Chart Observations: 9/24 BOS @ KC

1) Anthony Lerew: 108 pitches. FB, CB, SL, CU. 4 strikes swinging. 2 Changeups, Fastball, Slider.

• Lerew is a 6-3, 220 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He came from a high 3/4 release with a real quick wind-up that had no real red flags. Very fast worker that gets the ball and gets back on the rubber. His fastball has some run in on righties and some sink. His change has good fade from lefties and some sink that he will throw to righties and is his best off-speed offering. He will throw it in 2-0 counts. His slider is a 2-7 offering with a hint of bite. His curve is a 1-7 offering with below average depth. Has a shot at being a middle reliever with his sinker, but that is about it.

1st: FB (90-95), CU (83-84), SL (81)

2nd: FB (90-94), CU (81-84), SL (79-80)

3rd: FB (91-95), CU (82-85), SL (79-81) - SL (Gonzalez), CU (Gonzalez)

4th: FB (89-94), CU (80-83), SL (76-79) - FB (Ortiz)

5th: FB (87-94), CU (79-84), SL (78), CB (73) - CU (Bay)

2) Clay Buchholz: 109 pitches. FB, CU, CB, SL. 12 strikes swinging. 7 Changeups, 3 Sliders, Fastball, Curveball.

• Buchholz came from an over the top release and showed a 4-seam fastball with a little run in on righties, a change with some fade from lefties and good sink, a 2-seam fastball with good run in on righties and a little sink, a 2-7 slider with okay bite that actually looked more like a cutter and a 12-6 curve with above average depth. Has he scrapped the slider in place of a cutter?

1st: FB (93-97), CU (81-83), CB (75-78), SL (87-88) - CU (Callaspo)

2nd: FB (94-98), CU (82-83), CB (78), SL (89-92) - FB (Olivo), 2 SL (Olivo, Gordon), 2 CU (Olivo, Gordon)

3rd: FB (95-97), CU (81-83), CB (78-80), SL (88-91) - SL (Maier), CB (Betancourt)

4th: FB (94-97), CU (82-84), SL (88-89) - 2 CU (Butler, Jacobs)

5th: FB (94-98), CU (80-81), CB (78-81), SL (88-89)

6th: FB (91-97), CU (83-84), CB (78-79), SL (88-90) - 2 CU (Jacobs - 2)

7th: FB (94-97), CU (82-83), CB (78-80), SL (88)

3) Yasuhiko Yabuta: 56 pitches. FB, CU, Split, SL. 5 strikes swinging. 5 Changeups.

• Yabuta came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a split with good dive, a straight change with a little fade from lefties that he will throw to righties and in 3-1 and 3-2 counts and a 2-7 slider with a hint of movement.

5th: FB (94), CU (84), Split (78-80) - CU (Reddick)

6th: FB (91-95), CU (81-87), Split (74-78), SL (86) - 2 CU (Ellsbury, Bay)

7th: FB (92-94), CU (83-87), Split (72-74), SL (85-86) - 2 CU (Kotchman - 2)

4) Kyle Farnsworth: 35 pitches. FB, Cut, SL, CU. 5 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs, Slider.

• Farnsworth came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-seam fastball with good run in on righties and a little sink, a cutter with some cut and a 2-7 slider with solid bite.

8th: FB (93-100), Cut (90), SL (85-87) - 4 FB (Bay - 2, Woodward, Kotchman), SL (Ortiz)

5) Ramon Ramirez: 20 pitches. FB, SL, CU. 0 strikes swinging.

• Ramirez came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a hard change with some fade from lefties and some sink and a 2-7 slider with some bite.

7th: FB (92-95)

8th: FB (94-95), SL (89-90), CU (89-91)

6) Takashi Saito: 28 pitches. FB, SL, CB, Split. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs.

• Saito came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 3-8 slider with good bite and a 1-7 curve with slightly above average depth.

8th: FB (91-95), SL (82-85), CB (78)

9th: FB (88-94), SL (81-83) - 3 FB (Hernandez - 2, Anderson)

7) Jamey Wright: 30 pitches. FB, CB, Cut, CU. 1 strike swinging. Cutter.

• Wright came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 11-5 curve with above average depth, a cutter with some cut and a split with some dive.

9th: FB (90-94), CB (80-81), Cut (86-90), Split (86) - Cut (Reddick)

Chart Observations: 9/22 BOS @ KC

1) Zach Greinke: 91 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, CU). 7 strikes swinging. 4 Sliders, 2 Fastballs, Changeup.

• Greinke came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties, a change with good fade from lefties and some sink, a sharp 2-7 slider with above average bite and a 12-6 curve with above average depth. He also throws a 2-seamer with above average run in on righties and some sink.

1st: FB (91-98), SL (87-91), CU (85) - SL (Youkilis)

2nd: FB (93-96), SL (85-89), CU (86)

3rd: FB (91-97), CU (87), CB (71-74) - 2 FB (Gonzalez - 2)

4th: FB (90-97), SL (84-91), CU (87-90), CB (74) - 3 SL (Youkilis - 2, Ortiz), CU (Martinez)

5th: FB (89-97), CU (86-90), CB (73) - CU (Bay)

6th: FB (92-96), SL (84-88), CU (86-87), CB (71-73)

2) Paul Byrd: 101 pitches. (Cut, SL, FB, CU, CB). 5 strikes swinging. 4 Sliders, Changeup.

• Byrd came from a 3/4 release and showed a cutter with some cut, a fastball with some run in on righties, a change with some sink and some fade from lefties that he will throw to righties and in 2-0 and 3-2 counts, a 2-7 slider with a little bite and a sweeping 1-7 curve with slightly below average depth.

1st: Cut (86-89), SL (81-83), FB (87-90), CU (81-82)

2nd: Cut (88-89), SL (80-81), FB (87), CU (80), CB (75) - SL (Butler)

3rd: Cut (87-88), SL (79-81), FB (87-89), CU (80-81) - CU (Jacobs)

4th: Cut (88), SL (80-82), FB (88-89), CU (80-81), CB (75) - SL (Butler)

5th: Cut (87), SL (80-81), FB (87), CU (81), CB (76)

6th: Cut (90), SL (81-83), CU (80), CB (78) - SL (Betancourt)

7th: Cut (86-90), SL (80-83), CU (80-83) - SL (Butler)

3) Roman Colon: 31 pitches. (FB, SL, Split). 2 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders.

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

7th: FB (94-96), SL (81-83), Split (87-88) - 2 SL (Varitek, Bay)

8th: FB (92-97), SL (81-82), Split (88)

4) Manny Delcarmen: 2 pitches. (FB, CU, CB). 0 strikes swinging.

• Delcarmen came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties.

7th: FB (94)

5) Michael Bowden: 10 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Bowden came from an over the top release with a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a change with some fade from lefties and some sink and a flat slider.

8th: FB (92-95), CU (88), SL (84) - FB (Gordon)

6) Jamey Wright: 17 pitches. (FB, CB, Cut, CU). 3 strikes swinging. Fastball, Cutter, Curveball.

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

9th: FB (92-95), Cut (87-90), CB (80-81) - FB (Drew), Cut (Bay), CB (Bay)

7) Joakim Soria: 1 pitch. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 0 strikes swinging.

• Soria came from a 3/4 release and showed a pretty straight 4-seam fastball.

9th: FB (93)

9/16: KC @ DET

1) Eddie Bonine: (FB, SL, CB, CU). 82 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Bonine came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and solid sink, a change with some fade from lefties and a little sink that he will throw to righties, a sharp 12-6 knuckle curve with above average depth and a

1st: FB (88-91), CU (84)

2nd: FB (88-91), CU (81-84), CB (79-84) - FB (Olivo)

3rd: FB (88-91), CU (81-83), CB (78)

4th: FB (86-89), CU (80-82), CB (76-81)

5th: FB (87-89), CU (79-82), CB (77-78)

2) Lenny DiNardo: (FB, CU, CB). 104 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. 5 Fastballs, 2 Changeups, Curveball.

• DiNardo is a 6-2, 220 pound lefty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle and doesn't look 220 at all. Looks like a stringbean and is very thin. He came from a high 3/4 release. He has a violent head jerk in his delivery, but that is the only real red flag. His change has some fade from lefties with some sink. His main fastball is a cutter with good cut and solid sink. His change is straight with a little sink. His curve is a 10-5 with average depth that can just hang at times. Likes to throw the cutter in on righties and let them roll over on it and ground out to third. Could be a back of the rotation option in the NL with a team with a good defensive SS and 3B, but that is about it.

1st: FB (81-85), CU (76-77), CB (70-72) - 2 FB (Thames - 2)

2nd: FB (84-86), CU (76), CB (70-74) - CB (Granderson), CU (Inge)

3rd: FB (82-86), CU (75-76) - 3 FB (Ordonez, Polanco, Everett), CU (Everett)

4th: FB (83-86), CU (77), CB (72)

5th: FB (83-86), CU (75-76), CB (72)

6th: FB (83-87), CU (76-78), CB (74)

3) Zach Miner: (FB, SL, CB, CU). 10 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Changeups.

• Miner came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a 1-7 curve with slightly above average depth, a change with good fade from lefties and some sink that he will throw to righties and in 3-2 counts and a

6th: FB (90-93), CB (74), CU (78-80) - 2 CU (Olivo - 2)

4) Jamey Wright: (FB, CB, Cut, Split). 23 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Curveballs.

• Wright came from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a 1-7 curve with above average depth, a cutter with some cut and some sink

6th: FB (91-94), CB (80-82) - 2 CB (Huff - 2)

7th: FB (91-93), CB (76-79), Cut (86)

5) Bobby Seay: (FB, SL, CU). 22 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Seay came from a sidearm release and showed a 9-4 slider with good bite and a fastball with some run in on lefties.

7th: FB (92-93), SL (81-82)

8th: FB (91-92), SL (80-82)

6) Roman Colon: (FB, SL, Split). 21 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Slider.

• Colon came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a 2-7 slider with above average bite that is a big breaker and a split with some dive.

7th: FB (93), SL (79-82) - 2 FB (Laird - 2)

8th: FB (91-94), SL (79-82), Split (87) - SL (Everett)

7) Brandon Lyon: (FB, Cut, CB, CU). 11 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Jacobs.

• Lyon came from a high 3/4 release with a cutter with good cut and some sink and a fastball with some run in on righties

8th: FB (91-95), Cut (87-91) - FB (Jacobs)

8) Fernando Rodney: (FB, CU, SL). 0 strikes swinging.

• Rodney came from a 3/4 release and showed a change with above average fade in on lefties and good sink that he will throw to righties and a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink.

9th: FB (93-97), CU (83-87)

Chart Observations: 9/13 KC @ CLE

1) Carlos Carrasco: 79 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 7 strikes swinging. 4 Curveballs, 2 Fastballs, Changeup.

• Carrasco is a 6-3, 215 pound righty. The 22 year old has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out, though he may be able to add a little more muscle to his lower body. He came from a high 3/4 release with a classic drop and drive delivery with pretty clean mechanics. His fastball has some run in on righties and a little sink. His change has some fade from lefties and a little sink that he will throw to righties. His curve is a 12-6 offering with above average depth. He should still be a solid starter, but likely more of an innings eater # 4 then a # 3.

1st: FB (91-95), CU (86), CB (78-79) - CB

2nd: FB (92-93), CU (85-86)

3rd: FB (91-94), CU (85-87), CB (79) - CB

4th: FB (91-94), CU (84-86), CB (75-79) - 2 FB, CB

5th: FB (90-93), CU (84-85), CB (77) - CB

6th: FB (91-94), CU (83-86), CB (77) - CU

2) Kyle Davies: 108 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, Cut). 6 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, 3 Changeups.

• Davies came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties and a little sink, a change with good fade from lefties and good sink that he will throw to righties and in 2-0 and 3-2 counts, a 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a

1st: FB (90-93), CU (80-84), CB (76-79) - FB, CU

2nd: FB (87-91), CU (80-81) - FB

3rd: FB (88-93), CU (81-84) - CU

4th: FB (90-92), CU (81-84), CB (73-74) - CU

5th: FB (89-93), CU (81-82), CB (74-76) - FB

6th: FB (90-92), CU (82-84), CB (74-76)

3) Mike Gosling: 34 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 2 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders.

• Gosling came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on lefties, a 11-5 slider with good bite, a big breaking 11-5 curve with above average depth and a change with some fade from righties and some sink.

7th: FB (90-94), CU (82), SL (79-82), CB (71-75) - 2 SL

4) Roman Colon: 30 pitches. (FB, SL, Split). 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, Slider.

• Colon came from an over the top release and showed a pretty straight 4-seam fastball, a big breaking 2-7 slider with above average bite that can resemble a curveball and a splitter with a little dive.

7th: FB (93-95), SL (78-82) - 3 FB

8th: FB (93-95), SL (80-82), Split (88) - SL

5) Rafael Perez: 8 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Perez came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 11-5 slider with solid bite and a fastball with a little cutting action.

8th: FB (93), SL (84-86) - SL

6) Kerry Wood: 26 pitches. (FB, Cut, CB, SL). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Cutter.

• Wood came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties and a little sink, a cutter with some cut and a sharp 12-6 curve with above average depth.

9th: FB (93-97), Cut (90-91), CB (77-79) - 2 FB, Cut

7) Carlos Rosa: 11 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Rosa is a 6-1, 210 pound righty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle to his lower body, but not much. He came from an over the top release with a long arm action that puts extra stress on his shoulder. Also has some cocking action. His fastball is a pretty straight 4-seam. His slider is a 2-7 with solid bite. Looks like he could be a strong middle reliever with an outside shot of being a late inning guy.

9th: FB (94-96), SL (88)

Michael Brantley: To 1st: 4.4

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: 9/6 LAA @ KC

1) Joe Saunders: 103 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 1 strike swinging. Curveball.

• Saunders came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fairly straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-seam fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink, a sharp 11-5 curve with average depth, a change with some run in on righties and some sink and a 11-5 slider with good bite.

1st: FB (90-93), CU (84), CB (76-80)

2nd: FB (89-94), CU (83-85), CB (80-81), SL (83) - CB

3rd: FB (89-94), CU (81-83), CB (77-82)

4th: FB (88-93), CB (77-81)

5th: FB (90-94), CU (83), CB (75-80)

6th: FB (89-93), CB (76-80)

2) Luke Hochevar: 71 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, Split). 5 strikes swinging. 4 Sliders, Fastball.

• Hochevar came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a sharp 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth that he will throw 3-2, a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite and a split with some dive.

1st: FB (91-94), SL (84), CB (77-79) - SL

2nd: FB (91-93), SL (83-85), CB (74-77)

3rd: FB (89-93), SL (84), Split (83) - FB

4th: FB (88-93), SL (82-84), CB (77-78) - 3 SL

3) Dusty Hughes: 62 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 3 Sliders, 2 Changeups.

• Hughes is a 5-10, 185 pound lefty. The 27 year old has a small frame that can add a little more muscle to his lower half. Fairly athletic build that is fairly built. He came from a classic drop and drive delivery with a little cocking action with his arm. His fastball has a little run in on lefties and some sink. His change has some fade from righties with some sink that he will throw 2-0 and 3-2 and he will throw it to lefties. His slider is a 11-5 pitch with okay bite. His curve is a 11-5 offering with slightly below average depth. 4-A pitcher.

4th: FB (89), CU (79-81)

5th: FB (88-93), CU (81-82), SL (83-84), CB (73) - CU, SL

6th: FB (89-93), CU (79-81), SL (81-85) - SL

7th: FB (89-92), CU (78-81), SL (84-85) - CU, SL

8th: FB (88-90), CU (76-84)

4) Jason Bulger: 6 pitches. (FB, CB, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Bulger came from an over the top release with a sharp 12-6 curve with above average depth and a fastball with some run in on righties.

6th: FB (94-95), CB (80-84)

5) Matt Palmer: 35 pitches. (FB, Cut, CB, CU). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Cutters, Curveball.

• Palmer came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a big breaking 12-6 curve with above average depth, a cutter with some cut

7th: FB (91-92), Cut (89-91), CB (77-79) - 2 Cut, CB

8th: FB (90-92), Cut (89), CB (75)

6) Jose Arredondo: 11 pitches. (FB, Split, SL). 1 strike swinging.

• Arredondo came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a split with above average dive and a 2-7 slider with some bite.

9th: FB (92-95), Split (83-85), SL (85) - Split

7) Victor Marte: 14 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Curveball, Changeup.

• Marte is a 6-2, 265 pound righty. The 28 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He does have some bad weight. He came from an over the top release with pretty clean mechanics, though it is a max effort delivery. His fastball has some run in on righties, but can straighten out. His change has some fade from lefties and some sink. He has a power 12-6 curve with below average depth that is sharp. He has the looks to be a solid middle reliever, though his fastball command isn't very good.

9th: FB (95-97), CU (87-88), CB (82-85) - CB, CU

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

Royals Extras (and Carlos Silva)

1) Sidney (Prince of Aruba) Ponson: FB, SL, CU, CB
5/6: 85 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Ponson is a 6-1, 260 pound righty. The 32 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out with a lot of bad weight in the lower body and he has an extremely thick lower half. Also appears to have a little bit of a gut. He came from a high 3/4 release in a fairly clean delivery, though he lands hard on his front foot which isn't a good thing at his weight. His fastball has some run in on righties and some sink. His curve is a sharp 12-6 with average depth that has good downward action to it. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with good bite. He throws a lot of 2-seamers and doesn't throw many off-speed offerings. His change has some fade from lefties and a touch of sink. Ponson generated virtually zero swinging strikes, meaning he wasn't fooling anybody. His fastball is solid, but none of his other off-speed offerings are very good. I would like to see him as a 1-inning reliever and given a shot there, but he just may get arrested if I told him that because he would probably punch me.

1st: FB (92-95), CB (78)

2nd: FB (91-94)

3rd: FB (91-94), CB (77), SL (81-83)

4th: FB (92-94), SL (82-84), CU (84-85) - FB

5th: FB (90-95), SL (81-83), CU (82)

6th: FB (92), SL (83), CU (84-86)

7th: FB (89-91), SL (80-82)

8th: FB (89-91), CB (75)

2) Carlos Silva: FB, CU, SL

5/6: 70 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 2 Changeups.

• Silva is a 6-4, 250 pound righty. The 30 year old has big frame that is maxed out with some definite bad weight. He has a classic drop and drive delivery that is real slow in the beginning, but no real red flags mechanically. His fastball has good run in on righties and good sink. His change has some fade from lefties and some sink that he will throw to righties and his go-to offspeed offering. Almost looks like he guides the ball in there and that there may be some more velocity there in shorter spurts. His command is not as good as it used to be and catches a lot of the middle of the plate with his sinkers. He can still force a lot of groundballs. Silva's best case is a # 5 starter for a great infield defensive team, so the Mariners are his best fit to have a chance at salvaging his career.

1st: FB (88-91), CU (80-81)

2nd: FB (86-91), CU (81) - FB, CU

3rd: FB (87-92), CU (78-83) - FB, CU

3) Horacio Ramirez: FB, SL, CU, Cut, CB

5/6: 9 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Slider.

5/22: 30 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Ramirez is a 6-1, 220 pound lefty. The 29 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from an over the top release with pretty clean mechanics from the stretch. His slider is a 11-5 with average bite. His fastball has a some run in on lefties and a little sink. His change has a little fade from righties and a little sink. His cutter has a little cut. Just a 4-A pitcher. Not enough stuff to start and doesn't have a dominant pitch to be a solid reliever. Can't be a LOOGY, as his slider just isn't good enough and there is little deception in his delivery.

5/6

8th: FB (90-92), SL (79-80) - 2 FB, SL

5/22:

7th: FB (90-92), SL (83), CU (84), Cut (90)

8th: FB (89-91), SL (79-83), CU (84), Cut (88)

4) Robinson Tejeda: FB, SL, CU

8/29: 28 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider.

• Tejeda is a 6-3, 250 pound righty. The 27 year old has a big frame that looks lighter then his listed weight. He has a thick lower half and has a little bit of a gut. He came from a 3/4 release with pretty clean mechanics. His fastball has a little run in on righties. His slider is a sharp 2-7 pitch with slightly below average bite. His change is fairly straight with a little sink that he will throw to righties. Looks like his current role as a long man is best, as he doesn't have an off-speed offering that is real swing and miss and can battle his command at times. Low leverage situation reliever.

5th: FB (91-96), SL (83-86), CU (83-85) - SL

6th: FB (91-95), CU (82-85) - FB

5) Doug Waechter: FB, SL, CU

8/6: 13 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Waechter is a 6-4, 225 pound righty. The 28 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle to his upper body, but has a built lower half. He came from an over the top, almost high 3/4 release and breaks his hands high, adding extra strain to his shoulders. His fastball has good run in on righties and some sink. His change is straight and flashes some fade from lefties with some sink. Waechter looks like a 4-A pitcher, as his stuff did not look very good.

9th: FB (89-91), CU (82-84)

6) Yasuhiko Yabuta: FB, Split, SL

8/29: 10 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Yabuta is a 6-2, 190 pound righty. The 36 year old has a medium frame that can add a litt more muscle, but I would not count on it. Typical japanese build. Over the top release with the typical japanese scrunch up when pitching with everything in towards his chest. He has a mini pause at the balance point, but nothing crazy. His fastball is a pretty straight 4-seam that flashes some run in on righties. His slider is 2-7 with some mythical bite, as it sure looked pretty straight... His splitter has above average fade from lefties and a little sink. Another 4-A reliever whose combo of straight pitches will not allow him to get major league hitters out.

7th: FB (88-92), Split (75), SL (82)

Chart Observations: 8/27 CLE @ KC

1) David Huff: 94 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, Slider.

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

1st: FB (88-92), CU (81-82), SL (82-83) - FB

2nd: FB (88-92), SL (80-81), CB (73-76)

3rd: FB (87-91), CU (82-83), SL (81), CB (76) - FB

4th: FB (89-90), CU (82), SL (78-82), CB (74)

5th: FB (87-92), CU (81-83), SL (83), CB (76-77) - FB, SL

6th: FB (88-91), SL (79-82)

2) Luke Hochevar: 116 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, Split). 15 strikes swinging. 10 Fastballs, 3 Sliders, 2 Curveballs.

• Hochevar came from a high 3/4 release with good run in on righties and solid sink, a 12-6 curve with average depth, a 2-7 slider with okay bite that flashes above average bite and a split with above average dive.

1st: FB (92-94), SL (87-89), CB (77-81) - CB

2nd: FB (92-94), SL (83-85), CB (74-78) - 3 FB, 2 SL

3rd: FB (89-95), SL (84-87), CB (75), Split (82) - 2 FB

4th: FB (90-94), SL (83-85), CB (79) - FB, SL

5th: FB (90-95), CB (78) - FB

6th: FB (92-95), CB (77-78), SL (83-86) - FB, CB

7th: FB (90-94), CB (77), SL (83-85) - 2 FB

3) John Bale: 10 pitches. (FB, CB, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Bale came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some tail in on righties, a change with some fade from righties with sink and a 10-4 curve with solid depth

7th: FB (89-91), CB (72), CU (81-82)

4) Joe Smith: 13 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Smith came from a sidearm release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and good sink, a change with good fade from lefties and a little sink that he will throw to righties and a 3-8 slider with good bite.

7th: FB (89-91), SL (82-83), CU (77-78)

5) Chris Perez: 14 pitches. (FB, SL, CB). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

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

8th: FB (95-96), SL (83-84) - SL

6) Kyle Farnsworth: 11 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider.

• Farnsworth came from an over the top release with a 4-seam fastball with some run in on righties and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (96-100), SL (89-92) - FB, SL

7) Jamey Wright: 13 pitches. (FB, Cut, CB, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Wright came from a high 3/4 release and a cutter with good cut and some sink, a 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink.

9th: FB (92-94), Cut (85-90), CB (79-80)

8) Kerry Wood: 11 pitches. (FB, SL, Cut, CB). 0 strikes swinging.

• Wood came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a cutter with some cut that flashes sink and a sharp 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth.

9th: FB (95-97), Cut (90-93), CB (79)

8/22: MIN @ KC

1) Brian Duensing: 80 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (4th, 5th), 4 Sliders (3rd, 4th, 2 in 5th), 2 Changeups (both in 4th)

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

1st: FB (90-93), SL (80-84), CB (71), CU (85)

2nd: FB (91-93), SL (82)

3rd: FB (91-95), SL (84-86), CU (85)

4th: FB (91-95), SL (83-85), CB (73), CU (84-86)

5th: FB (92-95), SL (83-87), CB (73), CU (85-88)

2) Kyle Davies: 93 pitches. 13 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (2nd, 3rd), 6 Changeups (3 in 1st, 3 in 3rd), 4 Curveballs (2 in 2nd, 4th, 6th), Cutter (6th)

• Davies is a 6-2, 220 pound righty. The 25 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from an over the top release. His fastball has a little run in on righties, but is fairly straight. His curve is a 12-6 offering with average depth and flashes above average depth. His change has some fade from lefties that he will throw to righties and it looks like a fastball out of his hand. His cutter has some cut. He falls behind constantly due to lack of fastball command and causes him to fall into predictable counts. Has the stuff of a # 3 starter, but needs to develop his fastball command greatly.

1st: FB (93-94), CB (79-81), CU (83-85)

2nd: FB (93-95), CB (78-82), CU (82-83)

3rd: FB (91-94), CU (83-84)

4th: FB (92-93), CB (76-79), CU (82)

5th: FB (91-93), CB (76), CU (81-82)

6th: FB (92-94), CB (76-79), CU (84), Cut (89-90)

3) Ron Mahay: 13 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Mahay came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a 11-5 slider with good bite and a change with some fade from righties and good sink that he will throw to lefties.

6th: FB (92-93), SL (84), CU (85)

7th: FB (90-91), CU (83)

4) Bob Keppel: 24 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Keppel came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a 2-7 slider with good bite and a 12-6 curve with average depth.

6th: FB (93-96), SL (88-90), CB (82)

5) Jesse Crain: 15 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball (7th), Curveball (6th)

• Crain came from an over the top release with a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a 12-6 curve with above average depth that is his out pitch and a 2-7 slider with good bite.

6th: FB (96-98), CB (78)

7th: FB (96-97), CB (75), SL (88-90)

6) Jose Mijares: 22 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

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

7th: FB (93-97), SL (81-83), CU (86)

8th: FB (92-96), SL (82)

7) John Bale: 9 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Bale came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sinka nd a sweeping 9-4 curve with average depth.

7th: FB (87-90), CB (72-73)

8) Roman Colon: 31 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders (both in 7th), 2 Splitters (both in 9th)

• Colon came from an over the top release and showed a 2-7 slider with good bite, a straight 4-seam fastball and a split with good dive.

7th: FB (95-96), SL (81-84)

8th: FB (94-97), SL (80), Split (88)

9th: FB (93-98), SL (79-80), Split (88-89)

9) Jamey Wright: 8 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Cutter.

• Wright came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and solid sink and a cutter with good cut and sink.

9th: FB (93-94), Cut (86-88)

10) Matt Guerrier: 16 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball (9th)

• Guerrier 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 good bite and a 12-6 curve with average depth.

8th: FB (94), SL (88), CB (81)

9th: FB (91-94), SL (86-88), CB (81)

7/28: KC @ BAL

1) Brian Bannister: 100 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 2 on Cutters (1st, 4th), 3 on Changeups (4th, 5th, 6th), Curveball (4th).

• Bannister came from a high 3/4 release and showed a cutter with good cut and flashed some sink, a 12-6 curve with above average depth, a hard change with good fade from lefties with good sink that he uses as an out pitch to both righties and lefties and a fastball with a little run in on righties.

1st: Cut (86-89), CU (84-86), CB (70-76), FB (90)

2nd: Cut (86-88), CU (85)

3rd: Cut (87-90), CU (84-86), CB (76-78)

4th: Cut (88-89), CU (85-86), CB (77-78)

5th: Cut (86-89), CU (83-86)

6th: Cut (87-89), CU (85-87), CB (68-76)

2) Jason Berken: 88 pitches. 9 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (1st, 3rd), 4 Curves (1st, 4th, 2 in 6th), 2 Sliders (both in 2nd) and a Changeup (5th)

• Berken came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and sink, a 2-7 slider with some bite, a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth and a change with some fade from lefties with sink that he will throw to righties.

1st: FB (92-95), SL (85), CU (86), CB (78-80)

2nd: FB (91-93), SL (84-85), CU (85), CB (78)

3rd: FB (92-93)

4th: FB (91-94), SL (84), CU (83-85), CB (80-81)

5th: FB (88-92), CU (83-84), CB (80)

6th: FB (91-93), CU (83-84), CB (78-80)

3) John Bale: 13 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Changeup.

• Bale came from a 3/4 to over the top release and showed a change with good sink and solid fade from righties, a 11-5 curve with above average depth and a fastball with some run in on lefties.

7th: FB (88-90), CB (70-72), CU (79-80)

4) Roman Colon: 21 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Colon came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a split with some dive and a 2-7 slider with above average bite.

7th: FB (95-96)

8th: FB (95-97), SL (80), Split (86-89)

5) Mark Hendrickson: 11 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Hendrickson came from an over the top release and shwoed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a 12-6 curve with above average depth and a cutter with decent cut.

7th: FB (88-90), Cut (84), CB (73-74)

6) Jim Johnson: 11 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Johnson came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and a change with marginal sink.

8th: FB (93-95), CU (88)

7) Jamey Wright: 21 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball (9th), Curveball (9th)

• Wright came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties with sink, a 11-5 curve with above average depth and a cutter with decent cut.

9th: FB (91-93), Cut (86), CB (77-79)

10th: FB (91-93), Cut (88), CB (77-84)

8) George Sherrill: 23 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs.

• George came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a little run in on lefties and a 11-5 slider with solid bite.

9th: FB (89-92), SL (72-75)

9) Danys Baez: 31 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Baez is a 6-1, 235 pound righty. The 31 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from an over the top release. His fastball has a little run in on righties with some sink, a 12-6 curve with average depth and a split with some dive. He is a decent middle reliever right now, but should be nowhere near a setup role.

10th: FB (93-95), Split (89-91), CB (77)

11th: FB (92-95), Split (87-92), CB (77)

10) Joakim Soria: 19 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs.

• Soria came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a change with good late fade from lefties with sink and a 1-7 curve with above average depth. His change is his out pitch.

11th: FB (90-93), CB (70), CU (84-86)

Chart Observations: LAA @ KC

1) Joe Saunders: 109 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 5 on Fastballs (1st, 2 in 2nd, 2 in 5th) and a Changeup (3rd)

• Saunders came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-seam with good run in on lefties with good sink, a big breaking 11-5 curve with above average depth that may be able to be a strikeout pitch, a change with good fade from righties with good sink and a 10-4 slider with good bite. He will drop down to throw fastballs to lefties with 2 strikes. He will throw 3-2 changes. Your prototypical # 4, lefty finesse starter.

1st: FB (90-93), CB (76)

2nd: FB (90-93), CB (77-81), CU (83-84)

3rd: FB (90-93), CU (82-84), SL (82)

4th: FB (90-93), CB (76), SL (81)

5th: FB (90-93), CB (78-79), CU (82-83)

6th: FB (89-92), CB (76-78), CU (82-83), SL (80)

2) Brian Bannister: 114 pitches. 10 strikes swinging. Fastball (5th), 2 Cutters (1st, 6th), 2 Curveballs (1st, 3rd), 5 on Changeups (2 in 2nd, 3rd, 2 in 4th).

• Bannister is a 28 year old righty who stands 6-2, 215. He has a medium frame that is maxed out. He came from an over the top release and worked quickly. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His cutter has good cut and he may call it a slider, but it's action is that of a cutter. His change has good fade from lefties and is a hard change. His curve is 12-6 with excellent depth that could be a strikeout pitch when he throws it in the high 70's, not in the 60's. He will throw changes to righties and that appears to be his out pitch. I think he is a # 4 starter.

1st: FB (87-89), Cut (87-89), CU (85-87), CB (77)

2nd: FB (91), Cut (87-89), CU (86-88), CB (62-78)

3rd: FB (91), Cut (86-90), CU (85-88), CB (65-77)

4th: FB (88-90), Cut (87-88), CU (85-88), CB (74-75)

5th: FB (90-91), Cut (86-88), CU (85-86), CB (71-78)

6th: FB (90-91), Cut (86-89), CU (86), CB (78)

7th: FB (90), Cut (87-88), CU (85-86), CB (77)

3) Justin Speier: 24 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Splitter (7th)

• Speier came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties, a slider that moves like a cutter with okay bite that is pretty sharp and a split with above average dive that serves as his out pitch.

6th: FB (90), SL (87), Split (81)

7th: FB (91-92), SL (86-88), Split (82-83)

4) John Bale: 15 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball (8th)

• Bale came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a 10-4 curve with solid depth that he will throw from a 3/4 release (and he will throw fastballs from this angle as well) and a change with good fade from righties with sink.

7th: FB (88-92), CB (72)

8th: FB (92), CB (71-73), CU (81)

5) Kevin Jepsen: 17 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Cutter

• Jepsen came from an over the top release with a fastball with some run in on righties, a cutter with good cut and sink and a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth that can be a strikeout pitch. The cutter has been a difference maker pitch for him and is very impressive.

8th: FB (96-97), CB (84), Cut (90-91)

6) Roman Colon: 15 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Splitter

• Colon came from an over the top release and shwoed a 2-7 slider with average bite, a fastball with a little run in on righties and a split that has a little dive.

8th: FB (96-98), SL (78-81), Split (86-88)

7) Jamey Wright: 11 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Wright came from an over the top release with a fastball with a little run in on righties with a little sink, a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth that can be a strikeout pitch and a cutter with some cut.

8th: FB (91-93), Cut (89), CB (77)

8) Joakim Soria: 13 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Soria came from an over the top release with a fastball with some run in on righties, a 12-6 curve with above average depth and a change with good fade from righties with sink.

8th: FB (92-94), CB (70), CU (86-88)

9) Ron Mahay: 22 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Changeup.

• Mahay came from an over the top release with a change with some fade from righties with sink, a fastball with some run in on lefties and a 11-5 slider with above average bite.

9th: FB (90-92), CU (84-85), SL (80-82)

10) Brian Fuentes: 19 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Fuentes came from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some late run in on lefties and a loopy 9-4 slider with good bite.

9th: FB (90-92), SL (75-77)

Random Royals Bullpen Observation: This pen is very similar to those of the White Sox from 3 or 4 years ago. Most of these pitchers have major league stuff and Dayton is trusting his major league pitching coach to try and teach these guys control. Eventually, Kenny Williams pulled the plug and began to bring in solid arms with some control. I think they will be making a similar adjustment in the coming years.

Score Observations (7/11) KC @ BOS: KC Pitchers

1) Gil Meche: 87 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 on Curveballs (2nd, 3rd), Cutter (1st), Changeup (2nd)

• Meche is a 6-3, 215 pound righty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His fastball has some run in on righties. His curve is a 1-7 with good depth. His cutter has good cut and some sink. His chnage has some fade from lefties with sink. His curve is sharp and can be an out pitch. His main issue right now is command, as he is just leaving too many pitches in the middle of the plate (especially the cutter) and his defense is failing to help him.

1st: FB (93-95), Cut (88-90), CU (86), CB (77-80)

2nd: FB (94-96), Cut (89-91), CU (87-89), CB (71-81)

3rd: FB (91-94), Cut (87-89), CU (87), CB (79)

4th: FB (91-92), Cut (84-85), CU (81), CB (71-78)

2) Ron Mahay: 34 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 3 on Changeups (2 in 4th, 5th), Fastball (4th)

• Mahay came from an over the top release and showed a change with some fade from righties and sink that he will throw to lefties, a fastball with some run in on lefties and a 11-4 slider with late bite.

4th: FB (90-91), CU (84-85)

5th: FB (90-92), CU (85-86), SL (84)

6th: FB (90-92), CU (85-86)

3) Jamey Wright: 32 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Wright came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a sharp 12-7 curve with good depth and a cutter with some cut and sink.

7th: FB (91-94), Cut (88-89), CB (79-80)

4) Roman Colon: 39 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 3 on Sliders (7th, 2 in 8th), 2 on Fastballs (7th, 8th)

• Colon came from an over the top release with a straight 4-seam fastball and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite. His splitter had okay dive.

7th: FB (94-96), SL (82-84)

8th: FB (94-96), SL (81-84), Split (88)

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.

6/24 Score: KC @ HOU

Been really busy the last couple of days working on an extra project for BIS, but here is the 2 things that haven't yet been added:

1) Luke Hochevar: 93 strikes. 10 strikes swinging. 9 on sliders (4 in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3 in 7th) and 1 on a curveball (5th).

• He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball has good run and sink and is more of a late action pitch. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with good bite that he started on the outside corner and let the Astros flail at it. He starts his windup with the back of his left foot up and his right foot is already turned. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch with good depth that he didn't start using until the 2nd time through the order. For a pitcher who relies on a sinker, the lack of swing and misses has to be concerning. His upside is that of a # 3 starter.

1st: FB (90-93), SL (83)

2nd: FB (91-94), SL (83-86)

3rd: FB (91-93), SL (83-85)

4th: FB (90-93), SL (83-85), CB (73-74)

5th: FB (92-94), SL (83-86), CB (75-76)

6th: FB (91-93), SL (83-84), CB (76)

7th: FB (91-93), SL (82-85), CB (75)

2) Roy Oswalt: 106 pitches. 13 strikes swinging. 8 on Fastballs (2 in 2nd, 3 in 5th, 3 in 6th), 3 on Curveballs (3rd, 2 in 4th) and 2 on Sliders (4th, 6th)

• Roy is a 6-0 190 pound righty. The 31 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball is a 4-seam with some run in on righties and it flashes some sink, though he will also throw a harder one that is straight. His curveball is a 12-5 with solid depth and he throws it all over the place velocity wise. His curveball looks like a fastball out of his hand until it breaks downward. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with good bite. His change has some fade and sink, but is his 4th pitch. Ace stuff still, but his pitch counts have been high both games I have seen him this year, making him more of a very strong # 2.

1st: FB (91-95), CB (71-72)

2nd: FB (93-95), CB (70-80)

3rd: FB (93-94), CB (64-77), SL (85)

4th: FB (93-96), CB (68-72), SL (84-85)

5th: FB (92-94), CB (70-71), SL (83), CU (81)

6th: FB (90-96), CB (65-78), SL (84-86)

3) Chris Sampson: 9 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 2-seam fastball with some run and sink, a 12-6 curve with good depth and a 2-7 slider with good bite. Swingman.

7th: FB (89-90), SL (83), CB (77-78)

4) Latroy Hawkins: 7 pitches. 0 strikes swinging

• He came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, big breaking 12-6 curve and a straight change that may have been a spinning slider (I don't study pitches as much in scores as I do in charts). He is back to the old Minnesota Hawkins and Ed Wade got a lot of grief for this deal at the time, but it looks good (the player they dealt, Matt Cusick, is hitting .266-.350-.379 in High A)

8th: FB (94-95), CB (80-81), CU (87)

5) Kyle Farnsworth: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and a cutter with solid cut. He left the game with an apparent groin injury and he went to the ground immediately.

8th: FB (96-97), Cut (90)

6) Jamey Wright: 18 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and probably wasn't fully loose when he decide to start pitching. His fastball is a 2-seam with some run in on righties and some sink. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 with good depth.

8th: FB (88-94), CB (78-80)

7) Jose Valverde: 24 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball

• Valverde comes from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and a split with solid dive. He also threw a 2-7 slider with good bite. It is possible some of these mile per hours for his sliders were splitters, as they can look similar when you aren't paying great attention to the pitch.

9th: FB (94-98), SL (85-87), Split (84-87)

8) Roman Colon: 14 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. Splitter and 2 Sliders

• He came from an over the top release and showed a 4-seam fastball with a little late run, a sharp 1-7 slider with good bite and a split that had some dive. His stuff hasn't ever been a question and now that he can just focus on short spurts, he should fulfill his potential and flashes the ability to be a late inning reliever.

9th: FB (93-95), SL (80-84), Split (89)

9) Tim Byrdak: 16 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider, Changeup.

• He came from a high 3/4 release. Another guy whose changeup and slider could be different. His change is a straight change that he will throw to lefties, his slider is a 10-5 with okay bite and his fastball is a straight 4-seam. Maybe a 2nd lefty, I have never been enamored with his stuff.

10th: FB (88-91), SL (82-85), CU (84)

10) Joakim Soria: 22 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Changeup.

• He came from a 3/4 release with a fastball that had some run in on righties, thought it could straighten out. His change has good fade and sink and he will throw it to righties and is his best off-speed offering. His curve is a 12-6 with good depth and his slider is a 2-7 pitch with solid bite.

10th: FB (90-92), CU (84-86), CB (70), SL (79)

11) Jeff Fulchino: 23 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run and sink, a split with good dive and a 2-7 slider with solid bite.

11th: FB (91-95), SL (79-84), Split (85-87)

12) John Bale: 12 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a straight change with some late sink and an 11-5 curve with good depth and bite. Interesting that he was the choice over Juan Cruz to save the game and this was his 1st big league save.

11th: FB (91-92), CB (73-74), CU (82)

Chart Observations: ARI @ KC

• Dan Haren came from an over the top release. His fastball had good run and some sink. His split had solid diving action and is his out pitch. His cutter shows some cut and sink and his curveball was slurvy and inconsistent and was a 1-8 pitch. His fastball was the best I have seen it, but this also caused his curve to flatten out. Borderline ace.

1st: FB (91-92), Split (89)

2nd: Gameday Issues

3rd: FB (90-94), CB (80-81), Split (87), Cut (86-89)

4th: FB (92-94), CB (78-81), Split (86), Cut (89)

5th: FB (90-92)

6th: FB (91-95), CB (79-80), Split (86-87), Cut (86-91)

7th: FB (89-92), CB (79), Split (86)

• Luke Hochevar is a 6-5, 210 pound righty. The 25 year old has a big frame that can get up to at least 225. He comes from a 3/4 release with a drop and drive delivery. His fastball is a sinker with some run and sink. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with above average bite and serves as his out pitch. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 with good depth. His change has some good fade and sink. Will throw the curve from a high 3/4, almost over the top release and believe he tips the pitch with this. Hochevar generates very few swings and misses and operates on a small margin of error. He has the tools to be a good # 3, but he is still struggling with his command. I think he is a # 5 right now.

1st: FB (90-93), SL (82-85)

2nd: FB (88-92), SL (82-83), CB (76)

3rd: Gameday Issues

4th: FB (90-93), SL (83-84), CB (73-76)

5th: FB (91), CB (73)

• Jamey Wright is a 6-5, 225 pound righty. The 34 year old has a big frame that can add more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His fastball shows good run and a little sink. His curveball is a 1-7 with good depth and can be a strikeout pitch. His splitter has a little dive and his cutter has some cut, but it can flatten out. His command can be inconsistent. Solid middle reliever.

5th: FB (88-94), Cut (89), CB (74-79), Split (86)

• Juan Cruz is a 6-2, 165 pound righty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle, but it looks the exact same as it did when he first debuted so I wouldn't count on it. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows good run. His slider is a 2-7 with good bite. He has added a cutter and that had some cut to it, but it was inconsistent. He only threw 1 slider and the rest of his pitches were FB/Cut.

6th: FB (94-97), Cut (89-91), SL (82)

7th: FB (91-96), Cut (89-91)

• Ron Mahay comes from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run, a splitter that had a little sink, but was fairly straight and a 11-4 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (91-92), SL (82-83), Split (84-87)

• Clay Zavada came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run, a straight change and a 10-4 cutter with some bite.

8th: FB (87-90), CU (79-82), Cut (81)

• Joakim Soria is a 6-3, 205 pound righty. The 25 year old has a medium to big frame that can get up to at least 215. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball has some run. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 with good depth. His change has excellent late sink and fade and he will throw it to righties. Above average closer who is beginning to have some durability questions.

9th: FB (90-91), CB (67), CU (84-86)

• Chad Qualls comes from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with excellent run and sink and a 2-7 slider with excellent bite. He is an above average closer as well, as his stuff is very impressive.

9th: FB (92-94), SL (84-89)

• Luis Hernandez is a 5-10, 180 pound 24 year old. The switch hitter, righty thrower has a small frame that is maxed out. From the righty side, he has a very slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle and a trigger of a double step and a cocking of the bat. More of a gap hitter and can play anywhere on the field. The problem is the Royals have quite a few of these and he doesn't project to be much of a hitter. Organizational player.
• Tug Hulett is a 5-10, 185 pound 26 year old. The lefty hitter, righty thrower has a small frame that can add a touch more muscle. He has a slightly open stance and stands straight up with the bat 45 degrees over his shoulder. His trigger is a moderate leg kick and a cocking of the bat. Similar to Hernandez but doesn't appear to be as fast, but has a little more power. Hulett also may not be able to handle shortstop. He is a 4-A player.

Chart Observations: ARI @ KC

• Max Scherzer comes from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some late run, a 2-7 slider with good bite and a change with good fade and sink that he will throw to righties. Mixed pitches very well, but can still have spurts with no control.

1st: FB (93-98), SL (85-87), CU (86-87)

2nd: FB (92-94), SL (84-86), CU (84-86)

3rd: FB (93-96), SL (84-86), CU (84-86)

4th: FB (92-95), SL (83-86), CU (85)

5th: FB (93-97), SL (85), CU (85-86)

6th: FB (92-99), SL (82-87), CU (85-86)

• Zach Greinke is a 6-2, 190 pound righty. The 25 year old has a medium frame that can add more muscle. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball is a 4-seam with some run and he has some extra in the tank when he needs it. His change shows good sink and fade and he will throw it to righties. His curveball is a slow, big breaking 12-6. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with good bite and is his out pitch. Ace.

1st: FB (92-98), SL (90), CU (81-82), CB (68)

2nd: FB (92-96), SL (87-88), CB (75-78)

3rd: FB (91-97), SL (84-88), CU (82-84), CB (69)

4th: FB (91-96), SL (85-88), CU (81-84), CB (67-73)

5th: FB (91-94), SL (83-88), CU (85)

6th: FB (92-97), SL (79-88), CU (82)

7th: FB (92-96), SL (86-88), CU (81-87)

• Scott Schoeneweis is a 6-0, 190 pound lefty. The 35 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a fastball that has some run and a sweeping 10-4 slider. Good # 1 lefty to have in a pen.

7th: FB (89-91), SL (80-81)

• Jon Rauch comes from an over the top release and showed a 4-seam fastball with some run, a change with good sink and fade and a big breaking 12-6 curve.

7th: FB (92), CU (84)

8th: FB (90-93), CU (85), CB (74-75)

• John Bale is a 6-4, 205 pound lefty. The 35 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball has some run in on righties and some sink. He will throw a straight change, as well as a fastball, from a high 3/4 release. Will throw his change to lefties. He has a classic drop and drive delivery and a 10-4 curve that is fairly slurvy. More of a guy to pitch when trailing then leading and not much of a major league pitcher.

7th: FB (87-90), CU (82)

8th: FB (89-90), CB (73-74), CU (80-81)

• Roman Colon is a 6-6, 235 pound righty who didn't get an out. The 29 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle. He comes from an over the top release with a drop and drive delivery. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that flashes a little run. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with good bite. Seems like he has the tools to be useful, but pitched to the middle of the plate too often. Should be a solid middle reliever.

8th: FB (93-94), SL (79)

• Ron Mahay is a 6-2, 195 pound lefty. The 37 year old has a medium frame that can add more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release. He shows a 4-seam fastball with a little run, a straight change with some sink and a 11-4 slider with good bite. Solid # 1 lefty in a pen.

8th: FB (90-92), SL (83-84), CU (85)

• Juan Gutierrez comes from an over the top release and shows a 4-seam fastball with good run, a change with some sink and fade, a sharp 2-7 slider and a 12-5 curve with some depth and good late bite.

9th: FB (94-96), CB (79-83), SL (84), CU (84-85)

• Kyle Farnsworth is a 6-4, 235 pound righty. The 33 year old has a big frame that has room to add a little more muscle. He comes from an over the top release with a straight 4-seam fastball that flashes run, a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite and a low 90's cutter that has good cut and a little sink. Closer stuff, middle reliever command. I wouldn't trust him with anything more then a middle reliever.

9th: FB (93-99), SL (84-90), Cut (90-93)

Chart Observations: CLE @ KC

• Fausto Carmona started for Cleveland really struggled commanding his stuff early. From a 3/4 release, Carmona attacks hitters with a fastball at 91-94, a slider at 81-84 and a changeup at 84-87. Carmona's fastball is a plus pitch because of its great movement down and away from lefties (or in to righties), but he has some issues commanding it due to its movement. He is a pitcher that needs to aim at the middle of the plate and allow the natural movement of the ball to take it to the corners. Carmona's slider is a fringe average pitch. His changeup is an above average offering that has similar fade and sink as his fastball, though he also has some issues commanding that pitch. He has average command of his stuff. He is currently a # 3 starter unless his command makes drastic strides and then he can be a # 2, which is his ceiling.
• Gil Meche opposed him. Meche featured a fastball at 92-96, a curveball at 72-80, a cutter at 84-89 and a changeup at 83-87 from an over the top release. Meche's fastball is a plus pitch due to its velocity. His curveball is another plus offering with its 12-6 action and the big disparity in velocity between the two. His cutter is an above average offering that really gets in on the hands of left handers when it's right. His changeup is just a change of pace pitch to lefties to ensure they can't just sit on the fastball and is an average offering. His command is everywhere from average to plus from appearance to appearance. Meche is a strong # 2 right now and has the ceiling to be an ace if he can consistently command his stuff.
• Aaron Laffey has shifted to the bullpen. You would think a starter that sat in the high 80's from the left side would have a difficult transition, but he has been throwing very well. From a high 3/4 release, Laffey attacked with a 2-seam fastball at 84-86, a 4-seam fastball at 87-90 and a slider at 79-82 (which he only threw to Mark Teahen). Laffey's fastball is average and his slider is a frisbee slider that is above average. He has some pretty good deception in his wind up and seems to hide the ball from lefties very well. With that taken into consideration, he has a shot to be a groundball generating LOOGY. Without seeing his changeup, it is hard to say if he is a guy that can consistently get out righties and lefties. Being a former starter, I would say its a good bet for him to have a ceiling as a multi-inning reliever, but one you would rather pitch when behind.
• Rafael Betancourt featured a fastball at 93-95, a slider at 83-85 and a changeup at 88. Betancourt is a solid set-up man, as he showed above average command of his 2 main offerings. His fastball is a pretty straight 4-seam and his slider has great bite to it and it just drops out of the strike zone. Pitching at his ceiling right now.
• Kerry Wood closed out the game and featured a 4-seam fastball at 93-96, a cut fastball at 88-92 and a curveball at 79-81. He still has a strong deuce, but it is just above average now. His cutter is an average offering that has just enough movement on it to make hitters pause a little bit. His 4-seam is a plus offering due to its velocity. He showed average command this outing and really struggled to get a release point on his cutter early. A solid closer, but not one of the elite's and he is currently pitching at his ceiling.
• Jamey Wright featured a fastball at 89-93, a curveball at 78-79 and a cutter at 89 from a high 3/4 release. Wright has been having success out of the pen, but I don't see it lasting. Wright's fastball is a tick above average, his curveball is above average and his 1 cutter was below average. Wright tends to allow balls in play, so he will need a strong defense behind him to be good over the course of a full season. His command is above average, but can desert him at times, especially with his curveball. A solid middle reliever, but he is miscast as a set-up guy.
• Sidney Ponson lost his job in the rotation and is now their long reliever. He attacked with a fastball at 88-92, a slider at 81-84, a changeup at 84-86 and a curveball at 76-77 from a high 3/4 release. All of his pitches are average offerings. His command can be erratic from appearance to appearance and even from batter to batter, which severely limits his use as a long reliever if he allows a lot of base runners. A guy that is likely pitching with his last chance at being in the bigs. Upside is that of a swingman, one that can start for you occasionally when minor injuries dictate it and that can finish some blowouts by throwing multiple innings.
• Robinson Tejeda's big arm has landed him in Kansas City. He attacks hitters from a 3/4 release with a fastball at 92-97, a slider at 80-87 and a changeup at 81-86. Tejeda's fastball is a plus offering and he shows above average command of it. His slider is a below average offering that flashes above average. He has a tendency to throw spinners and is not consistent with any part of throwing his slider (release point, velocity, command). His change is also below average that flashes average and he has the same issues with his slider. He has always been looking for an off speed pitch to complement his fastball and needs to refine these offerings to reach his upside of a set-up man. Tejeda reaches back when he gets ahead 2 strikes (which may be part of the problem with the off speed offerings), hitting 96-97 on the gun during these times.

Got the Pirates-Nats at 7 tonight featuring Ian Snell and the major league debut of Craig Stammen.

Chart Observations: SEA @ KC

• Jarrod Washburn started for the Mariners and mixed all his pitches in. A pitcher that used to rely solely on his fastball has a strong repertoire to attack hitters. He features a high 80's fastball, mid to high 80's cutter, low 80's changeup, mid 70's slider and mid 70's curveball. Washburn has a pitch for every situation and looks like a solid # 4 starter once again. He will never do well enough to live up to his contract but he has value as an innings eater.
• Sean White attacked hitters with just a 92-94 mile per hour fastball and showed some command issues. He has a good fastball but he has to have something else.
• Brian Bannister went against what I thought. He threw a ton of fastballs as opposed to masterfully working multiple off-speed pitches. He is a very intelligent pitcher who studies his stats, which helps him get by with average (at best) stuff. He features a high 80's fastball that has a lot of cutting action, a low 80's changeup, a mid 80's slider and a high 60's to high 70's curveball. Bannister's 2nd best pitch is his changeup, which is also the only other pitch he has that moves to his arm side.
• Ron Mahay is not your typical LOOGY. He features a low 90's fastball, a mid 80's slider and a mid 80's changeup. This changeup is good enough to allow him to face (and get out) both righthanders and lefthanders. Likely pitching at his ceiling now, which is a middle reliever who doesn't kill you if you need him to throw the 8th.
• Juan Cruz features a power pitcher repertoire with command. I thought he was one of the better relievers available on the market and Kansas City was able to secure him for a significant discount. He features a mid 90's fastball that explodes on hitters, a low 80's slider and a rare changeup (he threw one today at 85). I still see closer stuff, the only question is if he has that mentality.
• I actually like Cruz as a closer better then Joakim Soria. Soria is very good, but he doesn't have as explosive stuff, featuring a low 90's fastball, a mid to high 70's slider and a high 60's curveball. He does have much better command then Cruz and he is extremely durable. But, you can't really go wrong with either of those 2 in their roles.

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.