Cardinals Sign Nicaraguan RHP Ronald Medrano
Posted on August 21st, 2012 by Jeff in International signings, July 2 intn'l signing periodThis week the Cardinals signed 16 year old right-handed pitcher Ronald Medrano out of Nicaragua. They must have used the money from the failed signing of Andres Serrano. Medrano is considered one of the top pitching prospects this year in Nicaragua and is part of the July 2nd class. No word on the bonus for Medrano. Analysis and video after the jump.
Cardinals sign RHP Ronald Medrano, one of Nicaragua’s top July 2 prospects bit.ly/NBjOqn
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) August 20, 2012
Medrano is 6 feet, 170 pounds and pitches to both sides of the plate with a fastball that sits around the high-80s and has touched 90-91. He has shown good pitchability for his age and feel for his secondary stuff, including a curveball with good spin that could become an above-average offering, as well as a changeup.
Thanks to CodeeG, below are some videos of the new Cardinals signee.
Video of recently signed top Nicaraguan 16yo RHPprospect Ronald Medrano who sits high 80s touching 91. youtube.com/watch?v=644dPA… #stlcards
— Cody G. (@CodeeG) August 21, 2012
I love the scenery and the fact that there’s a dog running through
their pitching area at the beginning of that video that CodeeG linked to.
Below are some more videos from the same account “nicabaseball” – which all appear to be from the same time period or even the same day.
http://youtu.be/5aZgI97uh0w
http://youtu.be/I9pHqOWzAPY
http://youtu.be/YPlSmN7g4i0
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Eh all fastballs in the videos. Pretty poor videos for scouting. From the side he looks pretty good timing-wise. From the front he is pitching across his body a bit (landing the front foot towards third and coming over his leg). Not a horrible example of this, needs some correction. It would help with him losing the ball off to his arm-side. Overall decent young pitcher mechanics that need some tweeks.
One thing I would want to see him do is finish every pitch with mechanically the same follow-thru no matter the effort.
Didn’t we sign another pitcher at the same time we signed Serrano?
Yea a lefty named Erick Hurtado, but failed a PED test and we voided his contract too.
The missing piece
At what age does the fastball stop improving? I’m sure there is some individual variance, and I realize that velocity can sometimes be improved through better mechanics, but does anybody know if there is there an approximate age when pitchers generally reach their maximum velocity? Or is there a range that it will improve after a certain age?
This article at Fangraphs suggests it starts right away for MLB starters, in the aggregate. It looks like velocity declines for every age past 21:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/pitcher-aging-curves-starters-and-relievers/
Interestingly, reliever velocity bumps up a bit in the mid-20s. I didn’t read the article carefully, so it may explain that. My guess is that the relievers who gain mph are former starters who crank it up in the bullpen.
None of which answers your question. All we know is that velocity seems to decline past age 21. Is that actually when it peaks? Or could it be that 21-year-old pitchers who reach the majors typically have big heat? If that’s the case, then maybe it just looks like velocity declines, but in reality there are more older pitchers, with on average less velocity, and there’s no way to tell from this data whether any individual pitcher is gaining, losing, or maintaining his fastball.
There are variables unaccounted for in the article, which you correctly address. Velocity is individualized, and while there may be some discernible trend attributable to age, will vary on a case-by-case basis. There may be a mechanical adjustment which will increase velocity. Medrano has decent arm action, but is not as loose and free as might hint at a big jump later on. Another factor will be his physical development. He has long limbs which could point to a few more inches as well.
Lou,
Thanks for the article. It does leave a lot of unanswered questions. We always hear scouting reports that say stuff like could add a couple a miles to the fastball as he fills out. I wonder if clubs actually have any data to back that idea up?