5 Tool Talk - Draft-Related Baseball Notes

College Notes 4-5-11

An extended road trip to Cincinnati limited my availability to catch amateur baseball this past weekend, but I did devote some time to watch two notable pitchers at the college level: Alex Meyer (Kentucky) and Michael Wacha (Texas A&M;). Meyer is a potential first-rounder this year, with Wacha as a potential early rounder eligible for the 2012 draft. A few brief notes on outfielders Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Nick Martini are also included.

Alex Meyer

If you have been following 5 Tool Talk long enough, you may remember my first-hand reports on Meyer from roughly this time a year ago. He is roughly the same pitcher, full of promise, but still in need of more polish. He has been enjoying more success this year, as his command has improved to the point where he has been at least effectively wild. The runs against him are down, and the strikeouts are way up. The walks continue to be a problem, but there is enough to like about him as is to warrant a first-round pick to obtain his talents.

He is who he has been for a while, as he continues to add strength to his super-tall frame. He has very long arms and legs, with room for more strength as he continues to mature.

His stuff is among the best of those eligible for this year’s draft, with a fastball that can approach triple digits and sits in the 93-95 range, frequently touching 96-97 in the early innings before dipping down to 92-94 later. His fastball has some really nice running and sinking life to it, to the point where it seems as though he doesn’t know where the pitch will end up. That leads to his wildness, as he reminded me a little of a young Kevin Brown prior to him gaining control on his sinking fastball.

Meyer’s slider is just as good of a pitch, and it is at its best when it explodes violently down and away from right-handed batters, and it approaches the upper-80s on occasion. He is able to take some off of the pitch to drop in more of a true curveball for strikes, but overall the pitch took him a little while to get a feel for to be a useful offering. Once he did settle down after a shaky first and second inning, he started to cruise a little, although he never was particularly efficient. He did last eight innings against South Carolina, although it did take him 127 pitches (72 for strikes) to do so.

His arm action is clean, with a low three quarters delivery. He had the tendency to overthrow at times, but he repeats his delivery well and is overall a good athlete. That is something I always look for when watching super-tall pitchers. He stayed composed on the mound for a pitcher that threw quite a few balls, especially early, and wasn’t afraid to throw more pitches knowing how good his raw stuff is.

Jackie Bradley, Jr.

While I focused on the two pitches written up in this notes feature, I did keep an eye on Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the batter’s box. What has impressed me the most watching him each of the last two weekends is his ability to hit good pitcher’s best stuff. Against Meyer he had an RBI single in the first in which he laced a low, outside fastball to the outfield. In the fifth he jumped on a hanging slider for a double down the right field line. He shows really good patience and bat control, and he isn’t afraid to hit with two strikes. I’m not sure about his overall future potential, as I think his power is limited and he’s best staying within himself as he did in this game, but he remains one of the more polished draft-eligible products out there.

Michael Wacha

Wacha is built a little like his rotation-mate, John Stilson, although he doesn’t have Stilson’s explosive stuff. While he is built tall, he isn’t particularly intimidating, at least not like Meyer is. He showed the ability to spot his fastball very well in the early innings grabbing the outside corners. He pitches over the top, pitches on the downward plane and overall does a good job keeping his pitches down in the zone, leading me to believe that he does a good job inducing groundballs. His fastball can be a little straight, but again, he keeps it down and spots it well. He threw a lot of fastballs, and mixed in a few changeups which showed nice darting and diving action, throwing that pitch with the exact same arm speed and delivery as his fastball. He started to throw more effective curveballs in the middle innings, but could stand to tighten up the pitch for sharper break. His arm angle is perfect for a true curve, and there is no reason to think he can’t improve this pitch with more experience. There was a little bit of Hudson Randall to him, working quickly, throwing strikes and maximizing his pitch counts.

Nick Martini

Martini went 0-for-4 in this game, but he did draw a walk, extending his on-base streak. He has a nice, athletic frame and shows a really good approach at the plate. In this game, he swung down on the ball with a swing tailored for contact. He is made for line drives, which limits his power potential, and his arm strength may restrict him to left field. He’s a good bet to hit and get on base at the next level, but he seems to be somewhat of a ‘tweener in the mold of someone like Jeremy Reed.

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Dandy Dozen

SP	Andrew Gagnon	Well rounded RHP w/ good size, repertoire
SP	Erik Johnson	Big bodied RHP with good FB/CB combo
SP	Deshorn Lake	Live-armed RHP with sharp breaking ball
CL	Nick Maronde	Lived-armed LHP tough to catch up to
C	Nick Delmonico	May not be C long-term, big body, LH bat
1B	Zach Wilson	Aggressive hitter can put sting in ball
IF	Sean Trent	Well built hitter with pop, speed, arm
3B	Dante Bichette, Jr.	Clone of father with big build, power
SS	Austin Nola	Steady D' at shortstop, improving strength
OF	Nick Martini	Good all around player with patient eye
OF	Shon Carson	Shorter, well built 2-sport speedster
OF	Granden Goetzman	Fast riser w/ exciting power/speed combo

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Analyzing Amateur Baseball Talent as it pertains to the MLB Draft