Round 5, Pick 170: Sam Gaviglio
Posted by azruavatar in 2011 MLB Draft, tags: Sam GaviglioSam Gaviglio, RHP
Oregon State
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 195lbs
DOB: 05/22/1990
Throws: R
Bats: R
Baseball America had him ranked as the 175th best prospect:
Gaviglio doesn’t light up radar guns, but he really knows how to pitch. He can reach back for 90 mph on occasion, but mostly sits in the 86-89 mph range. He gets tremendous sink on his fastball, but can still command the pitch and he lives in the bottom half of the strike zone. The movement makes Gaviglio a groundball machine and he mixes in an above-average changeup and a good slider. He mostly uses the changeup against righthanded batters and the slider against lefties, so the pitches break in toward their hands. He changes speeds well on his offspeed stuff, adding and subtracting to always keep hitters guessing. Gaviglio has a lot of moxie and is a smart pitcher that controls the running game well. He’s a good athlete and also does a good job of keeping his emotions on an even keel. A 40th-round pick by the Rays out of high school, where he helped the Ashland (Ore.) Grizzlies win a 5A state championship, Gaviglio knows how to win but ultimately is what he is—a back-end of the rotation type of guy.
A writeup from SBNation’s Oregon State blog Building the Dam
Video from May of Gaviglio warming up
March writeup on ESPN about Gaviglio
Entries (RSS)
Oooof. That’s a teens type pick right there, not a 5th rounder.
Dunno – I don’t think I mind it for a 5th rounder. Looking at the videos, he seems to get CRAZY movement on his fastball, I reckon if he can spot that in the majors with two other decent pitches he’s a competent 4th or 5th starter. Our chances of getting much more in the 5th round are kinda limited. Even PJ Walters/Brandon Dickson isn’t a terrible yield for a 5th round pick, and you have to think this guy might have a little more upside than that, looking at his movement.
He’s PJ Walters.
…with more control.
That’s probably not a good thing to be since when PJ lives in the zone too much he gets hit.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id=18674140&content_id=14893615
MLB draft video
He’s been tearing it up for Oregon State – I don’t even follow their college baseball program here but I know who he is because he’s been in the paper all the time.
I like the pick. He’s been a great pitcher here and there’s a value to that at the pro level. If he can add a couple mph to his fastball he could easily be a #3 type pitcher, and he’s lefthanded.
Must be a pretty amazing pitcher, then, because in all the video’s I’ve seen he’s ridiculously handicapped himself by throwing with his right hand! Either that or he’s incredibly cocky.
Reverse Wagner status!
HAHAHA. Shows how much I pay attention. I think I just assumed he was a lefty given his repertoire.
Still, there’s value in a pitcher like Gaviglio. He’s done really well for an excellent baseball program against tough competition. I like it.
In five years there will be jokes as to why he wasn’t picked a lot higher. Sam can paint the plate,
and will surprise even the best hitters with a nasty changeup. St. Louis second starter.
Not an awful pick. Once again just kind of boring. Would have rather had his teammate Osich who is a lefty.
Osich. Hasn’t pitched since April 30…..with the exception of the NCAA tourney where he blew the 1st inning, was pulled in the 2nd inning after two walks.
Sam pitched a full game the night before with 11 strikeouts, two intentional walks and 5 hits. No comparison.
Sam is the real deal.
Good value for the 5th round
[...] – Sam Gaviglio RHP – Oregon [...]
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He pitched an inning last night in Batavia. Looked excellant. A weak ground ball, a strike out and a weak fly ball.