Fangraphs has become one of my daily stops, as they’ve added some great writers over the last few months. First Marc Hulet looks at two Cardinal prospects headed in opposite directions-Jess Todd and Adam Ottavino. I think both have similar futures in the bullpen, but I think Otto’s got the better chance to stick as a starter. I know the numbers don’t say that right now, and I’m sure some of you will vehemently disagree. I guess my thoughts of Todd are a little changed after seeing him in the Futures Game, his delivery just screamed “reliever” to me. A good reliever, but a reliever nonetheless.
Also at Fangraphs- Eric Seidman gives us some us some Pitch F/X data on the pitching prospects who played in the Futures Game. Pitch F/X had Todd averaging out only 88 on his fastball, although I don’t think he was throwing four-seam fastballs, mostly cutters. Salas averaged out at 91.5. I feel like I have been underrating Salas this whole season. Unlike Todd, whom I had high expectations for, I wasn’t sure what Salas was even doing in the Futures Game despite his lofty K% rates. I had read his stuff was rather average other than his curve, but he impressed me with both his fastball and changeup, and I didn’t even see the curveball. With three solid average to above average pitches, I would say he has a big league future.
Steve Batterson of the QC Times says Nick Additon is feeling good about his command of his fastball. That’s great for Nick, but at least the time I’ve seen him pitch he was topping out at 86 and sitting at 83,84. The article says he tops out at 90. Right.
Former 2nd round pick Nick Webber was let go last week. The man was a one trick pony. The man could not miss bats and had crummy command, but this news still comes as a little bit of a surprise.
Not counting the “CL” teams, Springfield and Johnson City were the only teams that played tonight, everyone else had the night off.
Mark Shorey 2-for-4, 2B.
Cody Haerther 1-for-4, 2B.
Tyler Greene 1-for-4, 2 K.
Kyle Sadlowski 4.2 IP, 11 H, 10 ER, 5 BB, 1 K.
Jon Mikrut 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 K, 1 HR.
Luke Gregerson 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER.
1B Andrew Brown had 2 errors, a fielding error and a missed catch. Brandon Yarbrough also had a rough night defensively with a throwing error and a passed ball. Sadlowski lasted as long as he could, but not long enough, putting more work on a drained bullpen from last night’s marathon. Just a pretty horrid night for the all around for Springfield. It is nice to see Greene starting to come around, his line for July is .295/.323./.541. He is still having troubles with the K’s, with 14 in 14 games this month.
Brett Lilley 3-for-4, 2B, BB.
Nico Vasquez 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, SB.
Curt Smith 2-for-4.
Travis Mitchell 2-for-3, BB, SB.
Edgar Lara 1-for-4, HR, 2 K.
Jarred Bogany 0-for-3, 3 K, 1 BB, SB.
Matthew North 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.
Jon Bravo 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
Have I said how much I like Nico Vasquez yet? I have? Oh. Excuse me for keep bringing him up, but he just finds ways to work himself in the conversation. He now has as many extra base hits as he has walks with 11, and a nice .319/.415/.516 line over 91 at bats. LHP Jonny Bravo has 32 K’s to 6 walks in 21 innings. Prior to the draft, Luhnow said he threw 92-93 in a workout for the Cards. I guess means on the 20-80 scale Bravo would have a 65 fastball and an 80 name. I’d love to get some footage of him on the hill to see how he’s getting so much out of that small frame of his.
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Is there any where i can see footage of the future game? I missed it but i’d love to see Todd pitch so i can see what you all are talking about.
http://www.watchnaia.com//liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?db_oem_id=5901
If anyone is more curious than I, they can purchase individual NAIA games to see Bravo pitch.
Can someone fill me in on Bravo? Was he a draft pick this year? Does he profile as a starter or reliever? Where does he fit into the other left handed pitchers we have in our minor league system (or do we have any other LHPs in our minors)?
Thanks.
Bravo was picked in the 23rd round, and the chances of a 23rd rounder are rather slim to none. All I know is he’s only 5’7, left-handed and throws a surprisingly good fastball.
I saw Jess Todd pitch last week in Springfield, my first chance to see him pitch. I’m a bit baffled by the comments on his delivery. That evening, though he got hit hard and lasted only 4 2/3 innings, he impressed me as a really nice prospect. His delivery was compact and he pushed off hard toward the plate. Even though he didn’t fare too well, he gave up only one hit that wasn’t a grounder. I.e., his sinker was sinking, even though he was leaving it over the plate. Sadlowski relieved him and was lights out – far better than I expected. Fiske threw a nice inning as well. Salas was … what’s the word? … awful, horrendous, putrid, etc.
I’m not trying to be overly hard on Todd. Chris O’Leary isn’t really concerned with his delivery and he knows a lot more about pitching mechanics than i do. he has a slow mo video of his delivery here. He seems more concerned with how many sliders he throws and how that could be hard on his elbow.
The Springfield News Leader also has a video of him here.
What has impressed me the most about Todd is his ability to quickly adapt and learn new pitches, he picked up the cutter with ease and now is learning the 2 seamer. I just saw him in the Futures Game and underestimated his quirkiness. I just don’t see any big leaguers throw the way he does. For all the effort he appears to be using, you would think he’d get more than 90 MPH. I wasn’t alone, the guys on the Baseball America podcast seemed to feel the same way.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Todd is a fine prospect, the only thing keeping him from the big leagues is an injury. I just think most big league managers and coaches will see his size and delivery, see his wipeout slider and immediately plug him in the ‘pen.
His delivery doesn’t look that odd. I was expecting some crazy, Lincecum-like delivery.
Johnny Bravo = Carmen Cali
Colby and Barden to Bejing
http://web.usabaseball.com/teams/index.jsp?team=940
Jess Todd really reminds me of Greg Maddux. There is no standout tool in his arsenal. He doesn’t throw hard. However, he gets a lot of swings and misses because he throws all of his pitches from the same arm slot and with the same arm action. Basically the batter has no idea which way his ball is going to move. Furthermore, he has great command and the ability to adapt new pitches. He also seems to have a great feel for pitching. By that I mean that he can read what the batter is trying to do and pick from his arsenal to negate the hitter’s approach.
I know this is a lofty comparison for Todd. It just seems like he has the same kind of arsenal, command, deception and feel that Maddux does. I know Maddux used to sit in the low 90′s when he first came up but is 91-92 really so different from 89-90?
I would rather see Colby get his feet wet with a September call up. Plus, sometimes September callups really jumpstart a team. Oh well…as long as he doesn’t get hurt playing in the Olympics.