Chart Observations: 9/25: ATL @ WAS

1) John Lannan: 122 pitches. FB, SL, CB, CU. 9 strikes swinging. 4 Sliders, 3 Fastballs, 2 Changeups.

• Lannan came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a straight change with some sink that he will throw to lefties, a 11-5 slider with solid bite and a 12-6 curve with above average depth.

1st: FB (87-91), SL (81-84), CU (81-85) - 2 SL (McCann, LaRoche), CU (McLouth)

2nd: FB (87-91), SL (81), CU (80), CB (74-75)

3rd: FB (89-91), SL (81-83), CU (81-83), CB (73-75) - CU (Jones)

4th: FB (88-90), SL (79-81), CU (78-82) - FB (McLouth), SL (LaRoche)

5th: FB (87-91), SL (80), CU (82-84), CB (73) - FB (McCann)

6th: FB (88-92), SL (80-81), CU (81-85), CB (73) - FB (Diaz), SL (LaRoche)

7th: FB (89-91), SL (79-81), CU (80-83), CB (72)

2) Javier Vazquez: 104 pitches. FB, SL, CB, CU. 14 strikes swinging. 6 Fastballs, 4 Curveballs, 2 Sliders, 2 Changeups.

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

1st: FB (89-91), SL (86), CB (72-76), CU (80) - CB (Willingham), SL (Willingham)

2nd: FB (90-94), SL (79-85), CB (68-76), CU (81) - 2 FB (Bard, Maxwell)

3rd: FB (87-92), SL (83), CB (69), CU (78-83) - 2 CU (Lannan, Harris), CB (Harris)

4th: FB (90-93), SL (84-85), CB (69-76), CU (83) - FB (Zimmerman), CB (Orr)

5th: FB (89-92), SL (85), CB (73-74) - FB (Maxwell)

6th: FB (90-91), SL (83-84), CB (76)

7th: FB (90-91), SL (80-87), CB (73) - SL (Zimmerman)

8th: FB (90-92), SL (81-83), CB (70-73), CU (74-80) - FB (Maxwell), CB (Harris)

9th: FB (91-93), SL (84), CB (69-79) - FB (Desmond)

3) Jason Bergmann: 13 pitches. FB, SL, CB, CU. 0 strikes swinging.

• Bergmann came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 1-7 curve with slightly above average depth, a fastball with some run in on righties and a sharp 2-7 slider with some bite.

8th: FB (93-94), SL (87-88), CB (79-80)

4) Ron Villone: 4 pitches. FB. SL, CU. 0 strikes swinging.

• Villone came from an over the top release and showed a 11-5 slider with some bite and a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink.

8th: FB (90-91), SL (80-81)

5) Saul Rivera: 8 pitches. FB, Cut, SL, CU. 0 strikes swinging.

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

9th: FB (90-91), Cut (86-90)

Chart Observations: 9/15 WAS @ PHI

1) Cliff Lee: 124 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, Cut, SL). 12 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs, 4 Curveballs, 3 Cutters, Changeup

• Lee came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a cutter with good cut and some sink, a change with good fade from righties and solid sink that he will throw to lefties and in 3-2 counts, a 12-6 curve with above average depth and a 11-5 slider with solid bite.

1st: FB (92-93), CU (85), CB (76), Cut (86-87) - CU (Guzman), Cut (Maxwell)

2nd: FB (91-92), CU (85), CB (74), Cut (83-85) - FB (Willingham), Cut (Dunn)

3rd: FB (90-93), CU (84), Cut (84) - Cut (Maxwell)

4th: FB (90-92), CU (84-85), CB (73-76), Cut (83-86) - 2 CB (Willingham, Bard)

5th: FB (91-92), SL (82)

6th: FB (90-92), CU (84), CB (74-78), Cut (83-84)

7th: FB (91-93), CU (84), CB (75-78), Cut (83-85), SL (82) - CB (Bard)

8th: FB (91-93), CU (84-86), CB (75-77), Cut (84-86), SL (79) - CB (Morse)

9th: FB (91-94), CU (84-85), CB (77), Cut (85) - 3 FB (Dukes, Bard - 2)

2) Garrett Mock: 107 pitches. (FB, CU, SL, CB). 6 strikes swinging. 4 Changeups, Fastball, Curveball.

• Mock came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink, a change with good fade from lefties and above average sink that he will throw to righties, a 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a 1-7 slider with solid bite that he will throw in 3-2 counts. He may also throw an occasional cutter and we are in the process of double checking with the Nats to see if that's true.

1st: FB (90-92), CU (80-83), CB (76-79) - CU (Utley)

2nd: FB (91-93), CU (82), CB (76-77), SL (82-85) - CB (Rollins)

3rd: FB (87-93), CU (80), CB (76-78), SL (84) - FB (Werth)

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

5th: FB (89-91), CU (80-82), CB (76-77), SL (81-83) - CU (Ibanez)

6th: FB (87-90), CU (78-80), CB (76), SL (80-81) - CU (Lee)

3) Saul Rivera: 7 pitches. (FB, Cut, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Rivera came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and good sink and a cutter with some late cut.

7th: FB (89-91), Cut (90)

4) Ron Villone: 13 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Villone came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with solid tail in on righties and a 11-5 slider with some bite.

7th: FB (89-91), SL (82-86) - SL (Howard)

5) Logan Kensing: 18 pitches. (FB, SL, Cut, CU). 1 strike swinging. Cutter.

• Kensing came from a high 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on righties, a cutter with some cut and a change with some fade from lefties and a little sink that is more of a hanger that he will throw to righties.

8th: FB (91-94), Cut (85-88), CU (87) - Cut (Ruiz)

Chart Observations: 8/13 WAS @ CIN

1) Bronson Arroyo: 103 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. Fastball (7th), Changeup (1st), 2 Curveballs (2nd, 8th), 2 Frisbee Sliders (3rd, 6th), 2 Sliders (7th, 8th)

• Arroyo came anywhere from a high 3/4 to sidearm release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and a little sink, a change with good fade from lefties with good sink, a frisbee slider with good bite, a 1-7, 12-6 like curve with above average depth, a 2-7 slider with solid bite, a cutter with some cut and sink and even frisbee changeups. Arroyo will throw any pitch in any count and will add and subtract from all his offerings.

1st: FB (87-90), CU (76-84), FSL (69-75)

2nd: FB (86-90), CU (84), FSL (79), CB (69-72), SL (77)

3rd: FB (89-91), CU (79-80), FSL (74-78), CB (71), SL (77)

4th: FB (88-91), CU (83), FSL (71-76), CB (73)

5th: FB (87-91), FSL (76), SL (75)

6th: FB (89-91), CU (84), FSL (74-76), CB (76), Cut (87)

7th: FB (89-91), CU (79), FSL (75), CB (72), SL (77-79), Cut (85)

8th: FB (88-89), FSL (72-75), CB (68-70), SL (75-76)

9th: FB (88-90), CU (78-84), FSL (76)

2) Collin Balester: 73 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs (2 in 1st, 4th), Curveball (3rd).

• Balester came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-seam that has some run in on righties with some sink, a pretty straight change with a touch of fade from lefties that he will throw to righties and a sharp 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth. Looks like a reliever to me, as he doesn't throw many changes and leaves his fastball in the middle of the plate quite often.

1st: FB (93-95), CB (77-79)

2nd: FB (92-94), CB (76-80)

3rd: FB (91-94), CB (78)

4th: FB (89-93), CB (75-78)

5th: FB (91-94), CB (77-78), CU (86-87)

3) Jason Bergmann: 23 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Bergmann came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and good sink, a power 2-7 curve with solid depth and a 2-7 slider with a little bite that moves more like a cutter.

6th: FB (91-93), SL (84-88), CB (77-79)

4) Saul Rivera: 14 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Rivera is a 5-10, 175 pound righty. The 31 year old has a small frame that can add a little more muscle. His fastball has good run in on righties and solid sink from an over the top release. His change has some fade from lefties with sink. His slider is a 2-7 with good bite while his cutter has some cut. A pitcher that succeeds more with a vast repetoire then a dominant pitch, he may be on the downslope of his career.

7th: FB (89-90), SL (85-86), Cut (90), CU (84-86)

5) Mike MacDougal: 14 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• MacDougal came from a 3/4 release with a fastball with above average run in on righties and some sink and a 1-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (94-98), SL (86)

HOU @ WAS

This game is currently in a rain delay in the 11th (of course its an extra, so I don't get more money), but will give you what I saw thus far:

• Roy Oswalt looks like the same pitcher he has always been. He features a low to mid 90's fastball, mid 80's slider, low 70's curveball and mid 80's changeup. He attacks hitters and forces them to try and put the ball in play. He left the game due to a bone bruise on his right index finger.
• Scott Olsen has lost some velocity on his fastball. He sits in the mid to high 80's with it, in addition to a mid 80's change and mid 80's slider. The real fun part is attempting to differentiate between these 2 pitches, as the slider's break can be fairly indistinguishable to the naked eye. Olsen had a chance at being a middle of the rotation guy when his fastball was in the low 90's, but with it in the high 80's, he is a back-end starter.
• Chris Sampson had some major command issues of his stuff and when you have a 2-seam fastball in the high 80's, you can't afford to be falling behind. He also showed a low 80's slider. Both pitches are major league average pitches (he also throws a high 70's curve and low 80's change). He is what he is, a long reliever who shouldn't be pitching in big situations.
• Tim Byrdak was the only Houston reliever who looked decent in this game. He attacks hitters with a low 90's fastball, a low 80's slider and a low 80's changeup. But, he is another pitcher who shouldn't be pitching at the end of games and is only a middle reliever, not a set-up man.
• Geoff Geary is another middle inning reliever throwing late innings. Geary attacks with a low 90's fastball, mid 80's slider and low 80's curveball. He is nothing amazing as a reliever and is a protypical RH reliever.
• Saul Rivera looked good for his 1 inning, mixing his high 80's 2-seamer, high 80's cutter and mid 80's slider very well. Looks to be back to what he is, a very durable middle reliever who can get you multiple outs.
• Julian Tavarez is another guy who is a solid middle reliever who shouldn't be pitching late in games (sense a trend here?). He attacks hitter with a mid to high 80's sinker that is plus and an average slider. He is a very good and versatile reliever to have at the front of a bullpen or in the middle to get ground balls, but you don't want to rely on him as your 8th or 9th inning guy.
• Garrett Mock is someone the Nats have high hopes for in the back of their pen. I don't see it. He is another guy who is probably a 10th or 11th pitcher with his low 90's fastball and a low 80's slider. Both pitches are only major league average pitches. He has/had solid command until he seemingly twisted his ankle on a Michael Bourn bunt pop out. Don't know if there is too much of a bigger ceiling here either.
• Kip Wells actually looks the part of a late innings reliever with his mid 90's fastball, low 80's curveball and high 80's changeup. Both the fastball and curveball are plus pitches, but he also showed a tendency to nibble as opposed to attacking hitters (which has been his M.O. for awhile). That being said, this is a good risk by the Nationals to see if he can become something as a reliever. Upside is of a set-up man, as he still shows a little tendency to the long ball.
• Joel Hanrahan didn't look great but got the job done with his stuff. He still shows closer stuff to me and needs to be back in that role.
• Elijah Dukes has grown a lot as a baseball player. One of the ultimate "toolsy" guys, he is showing signs of putting it all together. Pitchers used to feed him sliders that start on the outside and break off the zone and he would swing. Now, he is learning to let those pitches go and taking the free ball pitchers give him. This causes them to throw him more fastballs and he feasts in those situations (his HR off Oswalt was on a 94 mph fastball at the letters). You never know what your going to get from this guy in regards to off the field incidents, but he can be a strong corner outfielder (he is a little over exposed as a CF) and give you some fairly good production. The power is real and I think lines of .270-.330-.480 are not out of his grasp.

Back on the grind tomorrow with 2 charts.

Chart Impressions: STL @ WAS

• It's amazing how good Washington's offense can make pitchers look. Let me preface these comments by saying I am a big Todd Wellemeyer fan and thought he was destined for good things once he came up with the Cubbies. However, he may have pitched over his head last season. He sat in the low 90's with a moving 2-seam fastball, featured a high 70's to mid 80's slider and a solid average changeup in the low 80's. In my mind, these were 3 average big league pitches. His command has shockingly advanced to the point where he can do this (if you would have seen him when he came up, you would be shocked too). I thought that he was a # 3, but after this outing, I think he is a back-end starter for a contender and a middle guy for a non-contender. Still a very useful pitcher, just not a guy who will likely be posting a sub 4 ERA again.
• Jordan Zimmermann is legit. He throws 2 types of fastballs, a 4-seamer in the low to mid 90's (92-95) and a 2-seamer with some excellent fade and sink and features primarily to LH's (87-89). Zimmermann also features 2 breaking pitches, a mid 80's slider and a high 70's to low 80's power curve. He is currently developing a changeup (I am 100 % convinced that we are charting his 2-seamer as his change right now, as his change in spring training was at 79, not 88), but even without it he profiles fairly well as, at worst, a middle of the rotation starter. This was the 2nd time I have charted an outing of his and my opinion hasn't changed. He will develop into a # 2 starter at worst. I feel his two breaking pitches complement his fastball very well and if he ever develops a changeup, you may be looking at an All-Star. Zimmermann's main issue right now is an inability to keep the ball down (especially the fastball), which leads to gopher balls. Very clean mechanics out of a high 3/4 release point. He works very fast and seems to do all the little things you like to see pitchers do.
• Jason Motte is a fastball, slider, splitter pitcher. The problem is that only one of these pitches is plus (a mid to high 90's fastball). I was a huge fan (even picked him as my ROY as I thought the Cards would do well and he would get the saves), but he isn't yet ready to be a closer. His slider is in the high 80's, but doesn't have a ton of break to it. His splitter moves like a hanging changeup in the mid 80's, which is probably a bad thing. However, he is very advanced when you remember he only started pitching in 2006 after being a catcher.
• Blaine Boyer should be solid. I like him and thought that the Cardinals got the better end of the trade. Boyer features a low 90's fastball, a mid 80's cutter (which he has developed this season) and a high 70's overhand curveball that serves as his out pitch. Solid middle reliever to have in a pen as long as he isn't overused.
• Logan Kensing is Exhibit A on why pitchers shouldn't be rushed to the majors. He features a low to mid 90's fastball and a low 80's slider. The only problem is that this is what he was when he got his first promotion in 2004 at 22 and after being drafted in 2003. Not saying he could have developed a 3rd pitch to be that starter some people thought he might be, but he never exactly got the opportunity either. Is Rick VandenHurk destined for the same fate?
• Saul Rivera was one of the most durable relievers for the last couple of years. He still features a nice repetoire of a high 80's to low 90's 2-seam fastball, a mid to high 80's cutter and a low to mid 80's slider, but it appears Manny Acta and the Nationals brass has lost confidence in him for the time being (and well deserved, as he had a very rough April). I think he will end up being okay the rest of the way.
• Joel Hanrahan is a very talented closer. Too bad he won't get many save chances. The fact Julian Tavarez is now closing games ahead of him is a very reactionary move in my opinion. Hanrahan fired 10 pitches, 10 strikes, with his mid to high 90's heater and mid to high 80's slider and retired the only 3 hitters he faced. A team like the Nats (who lets face it, aren't going to be competing) don't need to be devaluing their own assets for possible trades through these types of manuevers.
• Tyler Greene has apparently made it to the big leagues. The former 1st round pick out of Georgia Tech was an offensive shortstop coming out, but he stopped hitting in AA. He was off to a .280-.400-.408 start in the PCL (Heaven for Hitters is it's other name) to get the call-up, but he will likely get a chance to keep building up his AAA numbers. He has a good frame (6-2, 180) that can add a lot more muscle. The issue with that is that he is already only an average defensive SS from what I have read and if he keeps adding muscle he will need to move to 3rd to counteract the loss of range. He doesn't have the stick for third. He has a fairly straight up, open stance with a little bat wiggle in his set-up. Swing is a little long and struggled to hit both fastballs and off-speed stuff from the Nationals staff.
• The best hitter to watch is (shocker) Sir (If Sidney Ponson can be knighted, he should be too) Albert Pujols. I imagine this is what it was like to see guys like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron in their primes. Pujols can hit anything and hit it hard. After getting 2 straight hard hits off Zimmermann, Jesus Flores did not call a single 4-seam fastball, choosing instead to attack with sliders and 2-seamers. The funny part? Flores set up (for every one of the pitches in this AB and the AB's after that) about 6 inches off the outside corner. The Nats pitchers kept missing the spot and kept putting these pitches on the outside corner and Albert had some fun.
• The Nationals lineup was fairly unimpressive. Cristian Guzman is a 9 hole hitter (or 2 hole if he keeps his current streak up) hitting 1st. Nick Johnson, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn are legitimate hitters. Elijah Dukes is a 6th or 7th hitter, at this stage of his career, hitting 5th and being asked to help carry the offense. Jesus Flores is another of those who should be hitting 6th or 7th. Willie Harris and Anderson Hernandez should be bench players.
• Consider this a prediction of things to come (and you can see it starting to come to fruition), but after OBP and defense have been exhausted of means of getting the most bang for your buck, I look for the ability to play multiple positions start to be capitalized on more. I can forsee multiple super-utility players being available on 1 team and giving managers a lot of options for lineups and substitutions in-game. I can also see platooning come back into focus. If I were a GM of a small-market team, I would invest primarily in the draft and try and fill holes with lefty-righty combos at positions of weakness, as you can find good platoon players for about a million dollars (at most) each.

Got the Houston-Atlanta score at 340.

Went into work early to try and get the FLA-CHC chart (a lot of young pitchers throwing that I would like to see) but we were assigned charts. I may take this game home after my score (b/c it's Saturday night and I have no life) and let you know what I think of pitchers like Graham Taylor, Hayden Penn as a reliever, Burke Badenhop, Jeff Samardzija and David Patton.