. Against LH's, he mixes his 3 pitches. He is still young and, with his frame and easy mechanics (almost over the top release), it isn't out of the realm of possiblity for him to start touching the mid 90's. As he is now, he is a # 4 starter for a contender, with the potential to be an average # 2 starter.
• Hayden Penn continues to tease with his low 90's 2-seamer and 4-seamer, high 70's curveball and low 80's change. Penn's 2-seamer has some pretty good fade and sink to it on occasion, being a plus pitch and his curveball is right between above average and plus. His issue is below average command of his pitches. He falls behind hitters and resorts to throwing his straight 4-seam. His upside is that of a late inning reliever, but I don't think he will ever have the command to do that. He will likely be an 11th or 12 guy in a pen and he will be bouncing on the bus between AAA and the majors.
• Kiko Calero is posting some good K numbers for the Marlins out of the bullpen. He attacks hitters with an above average high 70's to low 80's slider, high 80's fastball and low 80's change. Calero has plus command of his slider, allowing him to throw it in any count and (as a 1 inning guy) allows hitters to not feel comfortable in the box. He is probably pitching a little over his head right now, but is a solid 9th or 10th pitcher and a solid middle relief option right now.
• Nick Masset threw the 9th and featured a low 90's 2-seamer, low 90's 4-seamer and a mid 70's curveball. The 2-seam had some good run to it last night and the curveball was a plus pitch, though he only showed an ability to bury it with 2 strikes. I do like him as a reliever (he didn't show any command issues in this inning of work) and think he has a slight chance of being a late inning guy, but he could be fairly valuable as a Scot Shields type as a middle reliever, giving you multiple innings and bridging the gap to your closer if he develops his command.
• I personally think Joey Votto is the 2nd best hitter in the NL next to Albert Pujols. He shows an ability to control the strike zone and get pitches he wants to hit at a rare level for someone of his age. He is beginning to be pitched around and Brandon Phillips will need to be back to his old self to stop this from continuing to happen. I think Votto can be a .310-.420-.530 hitter in his prime. Big fan of this kid.
• I like what John Baker brings to the table for the Marlins offensively. He is a little rough defensively in regards to receiving and being consistent with throwing out base stealers, but he is weapon offensively. He shows a strong eye from the left side and is an ideal # 2 hitter with his ability to control the bat. That being said, he is over exposed as an everyday player. He would probably be best as serving in a catcher platoon. Brett Hayes is a guy who used to have a high stock in the organization, but has fallen down. Maybe have them be a LH/RH combination (I haven't seen Hayes play, so I am unsure as to how much he has regressed).
• Despite his struggles, I think Chris Dickerson will be fine. He is very similar set-up wise to Votto, utilizing a front toe turn as opposed to a step. He has a solid swing and has shown on-base ability (.324 OBP with a .217 AVG). He also provides strong speed in LF, though I am unsure as to how good he is at tracking balls and everything like that. I have to imagine he will get another month to try and re-prove himself as the left side of the platoon with Jerry Hairston or he may and Laynce Nix may switch roles.