60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Brian Matusz / LHP / starter

Matusz, a left-hander, was the fourth overall selection in the 2008 amateur draft. He signed late, and didn’t make his first professional appearance until 2009. Matusz then reached the major leagues after just 19 minor league starts. He’s young, and he looks younger, staring at home plate from underneath his flat-brimmed O’s hat.

Matusz shot through the Orioles system with a low to mid-90s fastball. However, his heater has really fallen off in 2011 and it barely touches 90 mph nowadays. He attempts to work the corners with this pitch, including inside to RHs.

Matusz seems to use his changeup as his second pitch. It travels with the same movement of his fastball, just a few mph slower. He has decent control of the changeup, meaning he can throw it for strikes. However, he hasn’t shown the plus control needed to hit the corners consistently. The pitch has been left over the heart of the plate too often.

Matusz’ third and fourth pitches are his slider and curveball. The slider looks like a plus strikeout pitch. He throws it in the low-80s consistently, but can bust it inside on RHs at 84 mph when going for the swing and miss. Brian has used his curveball as a change of pace pitch.

In 2011, Matusz battled finger and oblique issues and has now spent much of the season at AAA. 9/7/11

[fastball(86-90), changeup(81-84), slider(81-84), curve(74-75)]



Jeremy Guthrie / RHP / starter

Guthrie has good command of his four pitches. He can paint the corners with a fastball that bores in on RHs or he can also throw a 4-seamer that seems to cut in on LHs. He likes to mix his fastballs with a good straight changeup that deceives hitters. For breaking pitches, he'll drop in slow curves in the low-70s and a standard slider. The former Stanford Cardinal can maintain his velocity deep into games, and had made himself into a reliable major league starter. 6/24/11

[fastball(89-97), changeup(83-88), curve(71-76), slider(81-87)]

Zach Britton / LHP / starter

Britton comes to the Orioles as a 3rd round draft pick out of Texas' Weatherford High School. The left-hander has steadily climbed the prospect lists as he improved during each of his five minor league seasons.

Britton's success starts with his excellent sinking fastball. He throws his 2-seamer in the low-90s and gets significant arm side drop, but when thrown to his glove side it flattens out. Zach also spins a plus mid-80s slider and a fading changeup. He'll throw the slider to LHs and RHs, going strictly glove side with it. Britton saves the changeup for RHs and isn't afraid to throw it on back-to-back pitches. 7/4/11

[2-seam fastball(89-94), slider(82-86), changeup(84-87)]

Kevin Gregg / RHP / closer

Gregg has shown a variety of pitches in a variety of different roles throughout his career. He has a good straight fastball in the low-90s and a power curveball. He throws a splitter as his primary offspeed pitch. Sometimes the splitter dives, and sometimes it acts like a straight changeup. To add to the confusion, Gregg also occasionally throws a true changeup that he turns over, making it sink and look like a 2-seamer. Gregg appears to have brought back his old slider/cutter pitch at some point in 2009, spinning those in around the upper-80s. 6/9/11

[fastball(90-95), curve(79-83), splitter(83-87), slider(85-90), changeup(86)]

Jake Arrieta / RHP / starter

Like most young pitchers, Arrieta is a fastball/breaking ball guy. The former Horned Frog owns a strong low to mid-90s fastball that makes him a tough at bat. Arrieta's power curve and tight slider both have the potential to be plus pitches. Jake's fourth offering is his sinking changeup.

Arrieta was drafted three times before he finally signed with the Orioles in 2007, receiving a $1.1M signing bonus. 6/9/11

[fastball(91-95), curve(76-80), slider(85-89), changeup(86-89)]

Tommy Hunter / RHP / starter

Hunter is a big man. He muscles a fastball that can touch 95 mph, but he usually pitches in the low-90s. Tommy's primary weapon is his cutter. He can dart this pitch inside on the bat handle of LHs, or get some weak contact out of swinging RHs. Hunter also throws a hard curveball that he'll vary the velocity and tilt with. Hunter will throw a changeup to try and keep batters honest, but it's just a show pitch.

Hunter was a supplemental first round draft pick in 2007 out of the University of Alabama. He then rose through the minor league ranks quickly by showing good control at every level.

Little Tommy won back-to-back Junior Olympic judo championships when he was 11 and 12 years old. Hunter then went on to play for USA Baseball in 2006, where he won yet another international championship. 8/14/11

[fastball(90-95), cutter(88-91), curve(76-83), changeup(85-86)]

Justin Duchscherer / RHP / starter

Duchscherer is a breaking ball pitcher. He throws tons of sliders to all batters and all parts of the plate. He routinely attempts to backdoor LHs with it and even frontdoor RHs. As a reliever this pitch was slightly tighter and more like a cutter. Duchscherer also throws a big curveball that can work because it is so much slower than his other pitches. His fastball is only around 85 mph nowadays, but he can run it arm side with excellent command. 8/11/08 CSJ

[fastball(84-88), slider(78-82), curve(66-70), changeup]

Jim Johnson / RHP / reliever

Jim Johnson throws a low-90s fastball out of an awkward snapping action of his right arm. He seems to spot the pitch well, and has found a way to make the fastball move a ton. Johnson's changeup has become his best secondary pitch. Big Jim can make the changeup dive like a splitter and will make hitters look foolish when it's going well. Johnson has a big breaking curveball as his third pitch and he's become a good option out of the Baltimore bullpen. 6/9/11

[fastball(93-98), curve(77-82), changeup(85-89)]

Chris Tillman / RHP / starter

Tillman, one of the players the Orioles received in the Erik Bedard deal, has reached the majors at only 21 years old. He's a former 2nd round draft pick out of high school, who has the classic pitcher's body. He's tall, thin, and throws a good fastball directly over-the-top. He can reach the mid to upper-90s with it, however, it looks extremely flat. Tillman is known for his curveball, a 12 to 6 pitch that can be tough to make contact with. In his first major league start, he surprisingly showed a good straight changeup. 8/1/09 CSJ

[fastball(90-96), curve(77-81), changeup(79-83)]

Alfredo Simon / RHP / starter - reliever

Simon, unleashing a 4-seam fastball

Simon is a tall right-hander from the Dominican Republic. He owns a straight fastball that consistently flies in the low to mid-90s. He'll follow that up with a big hook and a tricky splitter. His stuff looks good at first glance, until he starts rolling his curveball up there and his fastball flattens out. Known as "Shutdown Sauce", Simon also spins a tight upper-80s slide-piece. His peripheral statistics don't project much success in the big leagues but his arm is still promising.

On January 3, 2011, Simon surrendered himself to Dominican police to face charges of involuntary manslaughter in a fatal New Year's Eve shooting. He finally returned to the Orioles on May 24th. 7/4/11

[fastball(92-96), curveball(77-82), splitter(81-88), slider(88-91)]

Pedro Strop / RHP / reliever

Strop is a hard-throwing Dominican who is constantly battling his control as much as he battles the hitters. His stuff is excellent, he tops out in the upper-90s and has a biting slider. His minor league career began as a weak hitting infielder before making the switch to the mound. 5/14/11

[fastball(94-96), slider(81-82)]

Darren O'Day / RHP / reliever

O'Day deals a moving fastball and slider, both from a 1/2 arm angle. The velocity on his fastball is lacking, but it's the sidearm motion that creates enough deception to get outs. His slider seems surprisingly flat compared to other sidewinders. 8/19/09 CSJ

[sidearm fastball(83-88), slider(75-79), changeup]

Brad Bergesen / RHP / starter - reliever

Bergesen slings his pitches across his body with a low release angle, creating arm side movement on his fastball. He won't overpower anyone, touching 90 mph at times. Brad's slider gets decent sweeping action, but doesn't seem to fool many hitters. His third pitch is a firm changeup.

Bergesen has never been the same since he hurt his throwing shoulder while filming an Orioles promo commercial. 8/4/11

[fastball(86-92), slider(80-85), changeup(79-83)]

Rick VandenHurk / RHP / starter - reliever

Henricus VandenHurk is a hard thrower, getting good velocity on a fastball that usually flies very straight. Rick has refined his breaking pitches, and developed a good downward breaking slider. This replaces his old 12 to 6 curveball that proved to be too slow and lack sharp break. To mix it up, the Dutchman with throw a straight changeup. Overall his repertoire looks pretty good, but the results have varied. 9/10/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-94), slider(79-83), changeup(81-84), curve(66)]

Jason Berken / RHP / reliever

Berken has a fairly standard repertoire for a right-hander. He owns a 90 mph fastball and an 80 mph changeup. He'll also mix in standard curves and sliders. Jason pitched collegiately for Clemson University. He has shown decent control in pro ball, but has trouble missing bats at the major league level. 9/20/11

[fastball(91-94), slider(83-85), changeup, curve]

Clay Rapada / LHP / reliever

Rapada is all about deception. He has a strange, jerking delivery, and zips the ball up to the plate from a very low 3/4. His fastball sinks and his slider sweeps. Rapada looks like he could be deadly against LHs. 7/4/11

[fastball(84-87), slider(73-80), changeup]

Mark Hendrickson / LHP / reliever

Hendrickson is a former NBA player from Mount Vernon, Washington. After 114 career basketball games, Hendrickson decided to give up the sport to concentrate on baseball. He has proven to be less than dominant in both sports, but has stuck around the Major Leagues.

Hendrickson's fastball is in the upper-80s and fairly straight. Hendrickson mixes in a baby hook of a curveball and a hard changeup. His changeup doesn't vary enough in velocity from his fastball to be consistently effective. Hendrickson's best weapon however, may be his cutter, a pitch he'll work on his glove side of the plate. 6/9/09 CSJ

[fastball(87-91), curve(71-76), change(82-84), cutter(85-87)]

Josh Rupe / RHP / reliever

Rupe throws a moving 2-seamer with good velocity. His fastball actually gets so much movement, it looks like he has a hard time controlling its flight. Josh Rupe has also shown me a downward breaking slider and a soft changeup. 8/6/08 CSJ

[2-seam fastball(89-95), slider(82-87), changeup(80-81)]

David Riske / RHP / reliever

Riske is a fastball/splitter pitcher. He has lost quite a bit of velocity over the last few years and now throws his straight fastball in the upper-80s. His split can sometimes float in towards the plate like a changeup, or sometimes get the desired drop. He used to throw sliders, and still may mix in a few. 4/15/08 CSJ

[fastball(84-86), splitter(77-78), slider]

Pedro Viola / LHP / reliever

Viola is a lefty out of the mold of Rafael Perez. His stuff doesn't look dominating, but his fastball seems to jump on hitters. Viola's breaking pitch is a fairly standard slider that he will need to continue to work on. 4/1/09 CSJ

[fastball, slider]

Willie Eyre / RHP / reliever

Willie is a Tommy John survivor and fringe major leaguer. His fastball gets some uncontrollable cutting action at times and he mixes in a standard slider and curve. 9/7/11

[fastball(88-93), slider(81-86), curve(76-77)]

Dana Eveland / LHP / starter - reliever

Eveland, drafted out of the College of the Canyons, rose through Milwaukee's minor league system quickly, reaching the major leagues at age 21. Unfortunately, his stuff doesn't look much better than the average left-hander. He throws an upper-80s fastball that touches 90 mph at times, nothing overpowering. Dana's best offering appears to be his slider, a pitch that bites down and hard and can miss bats. He'll usually work with just those two pitches, but can also show a straight changeup and slow curve. 4/29/09 CSJ

[fastball(87-90), slider(80-84), changeup(82-84), curve(75-79)]

Armando Galarraga / RHP / starter

Galarraga has decent stuff but has had an up-and-down career so far. He burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning 13 games with an ERA of 3.73 for the Tigers. He got bombed in 2009 and threw a perfect game in 2010. All this led to him eventually being traded out of Detroit for a pair of minor leaguers.

Armando comes after hitters from various arm angles. He slings his sinking fastball and slider low in the strikezone in an attempt to work efficiently. Galarraga seldom uses his changeup. 4/13/11

[2-seam fastball(87-95), slider(82-90), changeup(81-85)]

Troy Patton / LHP / reliever

[fastball(89-91), changeup(79-82), slider(80-82), curve(74)]

Zach Phillips / LHP / reliever

[fastball(89-92), changeup(81-82), slider(79)]