7/29: PIT @ SF

1) Matt Cain: 111 pitches. 11 strikes swinging. 7 Fastballs (2nd, 2 in 4th, 5th, 2 in 6th, 7th), Curveball (2nd), 2 Changeups (6th, 9th), Slider (9th)

• Cain came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties but fairly straight, a 2-7 slider with solid bite, a change with great dive that he will throw 3-2 and a 12-6 curve with above average depth.

1st: FB (92-93), SL (86-87), CU (88)

2nd: FB (91-93), SL (87), CU (85-88), CB (77-78)

3rd: FB (91-94), SL (88), CU (86)

4th: FB (93-94), SL (86-87), CU (86-88), CB (77-79)

5th: FB (90-93), CU (85-87)

6th: FB (91-95), SL (86), CU (88)

7th: FB (92-94), SL (86), CB (76-78)

8th: FB (91-93), CU (87), CB (75)

9th: FB (92-95), SL (86-87), CU (87-88), CB (78-79)

2) Zach Duke: 87 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. Fastball (5th), 2 Changeups (4th, 6th), 2 Curveballs (5th, 7th)

• Duke came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and sink, a change that moves like his fastball, but is slower with more movement and is above average, a big breaking 12-6 with above average depth and a 11-5 slider with solid bite. He will throw his change 2-0.

1st: FB (87-90), CU (83)

2nd: FB (87-90), CU (80-81), CB (74), SL (79)

3rd: FB (87-88), CU (81), CB (73-74)

4th: FB (87-89), CU (81-82), CB (74-75)

5th: FB (87-88), CU (80-81), CB (72-73)

6th: FB (87-88), CU (79-81), CB (73)

7th: FB (85-89), CU (80-81), CB (71-74)

3) John Grabow: 20 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 on Changeups (8th, 2 in 9th).

• Grabow came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a change with some fade from righties and above average sink and a 10-4 slider with above average bite.

8th: FB (90-91), CU (82-83), SL (81)

9th: FB (89-91), CU (82-83)

4) Brian Wilson: 18 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Cutter.

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

10th: FB (94-98), Cut (87-88)

5) Matt Capps: 16 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders.

• Capps came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties and a 2-7 slider with good bite.

10th: FB (92-95), SL (84-85)

Chart Observations: DET @ PIT

• Zach Duke is a 6-2, 205 pound lefty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can get up to 215. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball shows some fade and a little sink. His change has more fade and sink then his fastball. His curveball is a big breaking 11-5 offering with good depth. His slider is an 11-4 offering with good bite that he prefers to throw to lefties. Duke is a good # 4 starter when he is throwing strikes with his curve and is a 4-A arm if he isn't.

1st: FB (89-90), CB (74), CU (83-84)

2nd: FB (89-90), CB (74-76), CU (83)

3rd: FB (88-90), CB (73-74), CU (82-83)

4th: FB (87-89), CB (73-75), CU (80-81), SL (80)

5th: FB (87-90), CB (74), CU (82-83), SL (80)

6th: FB (88-89), CB (72), CU (81-82)

7th: FB (87-88), CB (72), CU (80), SL (78)

8th: FB (86-89), CB (72-74), SL (77)

• Armando Galarraga, a 6-4 180 pound righty, opposed him. The 27 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade and a little sink. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with solid bite. He will throw get me over sliders and sharper sliders for strikeouts. His change shows some fade, but is pretty straight. Galarraga is a # 5 starter right now, as he consistently falls behind hitters and really is just FB-SL and neither pitch is good enough to be a 2-pitch pitcher (FB is slightly above average, SL is above average, CU is below average). Perhaps the worst sign for him is that he has lost the confidence of his manager.

1st: FB (88-92), SL (81-86)

2nd: FB (88-92), SL (83-86), CU (84-86)

3rd: FB (88-90), SL (82-85), CU (84)

• Nate Robertson is a 6-2, 225 pound lefty. The 31 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball shows some late fade and sink. His slider is a slurvy 11-4, though he will throw a sharper slider with good bite at different times. His change is a straight change that shows some run and sink. He is your typical swingman, someone to throw long relief or start on occasion, but not really good enough to be a short reliever or a # 5 starter. My, his star has fallen.

3rd: FB (86), SL (80), CU (81-82)

4th: FB (85-88), SL (80-83), CU (80-84)

• Ryan Perry is a 6-4, 200 pound righty. The 22 year old has a big frame that can get up to at least 215. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball is a 4-seam with very little sink and fade. His slider is a 12-6, 1-7 type pitch that can be a little loopy and is still a work in progress. His change has good sink and a little fade. He is FB-SL to righties and FB-CU to lefties (at least in this game, I imagine he throws the SL to lefties as well). His upside is that of a closer with his velocity, but he is more likely to be a set-up man due to his command issues and the needed development of his secondary pitches. Right now, he is a 9th or 10th guy on a staff.

5th: FB (94-96)

6th: FB (94-97), SL (81-85), CU (87)

• Bobby Seay is a 6-2, 235 pound lefty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He is a sidearmer that has a 4-seam fastball with good run and a sweeping 9-3 slider with good bite. He is an above average LOOGY and can be the # 1 lefty in a pen.

7th: FB (91-93), SL (81-82)

• Brandon Lyon is a 6-1, 195 pound righty. The 29 year old has a medium frame that can get up to at least 205. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a fastball that shows some fade and sink, a big breaking 12-6 curve with good depth and a cutter that shows decent cut. I think he is more of a middle reliever then a late inning guy, as he lacks that real out pitch.

8th: FB (92), CB (76-77), Cut (90)

• Jesse Chavez comes from an over the top release with a fastball that shows some fade, a hard change with good fade and some sink and a sharp slider with good bite. Set-up man ceiling who can probably occasionally close some games.

9th: FB (94-96), SL (90), CU (87)

• Andrew McCutchen is a 5-11, 175 pound center fielder. The 22 year old is a righty hitter/thrower and has a small frame that can add a lot more muscle (at least 190). He has a slightly open stance with a little bat tap. His trigger is a stride and shifting of his weight to his back leg. He has an above average arm with plus speed, giving him the potential to be a plus defensive centerfielder. McCutchen is more of a gap to gap hitter now and I don't think he will ever be a huge home run guy, but 15-20 in his prime isn't out of the question. He shows a solid eye at the plate and he has an aura about him. Watching him play, it is almost as if he knows he is better then everyone else and needs to prove it to everyone else. I like the kid and think he is a quality top of the order bat in development.

STL @ PIT

Had an extra game tonight and for once it didn't go to extra innings or rain delay or both!

• Zach Duke started for the Pirates and looked magnificent. This is the 1st time I have actually watched him pitch and he looked good. Now, his stuff will never wow people, as his fastball was 87-91, his curveball from 69-74, his changeup was 78-82 and his slider was 84-85, which he only used against left handers, but when he is throwing his curveball for strikes, he is a quality middle of the rotation starter. He has a Jamie Moyer like motion from a high 3/4 release. His upside is that of a middle of the rotation starter, but I think he is more of a back-end guy unless he can consistenly throw his above average curveball for strikes, as the difference in velocity really screws with a hitter. His fastball is fringe average, his changeup is above average and his slider is a tick above average, so he doesn't have too many weapons when he struggles with his curve.
• Todd Wellemeyer underwent a transformation tonight from a FB-SL-CU pitcher to a FB-CUT-CU-SL-CB pitcher. It didn't look too good, as his cutter has good cut, but he was leaving it belt high. He sat at 88-93 with his fastball, 87-91 with the cutter, 80-84 with the changeup, 75-78 with his curveball and 77-80 with the slider. It is possible he has completely scrapped the slider for the cutter and these are really curveballs. Same opinion as before, solid back-of-rotation starter for a contender and will likely not post a sub 4 ERA again.
• Matt Capps made the 9th inning exciting, loading the bases before getting out of it without allowing a run (for what it's worth, 2nd straight game I have done where the bases got loaded in the 9th). He attacked hitters with a 4-seam fastball at 93-96, a slider at 85-86 and a changeup at 86-87. He still has the look of a frontline closer when he is throwing strikes, but his frame is one that doesn't look very athletic and you have to wonder how about his recent durability issues.
• Blaine Boyer went after guys with a fastball at 90-91, a curveball at 72-77 and a cutter at 83-85. Should still be a solid guy to have in a bullpen, just not one you want pitching with a lead.
• Trever Miller showed he can get out right-handers as well, as he featured a fastball at 85-87, his frisbee slider at 73-77 and a changeup at 81-85. Very useful pitcher with his command of his secondary pitches, just got to wonder how much longer he can keep doing this.
• Brad Thompson threw 2 innings and was sitting at 86-88 with his 2-seam fastball, 77-78 with his slider, 81-82 with his changeup and 75-78 with his curveball. No real plus offering and is a guy that just tries to mix speeds and get you to hit the ball on the ground. My opinion of him hasn't changed from before. When his service time starts making raises happen, he loses a lot of his value, as a lot of guys in AAA can do what he is being asked to do.
• Tyler Greene, a 6-2 190 pound 25 year old, got another start, this one at 3B. He is showing better to me, as this is the 3rd time I have seen him. He has average power (probably a little above average for a SS) and might be able to stick as a utility infielder who can play SS (and that is very valuable to Tony La Russa). Another con to Greene though is the fact that he was almost over-aggressive in his attempts to hit the 1st pitch fastball. He swung at the 1st pitch 3 times and looked very bad when Capps threw him a 1st pitch slider. If that report gets out and teams start feeding him off-speed, we will know for sure if he is a late-bloomer utility infielder Wilson Betemit style.
• Robinzon Diaz, a 5-11 220 pound 25 year old, is a catcher who is getting his first real legitimate chance at playing time. He doesn't appear to have an above average tool, as he has some power, but wouldn't hit more then 10 home runs as a regular. He is solid defensively, but isn't someone that will just shut down a running game. He has a squatty catcher frame and he features a slightly open stance where he is standing somewhat straight up. In my eyes, it's a coinflip between him and Jason Jaramillo for the backup job when Ryan Doumit returns. It may come down to options.
• Andy LaRoche, a 6-1 210 pound 25 year old, was the main major league ready guy (with Brandon Moss) that Pittsburgh got in the Jason Bay trade. LaRoche just doesn't profile very well to me. His frame is close to maxed out and he will never have more then average power for a 3rd basemen. He has a slightly open stance with a toe turn and he has shown a hole in his swing to inside fastballs when I have seen him. For a player known for his bat when he was coming up, it looks like it may need to be his defense to carry him. His bat may barely play at 3B.
• Colby Rasmus, a 6-2 200 pound 22 year old, came in when Ryan Ludwick appeared to pull a hamstring attempting to make a catch. Rasmus is St. Louis' top prospect and you can see what they like. I was skeptical of him, as he hadn't yet proven himself in AAA, but he has a slightly open stance with a nice swing that doesn't have any real apparent holes. He still has some strides to make with pitch recognition and his ability to hit left-handers, but he does look like a guy who can be a starting CF, though I think putting him as one of the top 10 prospects in baseball may be a little immature, as I don't know if anything about him screams All-Star. Looked like above average speed and didn't do anything either bad or great in CF.
• In addition to the comments I made earlier about Shane Robinson, he is 24 years old and has just an average (and may be below average) arm from center field. He played RF after Ludwick left, but his arm will not play there and that greatly reduces his value. He has a nice looking line drive swing and will need to fight to become a 4th OF in the mold of an Endy Chavez.

Tomorrow is a busy day for me, as I have 2 charts (1 of which is an extra), a baseball practice and the 8:05 SEA-TEX game featuring Jarrod Washburn and Brandon McCarthy.