60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

John Danks / LHP / starter

Danks has made himself into a Mark Buehrle type pitcher. Meaning, he gets ahead with his fastball, and mixes in lots of cutters to break bats and induce easy outs. Danks uses a straight changeup as his third pitch, another Buerhle special. A curveball rounds out this Texan’s repertoire. 9/10/10 CSJ

[fastball(87-94), cutter(85-88), changeup(80-84), curve(75-79)]

Matt Thornton / LHP / setup reliever

Thornton throws hard for a left-hander. He owns a 95 mph fastball that can miss bats. His slider is a good pitch that he'll use almost always to his glove side of the plate, meaning inside on RHs and away from LHs. Thornton's offspeed pitch is a split-finger offering that looks like a hard changeup. 10/23/08 CSJ

[fastball(94-98), slider(83-90), split(89)]

Chris Sale / LHP / setup reliever

Sale is a lanky left-hander from Lakeland, Florida. Chris was a 1st round pick in 2010 and was in the Chicago bullpen by August of that same year. His delivery is all arms and legs before his 6' 6" body whips an upper-90s fastball towards the plate. Sale also throws a slider that can sweep across the plate and a firm changeup. All of his pitches come out of a low 3/4 arm slot. 8/12/11

[fastball(96-98), slider(82), changeup(87-88)]

Gavin Floyd / RHP / starter

A complete Phillies bust, Floyd is making an impact with the White Sox. His stuff looks much improved from his early days in Philly. His fastball bores in on RHs around 90 mph. He throws a tight slider that has a tendency to back up, so much so that at times is can look like a splitter or changeup. Floyd throws a curveball that looks like a good pitch, but difficult to control. Lastly, he throws a changeup to LHs on occasion. 10/23/08 CSJ

[fastball(87-93), slider(83-87), curve(71-79), changeup(80-81)]

Phil Humber / RHP / starter

Humber was part of Rice University's triumvirate of pitchers drafted within the first eight picks of the 2004 draft. Humber was selected by the Mets with the 3rd pick, just after Justin Verlander. Humber never lived up to the hype in the Mets system, as he was dogged by TJ surgery and shoulder issues. Now, as a member of Ozzie Guillen's White Sox, Humber is thriving in his first real shot as a major league starting pitcher.

On the mound, Humber throws a hard, sinking 2-seamer out of a high 3/4 arm angle. The Texan throws lots of strikes and puts the ball in play. If he gets ahead of hitters, Humber can put them away with his excellent 12 to 6 curveball. He also owns a sinking changeup and a slider that he can spin away from RHs. 8/12/11

[fastball(88-93), curve(78-82), changeup(82-85), slider(84-86)]

Jesse Crain / RHP / reliever

Crain has survived some injuries, but always comes back with the same great stuff. His Canadian fastball explodes on hitters and his curveball breaks down and hard. Crain's third pitch is a very tight slider that can touch 90 mph. 9/22/11

[fastball(93-95), curve(74-78), slider(86-89)]

Jake Peavy / RHP / starter

Peavy is known for his excellent slider nowadays, and he throws many of them. He'll vary the pitch anywhere in the 80-89 mph range, varying the tilt as well. His fastball is hard and gets good tailing action, boring in on RHs. Peavy was known for his excellent changeup in the minor leagues, and was a fastball/changeup pitcher when he first arrived in San Diego. Now, he only mixes those in to get a timing advantage on hitters, but it's still a great pitch with excellent sink. Peavy's fourth pitch is a curveball, and again it's a pitch he'll vary the speed on. 8/5/09 CSJ

[fastball(89-95), slider(80-88), changeup(81-86), curve(70-79)]

Will Ohman / LHP / reliever

Ohman's best pitch is his slider, and he'll throw it often. His fastball is very straight and he will mix in a few changeups to RHs. Ohman is one of those guys that is used to get out a LH hitter or mop up an inning or two. 9/22/11

[fastball(90-91), slider(81-83), changeup(80-82)]

Tony Pena / RHP / reliever

Pena throws hard and can be tough to hit. His fastball sits in the low to mid-90s, rising in the strike zone. Unfortunately, his secondary pitches appear to be very inconsistent. He tries to dive his slider at LHs ankles and away from RHs, but the pitch often floats to home plate, just spinning in the hitting zone. Tony (Ramon) also throws a palmball changeup that flies fairly straight. 9/10/10 CSJ

[fastball(91-96), slider(77-86), changeup(79-84)]

Brian Bruney / RHP / reliever

Bruney is simply a fastball/slider guy. He has very good velocity on his fastball, and mixes in a hard, tight slider. He'll use the slider away to RHs and bust it inside on LHs, much like a cutter. If Bruney tries a changeup, it's exclusively away to LHs. His stuff looks great, but his career has been up and down and he never reached his scouts-eye projection of being a dominant closer. 8/18/09 CSJ

[fastball(92-98), slider(85-90), change(88-89)]

Scott Olsen / LHP / starter

The "hot-headed" Scott Olsen is often seen pitching with an ice-water soaked hat. He has a very tight slider that doesn't appear to break much, if at all. His fastball is a decent pitch when he moves it inside and outside to hitters. Olsen also throws a straight changeup. His changeup used to be a distant third pitch in his repertoire, but he now seems to command it decently and will often mix it in against RHs. 4/6/09 CSJ

[fastball(85-91), slider(78-86), changeup(81-85)]