Extra Report: 6/2 OAK @ CWS

Baseball game got cancelled because it rains here everyday, so decided to go into work and scout this game.

• Bartolo Colon is a 36 year old who stands 5-11, 245. The pudgy right hander has a small frame that is maxed out with some bad weight there. He comes from a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. His fastball has some late fade and sink, and all but 3 of his pitches were this fastball. He has the 2-seam that he likes to start just off the gloveside corner and run back over for a strike and a straight 4-seam that he will throw just to mix things up. His changeup moves like his fastball, but with more fade while his slider is a 2-7 offering that is slurvy. Both his off-speed pitches are average. Seems to be a good # 4 when healthy, as he will eat innings and tends to get a lot of weak contact from his moving fastball, but he can't have too many more seasons left.

1st: FB (86-89)

2nd: FB (86-87), CU (81)

3rd: FB (86-90)

4th: FB (86-92)

5th: FB (86-92), CU (81)

6th: FB (85-91), SL (79)

• Vin Mazzaro is a 6-1, 215 pound right hander. The 22 year old has a medium frame that has room to add a ton of muscle, especially in the lower body. He lands hard on his front leg and kicks his leg out, but his mechanics are otherwise very clean and maximize his velocity. His sinker is similar to that of Mike Pelfrey as opposed to Brandon Webb or Trevor Cahill. It's a 2-seamer with late fade and a little sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent bite that is fairly average. He likes to throw his hard slider on the gloveside corner and have it break out of the zone (does this to both righties and lefties). His change looks like a fastball out of his hand and flashes between plus and average. The first change he threw was plus, as it showed great fade and sink. His others were just average, with some fade and a litle sink, but not a ton of movement. His fastball can straighten out at times. His curveball is just a slower slider, as it is a 2-7 pitch with less speed and more break and it is another pitch that is anywhere from average to above average. Jim Thome looked silly trying to hit it early on. His slider can flatten out to look like a cutter at times. Mazzaro probably doesn't have any velocity left, but needs to add muscle so that he can maintain his velocity deeper into games. At about 75 pitches, his velocity started coming down. He is a solid middle of the rotation starter down the line and is probably a # 5 right now due to the inconsistencies of his off-speed offerings, but he is a good bet to reach that ceiling in my opinion.

1st: FB (92-96), SL (87-89)

2nd: FB (91-94), SL (85-86), CU (86)

3rd: FB (91-94), SL (85), CU (86-87), CB (81-83)

4th: FB (91-93), SL (85-86), CU (84-85), CB (81-82)

5th: FB (89-92), SL (84-85), CU (85), CB (79)

6th: FB (89-91), SL (82-83), CU (84), CB (79)

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

• Jimmy Gobble is a 27 year old who stands 6-3, 210. The left hander has a medium to big frame that has room to add a little more muscle and can probably get up to 220 comfortably. He comes from a 3/4 release. Hangs back behind his leg kick a little and then accelerates through to pitch. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade. His slider is a 9-3 offering with a little bite and sink. It is more of a sweeping slider and it's a late breaker. Generated about 5 or 6 swings and misses on the pitch. He can battle his fastball command at times and threw a lot of sliders. His change was over thrown and was way up and away. I think he is a 2nd lefty in someone's pen, one that you don't want facing a lot of righties, but should be able to get lefties out with FB-SL.

6th: FB (87-88), SL (76-84)

7th: FB (89-91), SL (82-84), CU (80)

• D.J. Carrasco is a 6-3, 220 pounder right hander. He has a medium to big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows some fade and a little sink. His cutter shows good late cut and some sink. His slider is a 3-7 offering with good late movement and will drop down sidearm to throw sliders. Solid reliever, just not one you want closing or setting up.

7th: FB (92), Cut (89-90)

8th: Cut (88-89), SL (81), Sidearm SL (73)

• Craig Breslow is a 6-1, 180 pounder who has a medium frame that can add more muscle and should be able to get to 195. The 27 year old lefty attacked from a high 3/4 release and is on his 2nd team this season, as the Twins exposed him to waivers before being picked up by the A's. Breslow's primary fastball is a 2-seamer with some fade and he will mix in a straight 4-seam. His slider is a 10-3 offering with good bite. He is an 11th or 12th pitcher for a team and isn't a bad 2nd left hander in a pen if your team has that luxury.

7th: FB (88-91), SL (81)

• Brad Ziegler is a 29 year old who stands 6-4, 205. The right hnader has a big frame that has room to add more muscle. He is a submariner with a fastball that has good fade and sink and a slider that is a 5-8 (never thought I would type that type of pitch) with more side to side movement then bite. Solid middle reliever, but I think he pitched over his head at the beginning of last year. I think Chad Bradford in his prime is exactly what Ziegler is.

8th: FB (84-86), SL (71-72)

9th: FB (84-85)

• Wes Whisler was another pitcher who made his big league debut in this game. The 26 year old lefty stands 6-5, 240 and can add a little more muscle (probably to 245). He has a 3/4 release and is more of a slinger arm action. He pitches more with his body then his arm and his arm tends to lag behind. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with some run. His slider is a slurvy 10-4 offering and his change shows good sink and dive. I thought his change was his best off-speed offering, but that doesn't help him in regards to trying to be a LOOGY. Is another one of the Sox low-upside arms that is probably pitching at his ceiling right now, a 12th guy on a staff who was a starter in the minors, but doesn't have the pitches to do it in the bigs and he also doesn't have one lights out offspeed offering.

9th: FB (86-89), SL (82-84), CU (79-80)

My phone was pretty much dead, so I couldn't do any type of stop watch stuff.

Chart and a score tomorrow, with the score featuring the Diamondbacks (Scherzer) and Padres (Correia).

COL @ HOU

• Wandy Rodriguez is a 5-11, 195 pound 30 year old. The left hander has a small frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4-seam with some run. His change is a straight change with some sink. His curveball is an 11-4 type pitch that can be inconsistent with break, ranging anywhere from plus to average. The plus curve has great depth and just falls off the table, while the average ones tend to look like slurves. He has a classic drop and drive delivery and cocks his arm a little, as it stays up at the top of the arm circle longer then most. He struggled with his command, leaving a lot of fastballs belt high and throwing a ton of curveballs belt high. He had allowed 1 home run all season (something like 65 innings) and proceeded to allow 4 (Atkins twice, Spilborghs, Hawpe). Wandy is a # 3 starter at best. His main issue is that he is primarily FB-CB. These 2 pitches have enough speed difference that you can sit on one and still be able to foul the other off if he throws it. He was pitching over his head at the beginning of the season.

1st: FB (89-92), CB (77-79), CU (85)

2nd: FB (90-92), CB (75-78), CU (85-86)

3rd: FB (88-92), CB (75-79), CU (85-86)

4th: FB (89-92), CB (74-76)

5th: FB (85-90), CB (75-78), CU (84)

• Jason Hammel was acquired by the Rockies after he lost his bid against Jeff Niemann for the 5th spot in the Rays rotation. The 6-6, 220 pound right hander has a big frame that has room to add more muscle. The 26 year old comes at you from a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His change shows good fade and sink and will throw it to right handers. It will flash plus with excellent sink and looks like a fastball out of his hand. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch with good bite and depth. It has some good late downward action as well. His slider is a 2-7 offering with some bite and depth. The slider is just a harder thrown curve. He showed great command and had a loose arm with a little wrist circle while he was in his arm circle. Hammel's upside is that of a # 2 starter, but his realistic ceiling is a # 3. He can add quite a bit more muscle to his frame and has a good array of pitches.

1st: FB (92-94), SL (84), CB (76), CU (85)

2nd: FB (93-94), SL (83-84), CB (78), CU (85)

3rd: FB (91-94), CB (76-77), CU (85)

4th: FB (92-94), SL (83-85), CB (77), CU (85)

5th: FB (91-94), CB (77-78), CU (83-85)

6th: FB (93), SL (85)

7th: FB (91-93), CB (76-77), CU (83-84)

• Russ Ortiz was the 1st of two Houston long relievers that I am better off without seeing. He came from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a 12-6 big breaker with average break. His change is straight with a little fade and sink and is more of a show pitch. His cutter has good late action in on lefties and is an effective weapon. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite. I guess he can be solid as a long man, but isn't there someone in their system that can do that?

6th: FB (88-91), CB (75-77), CU (81), Cut (89-91)

7th: FB (90-92), CB (74-78), Cut (87-90), SL (86)

• Brandon Backe was the other. Remember when he was a good starter? Neither does anyone else. The 6-0, 195 pound right hander has a medium frame that can add more muscle. The 31 year old featured a 3/4 release. His fastball has some fade, but is just an average offering. He really struggled to command the fastball and left them up, away, down and in. His slider is a 2-7 offering with average bite. His curveball is 12-6 with good late bite and depth. His cutter doesn't do much to the naked eye. Another guy who I guess could be a good long man. The Astros need to find some guys that actually have some upside to throw these meaningless innings in my opinion.

8th: FB (89-91), Cut (88-89), SL (81-83), CB (75)

9th: FB (86-90), CB (75)

• Jason Grilli continued his struggles. Coming from a high 3/4 release, the right hander showed a fastball with some fade, a slider that can be anywhere from average to plus and a change with some fade but little sink. His fastball is slightly above average and his slider can be anything on a given day, as his plus slider moved across nearly the entire plate with good bite while his average sliders had just a little bite . Solid middle reliever who has been battling his command and continued to do so tonight.

8th: FB (92-95), SL (82-87), CU (85-86)

• Alan Embree is what he always is, a left hander who pitches from a high 3/4 release with a 4-seam fastball with some run and a 11-4 slider with good bite. He can keep this up as long as he maintains his velocity. Take out the 88 pitch and he was 92-94 with his heat.

9th: FB (88-94), SL (77-80)

• Edwin Bellorin is a 27 year old catcher who was the guy to take Chris Iannetta's spot for the next week or so. The 5-9, 225 pounder has a small frame that is maxed out. He has an open stance with a little bat wiggle. He holds the bat similar to Matt Stairs with some cocking action, which is his trigger combined with a stride. His swing can get a little long. He doesn't look to profile well as anything more then a back-up catcher, as his bat looked fringy with slightly below average pop and may struggle to catch up to plus fastballs. He presented a big target to throw to and looked like he called a pretty good game. Who knows if he will gain membership into the 10 year back-up catcher club started by Tim Laker?

Off tomorrow!!!! Thank God. I need sleep. Got a baseball game though, so it's not like I have nothing to do. One of these days, I will.

One of the games on my get to watch list (going to try and watch it Sunday) is Vin Mazzaro's major league debut.

Another Opinion on the McLouth Trade

Why not, I have a forum to utilize. Take my opinion as the same you would Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, etc., as I know as much as they do in regards to this trade and who won, nothing.

Braves Side:
So many Pirates fans are going to be up in arms over the loss of Nate McLouth, a "5-tool player" who was an All-Star last season. In looking at Nate's numbers from last season (,276-.356-.497, 26 HR's -94 RBI's, 23/26 SB's) he was an All-Star. You do have to remember that McLouth played half his games last season in a park designed for lefties (where he slugged 20 points better, I admittedly thought it would be higher). In the 2nd half last season, he hit .270-.355-.426. This season he is hitting .256-.349-.470 with 9 HR's and 34 RBI's and is 7-7 on steals. He was a gold glove defender last year, but I personally think Schafer is better defensively. McLouth gives the Braves a legitimate CF bat which they haven't had yet this year and they have him under control for awhile (I believe 3 years). If Schafer can figure things out, McLouth can move to an OF corner and maintain average production for the position.

Pirates Side:
Pittsburgh seems to value quantity over quality. In their big deal at the deadline last season, they seemed to focus on getting raw numbers back. In this deal, they picked up Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and, the main guy, Gorkys Hernandez. The Pirates really could have used picking up a potential ace (especially since the ace they picked up in the Bay deal, Bryan Morris, is not expected to start pitching until late June due to significantly restricted range of motion in his right shoulder), but teams are shying away from dealing their young pitching. The Pirates have appeared to focus on getting close to major league ready arms, take a flier on a guy in the low minors and get toolsy outfielders.

Morton did not impress me in his brief major league debut last season. The right hander has pitched very well at Gwinnett (AAA) however, going 7-2, 2.51 with 55 strikeouts and 16 walks. He is 6-4, 190, so he still has room to grow and his upside is that of a middle of the rotation (# 3 starter).

Locke was one of the pitchers I saw when I worked for Columbus last season and I wasn't that impressed. The hitters in high A haven't been impressed either, as Locke went 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA at Myrtle Beach, though he does have 43 strikeouts (against 26 walks) in 45 and 2/3 innings. I personally thought Locke was a fringe major leaguer, but I admit seeing him before I really focused on scouting guys.

Hernandez is the prize of this deal. Another 5 tool outfielder, he was hitting .316-.361-.387 at the time of the trade in AA Mississippi. He is very raw, as he is 10/18 on steals and has 15 walks against 54 strikeouts in 212 at bats. His lack of power has to be a little disturbing due to the other players the Pirates have coming up (more on that below), but he should be a major leaguer and that is as far as I can go on him, as I have never seen him play and am going off what I read.

Pittsburgh now has the potential to run out an OF of Andrew McCutchen (.303-.361-.493 at AAA prior to his call-up with 10 stolen bases), Hernandez and Jose Tabata (.250-.324-.297 at AA Altoona) in the next year and a half if all goes according to plans. All are fast, but all have question marks in regards to power. With the game shifting towards a speed based, defense oriented team, this looks like an outfield designed to save a lot of runs.

Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reliever Study Update:

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

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

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

PHI @ SD

Am supposed to make my Happ report detailed. As if my scouting reports aren't detailed enough...

• J.A. Happ is a 26 year old who stands 6-6, 200. The left hander has a big frame that can add a ton more muscle and can probably get up to 215 very comfortably. He comes from a high 3/4 release. He pauses when he is at the bottom of the arm circle with a straight arm. His arm action is similar to that of Ubaldo Jimenez, though not to as big of an extent. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with a little run, though he will also mix in a 2-seamer with a little fade. His cutter is similar to Jamie Moyer's, in that it moves and looks more like a slider on most occasions. It can be anywhere from a 2-7 to a straight side to side pitch. His curveball is a big breaking 11-5 offering that he didn't throw much, but is a pitch he will need to be succesful as a starter. His changeup looks like a fastball out of his hand with good sink and fade, but he didn't throw any after Nick Hundley singled off it. His cutter looks like a fastball out of his hand, but keeps going down. His cutter is his out pitch, but it isn't a swing and miss offering. Likes to throw high fastballs with an 0-2 count or throw a cutter. Looks like he could be a back of the rotation starter, as his frame shows the ability to add a ton more muscle and add velocity. Strikes me as a classic pitching tweener though, one who doesn't have enough pitches to be a starter and no true out pitch to be a strong reliever.

1st: FB (88-90), Cut (82-84), CB (73)

2nd: FB (89-92), Cut (83-85), CU (79-81)

3rd: FB (88-92), Cut (82-85)

4th: FB (88-91), Cut (82-85)

5th: FB (88-91), Cut (80), CB (75)

6th: FB (88-92), Cut (83-85)

7th: FB (87-91), Cut (81-82)

• Chris Young is a 30 year old who stands 6-10, 280. The right hander has a big frame that appears to be maxed out. His gloves goes really high after separation, way over his head. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball has some cutter movement to it while his slider is a 2-7 pitch that can be inconsistent break-wise. He can hang some spinning sliders. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 pitch that he doesn't throw enough, though it is a little loopy. His command can be inconsistent and he can leave fastballs up. PETCO forgives a lot of his mistakes and I believe he could only be a major league starter playing half his home games at PETCO.

1st: FB (85-89), SL (78-79), CU (79), CB (70)

2nd: FB (85-87), SL (75-78), CU (79)

3rd: FB (85-87), SL (77-78), CU (75-77), CB (68)

4th: FB (84-87), SL (75-76)

5th: FB (85-86), SL (74-78), CU (73-75)

6th: FB (84-86)

• J.C. Romero is a 33 year old who stands 5-11, 205. This was the left hander's first appearance since being suspended for steroids. He has a small frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release, though he will drop down to 3/4 and will go sidearm to throw 0-2 sliders to lefties. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade and sink. His change shows some fade and sink. His slider is a 10-4 offering that can be slurvy. He has a classic drop and drive delivery as a reliever. Solid reliever who can bounce between quite a few roles in a pen.

8th: FB (91-94), SL (80-83), CU (78-81)

9th: FB (91-93), SL (82)

• Ryan Madson finished the game for the Phils. The right hander showed a high 3/4 release with a straight 4-seam fastball and one changeup that was in the dirt.

9th: FB (95-96), CU (83)

• Greg Burke attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His fastball has good fade and movement. His slier is a 2-7 offering that is average. He is your classic sinker/slider reliever. He did not have his best command tonight and got hit harder then he had been.

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

• Luke Gregerson attacked from a 3/4 release with a fastball that showed excellent fade and sink, a sharp 2-7 slider and a changeup with good fade and sink.

8th: FB (91-92), SL (81-85), CU (80)

• Edward Mujica attacked from a 3/4 release with a straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-7 slider with good bite and a split with above average fade and sink. He had good command of his off speed stuff for the most part tonight, though struggled to hit spots with his fastball.

9th: FB (92-94), SL (81-86), Split (87-88)

• Will Venable has returned to the big leagues. The 26 year old who stands 6-2, 210 has a medium frame with room to add more muscle. The lefty hitter/swinger has a slightly open stance. He just doesn't look comfortable in the box. He holds his hands a little behind him and a touch in front of his body. His trigger is a little toe turn. He has an average arm and average speed. He has a double trigger in his swing, as he cocks the bat twice and his swing can get long as a result. He dropped a ball in LF and missed a mistake pitch that he should have hammered. A 4th OF who will need to show a lot more to stick in the bigs.

Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COL @ HOU

Game went extras and I wanted to try and get some sleep before today, so here are my views on the Rockies-Stros game a day late

• Ubaldo Jimenez is a 25 year old who stands 6-4, 200. The right hander has a big frame with room to add more muscle. He comes at you from a 3/4 release. His mechanics look tough to repeat, but he did a fairly good job and he straightens his arm on the backtake before beginning the arm circle, which looks interesting. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. his slider is a 2-7 offering with decent bite. His change has good fade and sink. His curveball is a 1-7 offering with good depth. His fastball will flash some fade. None of his off-speed pitches are consistent by any measure (command, break). His slider flashes above average with great bite, but he tends to over throw it. All his off-speed flash above average, but you never know what you will get from him start to start. A good # 3 starter right now, he has the potential to be a # 2 depending on how much consistency he can gain for his off-speed stuff.

1st: FB (95-98), SL (89-90)

2nd: FB (95-100), SL (89), CU (85), CB (79-80)

3rd: FB (96-98), SL (87), CB (81)

4th: FB (95-98), SL (86), CB (77-80)

5th: FB (94-100), SL (82-88), CU (86), CB (76-77)

6th: FB (94-98), SL (83-88), CU (86), CB (77-78)

• Felipe Paulino, a 25 year old who stands 6-2, 260 opposed him. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out and there may be some bad weight there. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. He explodes toward the hitters. His fastball is a 4-seam with some sink and fade. His slider is a sharp 2-7 offering with good bite and is a borderline plus pitch. His changeup is a straight change that looks like a fastball out of his hand. He likes to pound the outside corner with his fastball and start it off the plate and have it run back over. He started missing in the middle of the plate with his fastball in the 4th. He tends to be prone to big innings and seems to struggle to make the mechanical adjustments necessary to get the ball back to the corners. Still has the potential to be a # 2 and just needs to refine his change and stop big innings.

1st: FB (93-97), SL (85-87)

2nd: FB (95-97), SL (84)

3rd: FB (93-98), SL (84-88)

4th: FB (96-97), SL (84-88), CU (86-89)

5th: FB (95-97), SL (87-88), CU (89)

6th: FB (94-97), SL (87-88)

• Randy Flores is a 6-0, 190 pound left hander. The 33 year old has a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His slider is a 10-4 type pitch. His fastball is a fairly straight 4-seam. I saw him throw 2 pitches, who knows?

7th: FB (88), SL (78)

• Joel Peralta attacks hitters from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a big breaking 2-7 offering and his splitter shows good fade and dive. Solid middle reliever, though he does seem to have flyball tendencies and is playing home games at Coors.

7th: FB (92-94), Split (84-85), CB (80-81)

• Jeff Fulchino is a 29 year old who stands 6-5, 275. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out and there could be a little bad weight there. He comes at you from a high 3/4 release. His split shows good fade and sink. His fastball is a 4-seam with some fade. His slider is an average 2-7 offering. Decent command, but can hit patches where he struggles to locate his stuff. Seems to have the stuff to be a solid middle reliever.

7th: FB (92-95), SL (82-86), Split (86)

• Tim Byrdak is a 35 year old who stands 5-11, 195. The left hander has a small frame that is maxed out. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4 seam that has some run. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite. Solid lefty middle reliever who can get out the occasional righty.

8th: FB (90-92), SL (84-86), CU (86)

• Manny Corpas attacks from a 3/4 release that is almost sidearm. The right hander features a slider that is a 3-9, 3-8 type pitch and a fastball with excellent fade and some sink. He likes to work a fastball that starts off the plate to his gloveside before running it back over with 2 strikes. Solid middle reliever, but no longer a set-up man or closer.

8th: FB (91-93), SL (82-86)

• Alberto Arias is a 25 year old who stands 5-11, 155. The right hander has a small frame that can add more muscle. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows great late fade and sink. His curveball is a 3-8 offering with good depth and he can add and subtract velocity to it and it flashes plus. His command can be spotty at times and that is his biggest question mark. I like him and think he has the potential to be a solid set-up man.

9th: FB (90-95), CB (77-82)

• Huston Street is a 25 year old who stands 6-0, 190. The right hander has a medium frame that can add more muscle. He attacks from a low 3/4 release, almost sidearm. His slider is a 3-8 offering that flashes plus. His fastball has good fade and sink. His change shows some sink and a little fade. More of a set-up man then a closer to me and he can occasionally battle his control.

9th: FB (91-92), SL (84-87), CU (83)

• LaTroy Hawkins is a 37 year old who stands 6-5, 215. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out. He comes at you from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam with a little fade. His slider is a solid 2-8 type pitch that can also move more like a cutter. Good reliever who has been doing this for awhile and looks like he can continue doing it, as his fastball velocity and command are still there.

10th: FB (93-96), SL (87-90)

• Russ Ortiz is a 6-1, 215 pounder. The 34 year old right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes at you from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a slow 1-7 pitch that has a little bit of downward movement. His change is straight with some downward action. His cutter is a 2-7 pitch with decent late bite. A 4-A arm.

11th: FB (90-92), Cut (87-89), CB (78), CU (84)

• Josh Fogg attacked from a 3/4 release. His cutter showed decent cut and sink while his fastball showed good fade and sink. Should be a good long man who won't walk guys.

10th: FB (86-90), Cut (84-87)

11th: FB (86), Cut (83-86)

• Edwin Maysonet is a 27 year old who stands 6-1, 190. The righty hitter/thrower has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle. He has a slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle. He has a very short swing and is quick to the ball. He also showed above average speed and started at 2B and then moved to 3B when Matt Kata remained in the game after pinch running. He profiles best as a utility infielder. He won't ever hit for much power and is more of a line drive singles hitter, but he shows an ability to work counts and take some walks. He has good enough athleticism to play the outfield.

Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

• Jeff Suppan is a 34 year old who stands 6-2, 230. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He attacks hitter from a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His fastball has some fade and a little sink. His change shows good fade and sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite and depth. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 that can hang at times and was a pitch he looked to bounce almost everytime he threw it. He can throw strikes with any of his pitches and will throw them all in any situation. He is what he is, an innings eater # 5 starter who has proven to be fairly durable. Expecting anything more is dumb.

1st: FB (85-88), SL (82-86), CU (79-81), CB (71-74)

2nd: FB (85-88), SL (81-84), CU (80-82), CB (72-73)

3rd: FB (86-89), SL (84-86), CU (79), CB (72-74)

4th: FB (85-87), CU (78-81), CB (72)

5th: FB (85-88), SL (84-85), CU (79-80), CB (75)

• Andrew Miller opposed him. Miller attacks from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a slurvy 11-4 offering. His fastball is a straight 4-seam, though he also looks to mix in a slower 2-seam with some run and sink. His change is a straight change that he didn't have as good a feel for as his last outing I saw. He really struggled to command his stuff and was constantly behind hitters. He threw almost all fastballs (likely around 85 %). Hard to think if he will ever turn it around, as it is difficult to learn how to consistently command pitches in the strike zone.

1st: FB (89-96), SL (77-79), CU (85)

2nd: FB (86-93), SL (77), CU (80-83)

3rd: FB (88-93), SL (79), CU (80)

4th: FB (86-91), CU (84)

5th: FB (89-92), SL (74)

• Cristhian Martinez is a 27 year old who stands 6-1, 160. The right hander has a medium frame with room to add a ton more muscle. He comes at you from a 3/4 release. His fastball has some fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent, though inconsistent, bite and is average, though it does flash some late bite which would allow it to play up if he can do it consistently. His change has good fade, good sink and looks like a fastball out of his hand. It is his best offspeed pitch. He has a violent head jerk in his delivery and also kicks his lead leg straight out and may put a lot of weight on it when he lands. Has above average command and tends to throw a lot of strikes. A 11th or 12th guy in a bullpen, though he could be a late bloomer if he can add some muscle to his frame.

5th: FB (91-92), SL (80-82), CU (83-85)

6th: FB (90-92), SL (80-82), CU (81-85)

• Jorge Julio is a 30 year old in search of a new team, as he was released after this outing. The 6-1, 225 pound right hander has medium frame that is maxed out and there may be some bad weight there. He comes at you from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4-seam that has a little fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent depth. His changeup has some fade and decent sink. He has major league stuff, but minor league control. His front side flies open everytime and he will never have good control with that. Don't even get started on his ability to command the strike zone, he needs to worry about strikes first. His mechanics need a little bit of a re-do and a right hander that still flashes plus velocity will get a shot somewhere to try and discover something.

6th: FB (88-95), SL (81-84), CU (79-84)

• Todd Coffey is a 28 year old who stands 6-4, 240. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out and may be carrying some bad weight. He comes at you from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows some fade and sink. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with good depth, though he can be inconsistent with it at times. He is a set-up man and he still has some closer potential depending on if he can improve his slightly above average command.

6th: FB (93-95), SL (84-86), Split (88)

• Seth McClung is a 28 year old who stands 6-6, 260. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 pitch. His slider is a 2-7 offering that is average. Likely your typical middle reliever, as he will never be a guy that will be able to consistently pound the strike zone.

7th: FB (91-93), CB (77-79), SL (84)

• Brian Sanches attacked from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a sharp 2-7 offering with great bite. His split shows good fade and dive, but is more of a contact then swing and miss pitch. His fastball shows some good fade. He has above average command and may be able to stick as a middle reliever, as Florida is very forgiving to fly ball relievers.

7th: FB (87-90), SL (83), Split (78-80)

• Carlos Villanueva is a 25 year old who stands 6-2, 230. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out and he may also be carrying some bad weight. He has an over the top release. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6. His changeup shows good fade and sink. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade. Good long reliever who I would like to see be a guy to throw the 7th and 8th as a bridge to Trevor Hoffman.

8th: FB (85-88), CU (80-84), CB (71-73), SL (81-82)

• Leo Nunez attacks from a 3/4 release. His slider is inconsistent and can be just a spinner or it can show late break and be a 3-8 offering. His fastball shows good fade and some sink. His changeup shows good fade and sink and is his best off speed offering in my opinion. He can get pretty vanilla, throwing FB-SL to righties and FB-CU to lefties. Still believe in his closer potential.

8th: FB (93-94), SL (83-87), CU (86-88)

• Matt Lindstrom got the save and has been dominant both times I have seen him. He has a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is a big breaking 1-7 offeing that can be a knee buckling pitch, but he is still inconsistent with both the break and command. His splitter shows good late sink and fade, but is merely a show pitch. He hasn't shown any of the command issues in the games I have seen and is a solid closer.

9th: FB (95-97), SL (80-83), Split (85)

• Casey McGehee is a 26 year old who stands 6-1, 195. The rigthy thrower/hitter has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He has a slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle and moves his front leg up and down as he waits for the pitcher to begin. His trigger is a toe turn and a cocking of the bat. He is more of a gap to gap hitter and has a good short swing. He will never hit for much power and isn't a great defender anywhere, though he can play 2nd, 3rd and likely the OF. Your quintessential utility player with the main question being if he will hit enough for his versatility to be useful.
• Mat Gamel made a pinch hitting appearance, so I will hold off on my potential view for him and tell you about his vitals. Gamel is a 6-0, 200 pound 23 year old. The lefty hitter, righty thrower has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He has a slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle. His trigger is a small leg kick with a cocking of the bat. He was fed 3 changeups by Nunez before rolling over on one for a routine ground out to second.

1st game of the Rockies-Astros series features the best pitching matchup: Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Felipe Paulino.

ARI @ LAD

• Hiroki Kuroda made his return from the DL tonight. The 33 year old who stands 6-1, 220 has a medium frame that has room to add more muscle. He is a right hander who attacks from a high 3/4 release with the typical Japanese windup. His fastball is a 2-seam that shows fade and a little sink, though he will mix in an occasional 4-seamer. His split shows good sink and dive. His slider is sharp and will move more like a cutter. He really struggled to find a feel for his pitches early. Most of his sliders were left belt high, but the D'Backs hitters just missed them. He was relying on more sliders then fastballs until after the 2nd, when he began to pound the zone with fastballs. Solid middle of the rotation starter when right, probably a # 4. Pitching in LA helps take away a lot of mistakes.

1st: FB (90-93), SL (85-86), Split (79-83)

2nd: FB (90-94), SL (83-87)

3rd: FB (89-92), SL (85), Split (80-84)

4th: FB (90-93), SL (84-85), Split (83)

5th: FB (90-94), SL (85), Split (82)

• Billy Buckner attacks hitters from an over the top release. This is his 3rd (of 3 starts) that I have scored. His fastball is a 2-seam with good fade and sink. His change shows the same type of movement, but on a greater scale. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch that is his key. He struggled to command it in his last outing and got hit around a little. He had great command of it today and could throw it for a strike or bury it whenever he wanted. His fastball fades late and likes to pound it on the outside corner to get strike one. He is slowly trying to convince me to turn around my thinking, but I still think he is just a 5th starter, especially pitching in the hitters' park that is Arizona.

1st: FB (85-92), CB (79), CU (85)

2nd: FB (87-92), CB (78-83), CU (82-83)

3rd: FB (90-92), CB (77-82), CU (79-82)

4th: FB (89-92), CB (81-82), CU (80-82)

5th: FB (88-91), CB (77-80), CU (83)

6th: FB (87-92), CB (82-83), CU (81-83)

• Cory Wade is a 26 year old who stands 6-1, 190. The right hander has a medium frame that has room to add a little more muscle. He attacks from an over the top release. His fastabll shows good late fade and little sink. His curveball is a plus pitch, a big breaking 12-7, 12-8 type offering. His changeup is an above average offering with good fade and sink. A great middle reliever who could be in the mold of a Scot Shields and be able to throw 2 innings to get you to your closer.

6th: FB (88-91), CU (79), CB (72)

7th: FB (89-91), CU (81-83), CB (73-77)

• Clay Zavada (he pitches every Diamondbacks game I do) attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release with a straight 4-seam fastball. His delivery has a little bit of a head jerk.

7th: FB (88-89), CB (72)

• Juan Gutierrez is a big bodied (6-3, 210) right hander. The 25 year old has a medium to big frame that is maxed out and there may be some bad weight there. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is a tight 2-7 offering with good bite and it flashes plus as a pitch that just disappears. He can fly open and can over throw his fastball at times. He gets a great hip turn in his delivery to help him generate more velocity, though it is a high effort delivery. His change shows some sink, but it is below average. I think he adds and subtracts velocity from his slider as opposed to throwing a curveball. Set-up man is likely his ceiling and he can probably close some games down the line and not kill you.

7th: FB (94-96), SL (78-88)

8th: FB (94-96), SL (81-85), CU (87)

• Brent Leach is a 6-4, 220 pound left hander. The 26 year old has a big frame that has room to add a little more muscle. He attacks from a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. His curveball is a slurvy 10-4 offering that needs to be tightened. His changeup has decent sink and a little run (struck out Justin Upton on this pitch) and his fastabll is a 4-seam with some run. Probably fits best as a LOOGY, but he could be an inning reliever depending on how much his command (a tick below average) can catch up to his slightly above average stuff.

8th: FB (90-93), CB (77-79), CU (84-85)

• Guillermo Mota attacked from a 3/4 release. His slider is a tight 2-7 offering that can be just a spinning fastball. His change shows some above average fade and some sink and his fastball has a little fade to it. I am still of the impression that he is close to being done.

8th: FB (93-94), CU (84-85), SL (86)

9th: FB (93-95), CU (85-87)

• Tony Pena is a 27 year old who stands 6-2, 220. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out and he may also be carrying a little bit of bad weight. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His slider is a hard 2-7 offering with good bite. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. He threw a ton of sliders (more then I thought he would) and he has a max effort delivery. I like him better as a closer then Qualls, but he sure made things interesting tonight.

9th: FB (95-98), SL (84-90)

• Josh Whitesell is a 27 year old first basemen who stands 6-1, 225. The lefty thrower and hitter has a medium frame that is maxed out. He has a slightly open stance while standing fairly straight up. He waves the bat in a circle above his shoulder as he awaits the pitcher to begin his delivery. His trigger is a step to square himself up followed by a little bit of a toe turn. He has a little bit of a longer swing and seemed to be pretty pull happy. He showed good power in the minors, but his defense is not good around the bag (he was pulled to move Mark Reynolds to first). He failed to scoop a short hop (not an easy play, but one a big league 1Bmen not named Ryan Howard needs to make) and didn't look very comfortable defensively. His upside is that of a bench bat to me.

Tomorrow I have a chart and a score. I will be scoring the next 3 Astros-Rockies games (and of course Michael Bourn just fouled a ball off his testicles, not like I wanted to see him play)

Chart Observations: MIN @ TB

• Matt Garza is a 25 year old who stands 6-4, 215. The right hander has a big frame that can add a little more muscle, but not much. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch that looks a little flatter then last year. His slider is a sharp 2-7 offering. His change shows above average fade and a little sink. Garza's windup is a step to the side, a turn of his right foot, then he kicks his leg with a good hip turn (showing his left cheek to the hitter) and then he drops his hands as the leg is going down and he drives toward the plate. Garza's fastball and slider are each above average offerings with his curveball and change slightly above average. He profiles as a # 3 starter right now with the potential to be a # 2, as he has above average command.

1st: FB (92-95), SL (85-86), CB (75-76), CU (83-85)

2nd: FB (92-95), SL (83-85), CB (74-76), CU (84)

3rd: FB (92-93), SL (82-83)

4th: FB (92-94), CB (76-77), CU (82)

5th: FB (92-93), SL (83), CB (75)

6th: FB (91-95), SL (82-86), CB (74-76), CU (82)

7th: FB (91-95), SL (85), CB (73-76)

• Nick Blackburn, a 27 year old who stands 6-4 225, opposed him. The right hander has a big frame that can add a little more muscle. Blackburn takes a step to the side, turns his right foot, take a straight leg kick with little hip turn and doesn't start his hand separation until his leg is nearly halfway down (hands never move until this point), his legs then just hangs there as his release comes through and he fires. His fastball is a 2-seam with good fade and sink. His cutter shows adequate cut across the plate, though he didn't use it as much today. His curveball is a 11-6 offering with decent bite. His change showed good fade and sink. Blackburn is a good # 4 starter, one that won't walk many guys with plus command and will be an innings eater most days. His fastball, cutter, changeup and curveball are slightly above average.

1st: FB (88-91), Cut (81-85), CU (80)

2nd: FB (88-91), CB (75-76)

3rd: FB (87-89), CU (80), CB (74)

4th: FB (88-89), Cut (82-85), CU (79), CB (74-76)

5th: FB (87-91), Cut (83-85), CU (79), CB (74-78)

6th: FB (88), CB (73-76), CU (80)

• Joe Nelson is a 34 year old who stands 6-1, 205. The right hander features a medium frame that looks to be maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release with a big leg kick that is similar to that of Orlando Hernandez. He throws the vulcan change and it shows good fade and some sink, though his command of the pitch can be very inconsistent. His fastabll is a 2-seam that shows good fade and a little sink. He likes to throw high fastballs in 0-2 counts. Solid middle reliever, just not a set-up man as some thought based off of last season.

8th: FB (86-87), CU (76-77)

• Jason Isringhausen is back. The 36 year old who stands 6-3, 230 has a medium to big frame that is maxed out and may be carrying some bad weight. The right hander has an over the top release. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 pitch. His cutter shows decent cut, but not like it did in his prime. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. It looks like a battle for him to throw, as he labors through his mechanics. 2 of the 3 at-bats against him went 6 and 10 pitches respectively, raising a red flag on whether he has a true out pitch. Seems like a solid middle reliever, as he didn't show any of the command issues he had been having. But, he no longer has an out pitch and will need to pitch to contact more then he used to.

8th: FB (92-94), Cut (88-89), CB (76)

9th: FB (91-92), Cut (86-90)

• J.P. Howell is a 26 year old who stands 6-0, 180. The left hander has a medium frame that can add more muscle. His fastball is a 2-seam with good sink and fade. His curveball is a big breaking 11-4 pitch that is a plus offering. His change is a straight change with a little sink that looks like a fastball out of his hand. Howell is a good setup man, but his lack of velocity doesn't really endear me to him as a closer. He has plus command.

9th: FB (86-88), CB (81-83), CU (81)

• Sean Henn is a 28 year old who stands 6-4, 225. The left hander has a big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. He showed a straight 4-seam fastball and a sharp 10-5 slider with good bite that looks like a fastball out of his hand, but just keeps biting. A 12th or 13th guy in a bullpen and he can have his uses as a 2nd lefty in a pen. He did show a little command issues, but nothing major.

7th: FB (91-92), SL (80-82)

• Matt Guerrier is a 30 year old who stands 6-3, 195. The right hander has a medium to big frame that still has room to add more muscle, though only in the upper body. He comes from an over the top release, almost high 3/4. His slider is a 1-8 offering wtih good depth and bite. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6. His change shows great fade and a little sink. His fastball is a 2-seam with good sink. He has above average command. The more I see him, the more I think he could be a Braden Looper like transformation and become a solid back of the rotation starter. He is valuable as the Twins main set-up man, but his repetoire of 4 above average pitches seems to profile fairly well as a starter. Just saying.

7th: FB (89-90), SL (83), CB (75-77), CU (80)

8th: FB (90), SL (83-85), CB (77-78)

• Jose Mijares is a 24 year old who stands 6-0, 230. The left hander has a medium frame that is maxed out and there is some definite bad weight there. He looks like he would be a much better pitcher down to around 215. He comes from a high 3/4 release, almost over the top. His fastball is a 4-seam that has good run. His slider is a sweeping 10-4 pitch with good bite. Solid reliever who has the potential to be a set-up man. You also have to worry about him eating himself out of the game.

8th: FB (89-94), SL (80-82)

• Joe Nathan is amongst the best. The righty is 34 years old and stands 6-4, 225. He has a big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is a sharp offering with good bite. His curveball is a 12-7 offering with good downward bite and is somewhat late breaking.

9th: FB (92-94), SL (87-89), CB (83)

Chart Observations: MIN @ TB, Yankees Win

• David Price is a 23 year old left hander who stands 6-6, 225. He has a big frame that can add a little more muscle, but not much. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that has a little run. His slider is a very sharp 10-4 offering with good depth. His changeup is straight and below average. He rocks back in the windup at the balance point and then explodes to the plate. Price is a potential # 1 starter, as he just used a FB-SL until the 6th when he threw 2 changes. If he can develop another off-speed offering to use occasionally (he is also working on a curveball), he will reach it. Another interesting note is everytime he threw his slowest pitches of the inning to the 1st batter he faced and threw harder the longer the inning went. He needs to fix that.

1st: FB (91-97), SL (89-91)

2nd: FB (91-96), SL (86-88)

3rd: FB (91-96), SL (84-88)

4th: FB (89-94), SL (85-87)

5th: FB (90-97), SL (87-89)

6th: FB (91-97), SL (86-88), CU (84-87

• Francisco Liriano, a 25 year old who stands 6-2, 225 opposed him. Liriano is a left hander with a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a 3/4 release and shows a fastball that is a straight 4-seam, a changeup that looks like the fastball out of his hand until it drops off the table and a sharp 10-4 slider. Liriano's issue is the hype around him and his command. At his current velocities, Liriano is a middle of the rotation starter. If he can get back up to sitting in the mid 90's, then he is an ace. His command within the strike zone also needs to improve, as he leaves too many pitches in the middle of the plate. Upside of an ace, but likely a # 3.

1st: FB (90-91), SL (85-88), CU (80-85)

2nd: FB (89-93), SL (83-87), CU (83-84)

3rd: FB (90-93), SL (85-89), CU (83-85)

4th: FB (89-92), SL (83-87), CU (83-86)

• R.A. Dickey is a 34 year old knuckleballer who stands 6-2, 215. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. From an over the top release, he shows a knuckleball (why describe it when the catcher doesn't even know where it is going? The first one he threw, Joe Mauer completely whiffed and it him on his knee protectors), a 2-seam fastball with good fade and a straight change with a little fade. Who knows if he is useful? There are worse 12th men in the pen in the majors.

5th: KNU (70-79), FB (84-85)

6th: KNU (69-77), FB (83-85)

7th: KNU (74-77), FB (83-84), CU (79)

8th: KNU (72-79), FB (84-86), CU (73-77)

• Grant Balfour is a 31 year old who stands 6-2, 195. The right hander has a medium frame that looks to be maxed out. He attacks from an over the top release with a straight 4-seam fastball, a 2-8 slider that looks flatter then last year and a 12-6 curve. Both his offspeed pitches are just average and he has had issues with his command, though he didn't show them in this outing. Appears to be a reliable middle reliever who pitched over his head last year as their top setup man.

6th: FB (91-93), SL (85)

7th: FB (90-94), CB (81)

8th: FB (91-94), SL (86)

9th: FB (91-93), SL (84)

• Randy Choate is back in the big leagues. The 33 year old left hander stands 6-1, 200. He has a medium frame that has room to add more muscle, though expecting it too is probably a bad idea. The sidearmer featured a fastball with good run and sink and a 9-4 frisbee slider. Opens up his delivery as he steps toward third base as opposed to the plate, which has to give lefties a little better view of his pitches. As a 2nd lefty in a pen, you could do worse. But, is he more valuable then another righty? I think he continues to bounce around the bus to AAA.

9th: FB (86-89), SL (78-79)

• Northern Yankees won something like 9-4. I went 2-5 with a double and changed my stance and it worked much better against some of the slower pitching we see. I pitched the final 2 innings (we were tied at 4 after 5, we play 7 innings) and they were perfect frames with 3 strikeouts.

Tomorrow is another busy day. Have a chart, a baseball game at 530 or something like that and a 10:10 score featuring my 3rd look at Billy Buckner as a starter (in 3 chances) against what was supposed to be Clayton Kershaw, but has been changed to Hiroki Kuroda, as he makes his 1st start since coming off the DL. Who wants to watch one of the best lefties in the game anyways?

Chart Observations: SEA @ LAA

• Felix Hernandez is a 23 year old standing 6-3, 225. The right hander has a medium to big frame that still has room to add more muscle. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His changeup shows average fade and a little sink. His fastball is a 2-seam with good fade and sink. He will also mix in a straight 4-seam. His slider is a sharp 2-7 offering with good depth. His curveball is a 12-6 offering with great bite and drops off the table. Still an ace.

1st: FB (93-97), CU (88), SL (86-89)

2nd: FB (94-96), CU (87-89), SL (87-88), CB (82-83)

3rd: FB (92-95), CU (87-89), SL (87-90)

4th: FB (94-95), CU (88-90)

5th: FB (94-95), CU (90), CB (85)

6th: FB (93-96), CU (88-90), SL (88-89), CB (86)

7th: FB (93-96), CU (88-90), SL (86), CB (85)

• Matt Palmer, a 6-2 225 pound 30 year old, opposed him. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seam with above average fade and a little sink. His cutter is his main fastaball and it shows solid cut. He has tremendous command of this pitch and can start it on the outside corner at will. His curveball is a sharp 1-8 offering that shows good bite and can be a strikeout pitch. His change moves similar to his 2-seam with above average fade and some sink. Was FB-CB the 1st time through the order, and then worked the cutter-CB combo with the occasional 2-seam. Solid back of the rotation starter due to his plus command of slightly above average stuff.

1st: FB (88-90), Cut (87-90), CB (73-76)

2nd: FB (88-90), Cut (88-89), CB (75-76), CU (83)

3rd: FB (88-89), Cut (87-89), CB (74-75), CU (82-84)

4th: FB (87-89), Cut (85-88), CB (72-75)

5th: FB (88-89), Cut (86-87), CB (76)

6th: FB (88-89), Cut (86-87), CB (73-77), CU (82)

7th: FB (86-88), Cut (86-87), CB (75-76), CU (83)

• Mark Lowe is a 25 year old reliever standing 6-3, 210. The right hander has a medium to big frame that still has room to add more muscle. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that flashes fade. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with solid depth and is an above average offering. Lowe has the upside of a closer, though he is more likely to settle in as a set-up man.

7th: FB (96-98), SL (85)

• Darren Oliver is a 38 year old who stands 6-2, 200. The lefty has a medium frame that is maxed out and comes at you from a 3/4 release. His slider is a slurvy 10-4 offering with good depth and looks like a fastball out of his hand. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. Good reliever to have in a pen that can fill a multitude of roles (long, LOOGY, short spurts)

8th: FB (89-91), SL (77-78)

• Brandon Morrow is a 24 year old who stands 6-3, 195. The righty has a medium to big frame that has room to add another 10-15 pounds of muscle. He comes at you from an over the top release. His change will flash great fade and a little sink, but it can be inconsistent. His fastball is a dead straight 4-seam. His curveball is a 12-6 offering that flashes plus, but is also inconsistent. Morrow needs to gain consistency to reach his ceiling as a closer.

8th: FB (93-96), CU (88-89), CB (81)

• Brian Fuentes is a 38 year old who stands 6-4, 230. The left hander has a big frame that is maxed out and attacks from a sidearm release with a little bit of cocking action. His changeup has good sinking action and some run. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. He struggled to command his change, having it go armside and high almost every time. He got blooped and then blasted by Jose Lopez. Good set-up man, but he doesn't strike out enough guys for me to be comfortable with him as a closer.

9th: FB (89-91), CU (72-74)

• Miguel Batista is a 38 year old who stands 6-1, 210. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade and good sink. His cutter has decent cut and some sink. His split showed great dive and fade. May have been wrong on him and he can indeed be a reliable reliever for a contender, though I still wouldn't have him setup.

9th: FB (85-92), Cut (84-85), Split (85)

• Jose Arredondo is a 25 year old who stands 6-1, 205. The right hander has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. His fastball has some fade and a little sink from an over the top release. His splitter is erratic in both break and command, but it flashes as plus with great dive and fade. Still think he is a future closer, but he is not yet ready and needs to refine his splitter.

10th: FB (90-94), Split (81-86)

• David Aardsma is a 27 year old who stands 6-4, 205. The righty has a big frame that can add more muscle. He attacks from an over the top release with some cocking action. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good depth. His splitter showed good dive and fade. He may be able to close, as he hasn't shown many of his old command issues when I have seen him.

10th: FB (93-95), SL (84), Split (89)

Stay tuned for my chart observations on the Rays-Twins, featuring the 11 strikeout performance of David Price. I will take care of that after I return from my baseball game tonight.

BOS @ TOR

These summaries won't be as good, as I had to do this game off MLB TV and was trying to stay as live as possible.

• Brian Tallet is a 6-6, 215 pound 31 year old. The left hander has a high 3/4, almost 3/4 release. He has a big frame that has room to add more muscle. His fastball is a 2-seam with some sink and run. His cutter has good side to side movement with little bite. His slider is more like a 10-4 slurve. His changeup showed good sink and some fade. Really struggled to command his stuff early on, but settled in as the game got deeper. Will drop down sidearm on occasion. Solid back of the rotation starter.

Tallet Inning By Inning:

1st: FB (89-91), Cut (89-91), CU (83-85), SL (80-83)

2nd: FB (88-90), Cut (86-87), CU (80-86), SL (79-84)

3rd: FB (87-89), CU (84-86), SL (80)

4th: FB (88-89), Cut (85-86), CU (81-83)

5th: Cut (86-87), CU (80-84)

6th: FB (86-88), CU (81-84), SL (81)

7th: FB (87-89), Cut (86), CU (80-85), SL (80-81)

• Brad Penny is a 6-4, 230 pound 31 year old. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a high 3/4 release. He is very slow through his windup and actually looks in the dugout or crowd as he is separating. His fastball is a straight 4-seam and he lets out a grunt after every one. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch with good bite. His split showed good fade and decent bite, though he really only threw it to Lyle Overbay. Penny is a solid middle of the rotation starter, # 4 in the AL. If he went to the NL, he profiles well as a #3.

Penny Inning By Inning:

1st: FB (88-92), CB (74-75)

2nd: FB (91-96), CB (75-78), Split (82-84)

3rd: FB (93-96), CB (79-80)

4th: FB (92-94), CB (78-79), Split (86)

5th: FB (92-95), CB (76-79)

6th: FB (92-95), CB (78-80), Split (84-85)

• Ramon Ramirez is a 27 year old who stands 5-11, 190. The right hander has a small frame that is maxed out. He features a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. He throws a hard change whose movement can be erratic from pitch to pitch. His fastball is a straight 4-seam.

Ramirez Inning By Inning:

7th: FB (90-95), CU (84-89)

• Hideki Okajima is a 33 year old who stands 6-1, 195. The left hander has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He attacks from an over the top release. His fastball has a little run, but is fairly straight. His curveball is an 11-5 offering with good downward action. He has a head jerk in his delivery and his splitter moves like a 2-seam.

Okajima Inning By Inning:

7th: FB (86)

8th: FB (86-88), CB (75-76), Split (81-82)

• Brandon League is a 26 year old who stands 6-2, 200. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release. His change shows splitter like movement, diving into the ground and is an above average offering. His fastball is a 2-seam with great downward movement and sink.

League Inning By Inning:

8th: FB (94-96), CU (85-86)

• Manny Delcarmen is a 26 year old who stands 6-2, 205. The right hander has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He attacks from an over the top release with some cocking action. His fastball is a straight 4-seam.

Delcarmen Inning By Inning:

8th: FB (95), CB (77)

• Scott Downs is a 33 year old who stands 6-2, 215. The left hander has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He attacks from a 3/4 release with a fastball that is a 2-seamer with good sink.

Downs Inning By Inning:

9th: FB (89-91)

5/29: FLA @ NYM

• Sean West attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His fastbal was a straight 4-seam. He will slide step and leg kick with runners on. His hard slider is a sharp 10-3 offering while his soft slider is a 10-3 offering that is a little slurvy. His changeup is a straight change. Still a solid major league starter with potential of a # 2.

West Inning By Inning:
1st: FB (91-94), SL (83)
2nd: FB (91-94), SL (80), CU (84)
3rd: FB (90-92), SL (80)
4th: FB (90-93), SL (84)
5th: FB (90-93), SL (79)
6th: FB (90-93), SL (80), CU (82-85)
7th: FB (90-93), SL (79-84)

• Mike Pelfrey is a 25 year old who stands 6-7, 230. He has a big frame that appears to be maxed out. He attacks hitters from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows average fade and a little sink. The movement is late, but it can be inconsistent. His slider is a loopy 2-7 offering with some bite, but it can be flat at times. His changeup showed good bite and fade. His curveball is a 1-7 pitch that appears to be just a slower slider that he only throws to lefties. He will leg kick and slide step.

Pelfrey Inning By Inning:
1st: FB (91-94), SL (85)
2nd: FB (90-94), SL (84)
3rd: FB (90-94)
4th: FB (90-94), SL (83-86), CU (82)
5th: FB (90-93), SL (81-83), CU (82)
6th: FB (91-92), SL (84-85), CU (81-82)
7th: FB (90-93), SL (84-85), CU (82), CB (74-77)
8th: FB (89-93), SL (84), CB (75)

• Bobby Parnell attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that flashes fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with great depth and flashes as a plus pitch.

Parnell Inning By Inning:
8th: FB (95-97), SL (85-89)

• Kiko Calero is a 34 year old who stands 6-1, 210 The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. His slider is a 2-8 offering with good depth and bite that he has plus command of. His fastball shows some occasional fade, but looks to be a straight 4-seam. Will throw 70 % sliders.

Calero Inning By Inning:
8th: SL (78-82), FB (86-88)

• Francisco Rodriguez attacked from an over the top release. His curveball is a sharp 12-6 with good bite. His change falls off the table with solid fade. His fastball is a straight 4-seam.

Rodriguez Inning By Inning:
9th: FB (90-94), CB (80-82), CU (84-89)

• Leo Nunez attacks hitters from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seam with average fade and a little sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering that can be a spinner at times. It shows average bite and decent depth. His changeup shows great fade and a little sink.

Nunez Inning By Inning:
9th: FB (93-95), SL (84-86), CU (86-87)

• Fernando Martinez pinch hit. The 20 year old who stands 6-1, 190 is a lefty hitter and righty thrower. He has a medium frame that, surprisingly, appears to be maxed out. He has a slightly open stance and holds the bat horizontal over this shoulder with a little bat wiggle. His trigger is a stride and a cocking of the bat Looks almost like a slap hitter, as he gets all his weight on his front foot. Reminds me of Brian Giles and I think that is his upside. His swing can get long.


• J.J. Putz attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His splitter showed great fade and some bite. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that flashes fade.

Putz Inning By Inning:
10th: FB (93-95), Split (84-88)
11th: FB (90-94), Split (83-85), SL (81)

• Dan Meyer attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a sweeping 10-4 pitch. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His changeup has some sink, but looks to be average, though it does look like a fastball out of hand. His fastball is a straight 4-seam.

Meyer Inning By Inning:
10th: FB (89-93), SL (86-87), CU (81-82)

• Pedro Feliciano attacks hitters from a sidearm release. Fastball is a 4-seam that gets good run and a little sink. Slider is a sweeping 9-4, 9-3 pitch. His change shows good fade, but is an average offering.

Feliciano Inning By Inning:

11th: FB (88-89), SL (83-84), CU (75)

• Brian Sanches attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. He is very similar to Brandon League of the Jays in mechanics and pitch selection. His fastball shows a little fade and sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with solid depth.

Sanches Inning By Inning:

11th: FB (89-90), SL (81-85)

ATL @ ARI

New format will be in place from here on out, as it is easier for me to do inning by inning then totals.

• Jair Jurrjens started for the Braves and attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His changeup showed good downward fade and sink and is his best off-speed offering and it slightly below being a plus pitch due to some inconsistencies with the break and his command of it. His slider is a sharp 3-7 pitch with good side to side movement, but inconsistent bite. His fastball flashes good fade and he actually primarily throws a moving fastball with fade, but it can be subtle at times. His slider will flash above average bite and he will also occasionally muscle up to throw straight 4-seam fastballs. He will hang sliders, but in the 5th he went to it as his put away pitch and started it on the outside corner and let the hitters flail. A # 3 starter is likely his ceiling and he is pitching at it now.

Jurrjens Inning By Inning:

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

2nd: FB (86-93), CU (80-81), SL (78-79)

3rd: FB (89-93), CU (83-84), SL (79-80)

4th: FB (89-93), CU (81-83), SL (79)

5th: FB (88-94), CU (80-83), SL (78-82)

• Jon Garland opposed him. Garland attacked from an over the top release. His fastball was a 2-seam that didn't have its usual sink to it tonight, resulting in him getting pounded. His changeup showed good fade and sink and was his out pitch to left handers. His cutter showed some cut on the hands of lefties, but is just an average offering that he tends to leave up in the zone, which could be by design. He will pitch backwards and throw changes in hitters' counts. His slider was a decent bite and was a 2-7 offering. Still a solid back of the rotation starter.

Garland Inning By Inning:

1st: FB (87-89), CU (78-79), Cut (86-87)

2nd: FB (86-90), CU (78-82), Cut (87-88)

3rd: FB (87-90), CB (73), CU (76-78), SL (82)

• Leo Rosales attacked hitters from an over the top release and did a great job keeping the Diamondbacks in the game. His slider showed good bite and was a 2-7 pitch. His fastball is a straight 4-seam, though he may also throw a 2-seam that flashes good fade. His changeup is his best offering, but it can be inconsistent with its break and fade. Solid guy to have in a pen for these types of situations.

Rosales Inning By Inning:

3rd: FB (87-89), CU (78)

4th: FB (87-89), CU (78-80), SL (81)

5th: FB (87-91), CU (80-81), SL (80)

• Daniel Schlereth made his major league debut last night. The first round pick from last year's draft by the Diamondbacks, he is the son of ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth. Daniel is a 6-0, 210 pound left hander who is 23 years old. He has a medium frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball and curveball. His curveball is a power curve that is a hard downward breaker and is a 10-4 offering. The pitch flashes plus and made Garrett Anderson look silly with its tremendous bite. His fastball is a 4-seam that has a little run. His fastball jumps at the hitters and is explosive. Schlereth has the potential to be a closer in the mold of a Billy Wagner, relying on a fastball-curve as opposed to fastball-slider. He will likely settle in as an 8th inning guy though.

Schlereth Inning By Inning:

6th: FB (92-93), CB (79-81)

• Jeff Bennett attacked from an over the top, almost high 3/4 release. The right hander showed a 2-seam fastball that had good fade and a hard slider that had some good depth. Solid reliever, but never want him pitching late in games due to his command issues, though he had good command tonight.

Bennett Inning By Inning:

6th: FB (91-95), SL (86-87)

• Jon Rauch attacked from an over the top release. He showed an above average 2-seam with above average fade. His curveball was a sharp 12-6er tonight with good bite and just drops off the table. His change shows good fade, but little sink and is average. His cutter showed some cut and some sink and was an above average pitch tonight, though it is normally just average. Middle reliever that I personally wouldn't want being my 8th or 9th inning guy, but should be fine in the 7th.

Rauch Inning By Inning:

7th: FB (91), CB (72-74), CU (84), Cut (86)

8th: FB (90-92), CB (73), CU (83-85), Cut (86-88)

• Peter Moylan attacked hitters from a sidearm, almost submarine release point. His fastball shows little fade and sink and the amount of movement was inconsistent from pitch to pitch. He never had good feel for his slider, leaving them all armside and down and well off the plate. He continues to battle his command and seems to be struggling to find a consistent release point. Decent ROOGY, but he has been unimpressive each time I have seen him.

Moylan Inning By Inning:

7th: FB (88-92), SL (77-78)

• Eric O'Flaherty is the Braves LOOGY who attacks from a high 3/4 release. He has the potential to be more (a full inning reliever) with a fastball that is a straight 4-seam and a slider that is a sweeping 10-4 pitch that he can also tighten into a sharper breaking slider.

O'Flaherty Inning By Inning:

7th: FB (91), SL (84)

• Rafael Soriano attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. He will throw a few hanging sliders, but it is a good 2-7 pitch. Throws both a hard slider (when ahead in the count, as a strike out pitch) and a soft slider that he prefers to use to get strikes 1 or 2.

Soriano Inning By Inning:

8th: FB (92-94), SL (80-88)

• Clay Zavada attacked hitters from a high 3/4 release. The lefthander will also drop down to 3/4 on occasion. His changeup is an above average offering, but didn't show much tonight. His fastball was a straight 4-seam. His slider is a sweeping 10-4 pitch.

Zavada Inning By Inning:

9th: FB (87-89), SL (73-74), CU (81-82)

• Mike Gonzalez attacked hitters from a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. his slider is sharp and is a 10-5 pitch. He throws 2 different sliders, a slurvy one to get strike 1 and then a hard one to get the strikeout. He hides the ball very well and tries to disrupt hitters timing as much as possible.

Gonzalez Inning By Inning:

9th: FB (91-95), SL (77-85)

• Justin Upton is locked in. He has plus power and seems to have a plan at the plate every time he steps up. I didn't think his super stardom would be here so soon, but it has arrived. Watch this kid at the plate and you have a guy who knows he is going to hit the ball hard every time. He is beginning to be pitched much harder now that he has been other worldly lately and this will be his next adjustment.

Truly Starters? Check 2

About a month through the season, let's go and check on the players from the Sally League that I thought could turn into at least major league starters (5.0 or higher):
8.0 (Superstars)
Angel Villalona: San Jose (A+): .292-.330-.439. 171 At-bats. 6 HR's, 24 RBI's. 7 BB, 38 K
David Price: Durham (AAA): 1-4, 3.93. 8 G, 8 GS. 34.1 IP-28 H-18 BB-35 K
Tampa Bay: 0-0, 5.40. 1-1. 3.1-4-5-6

7.0 (Multiple All Stars, # 2 Starters)
Jason Heyward: Myrtle Beach (A+): .295-.373-.561. 139 At-bats. 9 HR's, 22 RBI's. 16 BB, 24 K
Madison Bumgarner: San Jose (A+): 3-1, 1.48. 5-5. 24.1-20-4-23
Connecticut (AA): 3-0, 0.50. 3-2. 18.0-10-4-21

6.0 (A Few All-Stars, Strong # 3 Starters)
Jesus Montero (6.5): Tampa (A+): .338-.392-.569. 160. 7-34. 14-25.
Mike Stanton (6.5): Jupiter (A+): .288-.371-.562. 153. 10-31. 20-37
Felix Doubront (6.5): Portland (AA): 3-2, 3.57. 9-9. 40.1-38-18-41
Wilkins De La Rossa: Tampa (A+): 1-0, 1.29. 3-3. 14-9-4-17
Trenton (AA): 1-2, 4.57. 4-4. 21.2-24-10-22

5.0 (Major League Starters, Mid-Rotation Starters)
Freddie Freeman (5.5): Myrtle Beach (A+): .289-.363-.436. 149. 4-22. 10-21
Che-Hsuan Lin (5.5): Salem (A+): .207-.313-.286. 140. 1-14. 20-29
Yamaico Navarro (5.5): Salem (A+): .286-.286-.571. 7. 0-0. 0-1
Nick Noonan (5.5): San Jose (A+): .244-.306-.351. 168. 2-20. 13-42
Charlie Culberson: Augusta (A): .233-.324-.277. 159. 0-9. 20-43
Michael Jones: Salem (A+): .288-.351-.381. 139. 2-16. 12-21
Chris Nash: Lake County (A): .214-.282-.282. 131. 1-21. 11-31
Thomas Neal: San Jose (A+): .310-.399-.538. 158. 7-31. 18-35
Andrew Walker: West Virginia (A): .207-.333-.299. 87. 0-10. 15-20
Deunte Heath: Mississippi (AA): 2-3, 3.35. 9-9. 51-51-27-42
Joey Mahalic: Lake County (A): 0-1, 1.91. 6-6. 28.1-20-9-22
Kinston (A+): 0-1, 19.64. 1-1. 3.2-7-8-0
Duke Welker: West Virginia (A): 0-5, 4.50. 9-9. 44-43-20-29

Relief Pitcher Check (May 28th)

For those of you unaware, I am author of a long study evaluating the regression of relief pitchers (and for those of you that do know, it is growing, I am currenly adding specific pitch type (which should be prepped for comparisons in the next couple of days) and a completely redone disabled list database). Anyways, I identified my top 5 candidates for regression according to the evals and here they are with a quick stat check and my reasoning:

• Luis Ayala: Posted 2nd highest Days of Rest score in his career in 2008 and has regressed each time he has posted a qualifying Days of Rest score.

Previous Check: 8 Appearances, 1-1, 6.48 ERA. 13 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 8.1 IP

Current: 18 Appearances, 1-1, 4.79. 20.2 IP, 28 H, 7 BB, 13 K

2008: 81 Appearances, 2-10, 5.71. 75.2 IP, 86 H, 24 BB, 50 K

• Dennys Reyes: The last time he was worked as hard as he was in 2008 was 2006. In 2007, he regressed greatly.

Previous Check: 9 Appearances, 0-1, 3.18 ERA. 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 5.2 IP

Current: 23 Appearances, 0-1, 3.21. 14 IP, 11 H, 5 BB, 15 K

2008: 75 Appearances, 3-0, 2.33. 46.1 IP, 40 H, 15 BB, 39 K

• Brad Lidge: Qualified under 4 criteria in 2008, as well as the 3-season Total IP for 2006-2008. The last time he qualified under these criteria (2006), he suffered regression the next year.

Previous Check: 8 Appearances, 0-1, 8.22 ERA. 10 H, 3 BB, 9 K, 7.2 IP

Current: 22 Appearances, 0-2, 8.85. 20.1 IP, 29 H, 13 BB, 22 K

2008: 72 Appearances, 2-0, 1.95. 69.1 IP, 50 H, 35 BB, 92 K

• Pedro Feliciano: Qualified under the Days or Rest criteria in 2007 and showed regression in 2008. For 2008, he qualified under 4 criteria, including an even greater number in the Days of Rest evaluator.

Previous Check: 9 Appearances, 0-1, 4.76 ERA. 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 5.2 IP

Current: 25 Appearances, 1-1, 2.41. 18.2 IP, 15 H, 3 BB, 19 K

2008: 86 Appearances, 3-4, 4.05. 53.1 IP, 57 H, 26 BB, 50 K

• John Grabow: Qualified for the +/- Pitches category in 2006 and regressed in 2007. In 2008, he has qualified for the +/- Pitches in addition to the +/- Inning category.

Previous Check: 7 Appearances, 1-0, 0.00 ERA. 7 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 7.1 IP

Current: 22 Appearances, 3-0, 4.71. 21 IP, 26 H, 11 BB, 17 K

2008: 74 Appearances, 6-3, 2.84. 76 IP, 60 H, 37 BB, 62 K

Updates as actions warrant on these 5 pitchers. Next update (likely around All-Star Break) will let you know if the season ended then, if they would have regressed under the criteria. Stay tuned for that.

Extra Reports: 5/26: TOR @ BAL

• Ricky Romero is a 24 year old left hander who stands 6-0, 215. He has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He attacks hitters from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam, though he will mix in a 2-seam that shows some fade also. His changeup has good sink, but very little fade and is an average pitch. His slider was a loopy 10-4 pitch that was also average. His curveball was a sweeping 10-4 pitch that looks just like his slider, but had more downward break to it. He has above average command of his average offerings. Romero is another that looks to be a # 4 starter, as he has plus velocity for a left handed starter, but doesn't have a real reliable 2nd pitch to get swings and misses. The worst possible division he could be in is the AL East and you have to wonder how a finesse left hander will hold up there. Brett Cecil has better stuff as a left hander for the Jays in my opinion.

Romero Inning By Inning:

1st: FB (89-93), SL (81-83), CU (84)

2nd: FB (88-93), CU (84-85)

3rd: FB (91-94), CB (76-80), SL (80-85), CU (86)

• Jason Berken is a 25 year old right hander who made his major league debut in this game. The right hander has a small (6-0, 175) frame that is maxed out. He throws from over the top. His changeup shows good and good sink and is a slightly above average pitch and is also his best off-speed offering. His fastball shows very little fade and is a straight 4-seam, though he will also mix in a 2-seam that has solid fade and good sink. His slider is a 2-7 pitch whose break can be inconsistent, one time braeking down with good depth and then being a flat hit me pitch the next. Blue Jays were squaring him up very well and hit everything hard. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch with decent bite. He profiles to me as a best case scenario being a swingman. He just doesn't have the consistent command of all his pitches to the corners to consistently get big league hitters out. He also doesn't have the one out pitch to make him a 1 inning reliever (though if his velocity jumps up 2 miles per hour moving to 1 inning spurts, he can be effective). Kind of a pitching tweener.

Berken Inning By Inning:

1st: FB (92-94), CU (83-85), SL (83-85)

2nd: FB (91-94), CU (82-83), SL (80-83)

3rd: FB (91-93), CU (82-83), SL (84), CB (79)