60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Colby Lewis / RHP / starter

Lewis was a 1st round draft pick in 1999, but his career path since then certainly hasn’t been an easy one. Colby began his pro career by dominating minor league hitters and showing an ability to miss bats and log innings. However, the Major Leagues proved to be extremely difficult, and Lewis posted an incredible 7.30 ERA in 26 starts in 2003. I was in attendance in Anaheim for his last start of that season, when he won his 10th game and actually finished the season with a winning record despite that ghastly ERA. 2004 proved to be even worse however, as Lewis tore his rotator cuff after just three April starts. The Tigers gave him a shot at a comeback, but it wasn’t until his time with the A’s that Colby learned how to pitch. He dominated AAA in 2007, but didn’t do much to impress once called up to Oakland. That’s when Colby took his big chance and left for Japan. He earned a spot in the Hiroshima Carp rotation and made the most of it, leading the league in strikeouts in both ’08 and ’09. The Rangers gave him another shot in 2010 and he picked up right where he left off in Japan. Ironically, Lewis finished 2010 with a losing record despite pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 32 starts.

Lewis is a fastball/breaking ball pitcher. His standard strategy against RHs is to throw a fastball/slider combination. He’ll work both sides of the plate with the fastball and spin sliders away. Against LHs, Lewis will try and backdoor his curveball to get ahead, work the fastball, and then bury the curve at the hitter’s back ankle to finish him off. Colby owns a changeup as well, but rarely uses it. For example, in Game Six of the 2010 ALCS, Lewis threw just one changeup in his eight innings against the Yankees. 8/3/11

[fastball(85-92), slider(80-86), curve(73-79), change(80-84)]



Neftali Feliz / RHP / starter

As a rookie, Neftali Feliz was ranked as one of the best prospects in the game. And after watching the Dominican right-hander pitch in 2010, it was easy to see why.

He owns a fastball that touches 100 mph and can be unhittable. Neftali can also break off a pair of devastating breaking balls. He pitched with only a curveball in 2010, but has been tinkering with a slider in '11. Late in the season, it looks like Feliz has settled on a tight mid to upper-80s slide-piece and upper-70s curve. Feliz' fourth pitch is an upper-80s changeup that would pass as a good 2-seamer for most pitchers. Feliz is currently dominating out of the Texas bullpen, but could still be looked at as a future starting pitcher. 8/14/11

[4-seam fastball(93-100), curve(77-80), slider(85-87), changeup(87-89)]

Derek Holland / LHP / starter

Holland is a hard-throwing left-hander from Ohio. He was drafted out of community college in Alabama and put together two dominating minor league seasons before Baseball America named him Texas' second best prospect in 2009.

Holland has really picked up his velocity since 2011. He's consistently pumping his fastball between 92-96 mph nowadays and has become a winning pitcher for Texas. His fastball gets decent arm side run and he's unafraid to pitch inside. Derek backs that up with a slider that appears to get good sweeping action and a sinking changeup. Derek has gained confidence in his curveball as well and has become a four-pitch hurler. 5/15/12 CSJ

[fastball(91-96), curve(76-81), slider(85-86), changeup(84-88)]

Joe Nathan / RHP / closer

Nathan is a hard thrower from upstate New York. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and is unhittable at times. Nathan uses a tight slider that dives under bats. His third pitch is a hard 12 to 6 curveball. Nathan used to throw an occasional changeup, and may still mix that in. With this repertoire, Joe put together a string of seven incredibly dominant years in a row, until an elbow injury destroyed his entire 2010. 5/15/12 CSJ

[fastball(91-96), slider(87-88), curve, changeup]

Alexi Ogando / RHP / setup reliever

Ogando is quite a story. In 2004, Ogando ""married"" a Dominican woman so that she could gain entry into the United States. As part of this human trafficking scam, Ogando was to receive $3,000. Instead, the DHS got suspicious, questioned Ogando about it, he admitted everything, and was denied his U.S. visa,.... for 5 years. So, from 2005 through 2009, Ogando toiled in the Dominican Leagues while he waited for the year he'd be allowed to reenter the USA.

2010 was finally that year, and Ogando has took full advantage. He dominated AA and AAA, then earned the win in each of his first three appearances for the Rangers. Alexi is gifted with an arm that produces a fastball that can fly in the upper-90s, and that is all he really needs. Ogando will also spin a low-80s slider and a hard changeup.

Ogando never saw a penny of that $3,000 he was owed, but from now on he shouldn't have a problem providing for his family with his Major League salary. 5/15/12 CSJ

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

Mike Adams / RHP / setup reliever

Mike Adams continues to post ridiculously good numbers as a setup man. He owns a decent fastball, but his success comes from mixing in his plus breaking balls. I'll call his hard breaking ball a slider; it has high 80s velocity and can resemble a cutter at times. His slower breaking ball is about 80 mph and gets more downward break, I'll call it a curve. Adams appears to have improved his changeup since 2009, and is mixing in more and more of those. Adams is from Sinton, Texas. 5/15/12 CSJ

[fastball(91-92), slider(86-88), curve, changeup]

Matt Harrison / RHP / starter

Harrison is a big, hard throwing left-hander. His fastball sits in the low-90s and can get some sink. Despite the velocity, he's not overpowering. Harrison will mix in sharp sliders and straight changeups. He'll use his changeup to both RHs and LHs. As his curveball has improved, so has his overall effectiveness. Harrison has thrown a AA no-hitter and owns the distinction of being traded for Mark Teixeira. 8/14/11

[fastball(89-96), changeup(81-86), slider(85-88), curve(75-79)]

Koji Uehara / RHP / setup reliever

Uehara signed with Baltimore after spending the first ten years of his career with the Yomiuri Giants. He brings a good, moving fastball that he controls very well, hitting the black on both sides of the plate consistently. His best pitch looks like his splitter, a pitch that really dives just as it reaches home plate. Koji also owns two breaking pitches. His slider is very tight and he'll use it inside on LHs like a cutter. The curveball is unusually slow and used to break up a batters timing. 6/9/11

[fastball(86-91), splitter(78-82), slider(80-85), curve(65-69)]

Scott Feldman / RHP / starter - reliever

Feldman throws from a high 3/4 arm angle that creates some excellent movement on his 2-seam fastball. He learned a cutter a few years ago and is now throwing it at least as often as the 2-seam piece. Feldman is working with a splitter as his finishing pitch against LHs. It can look a little sliderish on tv, but it gets good sink and is slow enough to be a change of pace. Scott's fourth pitch is a 12 to 6 curveball that he'll break down and away from RHs.

Feldman broke into the majors as a sidearmer before remaking himself into the sinker/cutter guy he is today, so he's obviously going to do whatever it might take to stay in the big leagues. 9/30/11

[2-seam fastball(92-94), cutter(88-94), curve(76-80), splitter(84-88)]

Yoshinori Tateyama / RHP / reliever

Tateyama comes to the Rangers after a full career in the Japan Pacific League. Tateyama is a sidearmer with good control and maddening slow secondary pitches. Yoshinori likes to paint the corners with his 87 mph fastball. He'll back that up with a 70 mph sweeping slider and a dying 70 mph changeup. The former Ham Fighter has quickly proven his worth in the major leagues. 8/3/11

[sidearm fastball(86-90), slider(69-72), changeup(69-75)]

Mark Lowe / RHP / reliever

Mark Lowe is loaded with unfulfilled potential. The Texan is pumping his fastball in the mid to upper-90s, and breaking off devastating sliders. He looks like a bullpen force until he starts walking the park and hitters start to sit on his fastball. Lowe will use a sinking changeup as his third option. 6/24/11

[fastball(93-100), changeup(86-90), slider(85-88)]

Zach Jackson / LHP / reliever

Jackson is a former 1st round pick that has become a fringe major leaguer. He has an awkward looking low angle delivery that doesn't take advantage of his 6' 5" frame. Jackson's fastball flies around 90 mph with standard movement from a left-hander. He'll mix in two different breaking pitches and show RHs a changeup. 5/5/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-91), curve(77), slider(87), changeup]

Brett Tomko / RHP / starter - reliever

Tomko has always been a hard thrower, but has never been able to figure it out on the mound. He owns a low to mid-90s fastball that gets some running action. He follows it up with a standard slider and sinking changeup. Tomko's fourth pitch is a 12 to 6 curveball. He may still tinker with his old split-finger pitch. In the end, Tomko looks like he should rack up Ks, but usually ends up piling on extra baserunners. 5/27/09 CSJ

[fastball(92-96), slider(84-88), changeup(84-87), curve(76-78), splitter]

Brandon Webb / RHP / starter

Webb gets the most out of his pitches. He pounds his sinking fastball low in the zone, inducing numerous groundballs. He occasionally mixes in curveballs that he'll vary the velocity on. Webb's changeup has become a dominant pitch. He'll throw it often to both LHs and RHs, who can't touch it. The change acts much like his sinker, but at 10-12 mph slower. In 2008, Webb has added a tight slider that he'll use inside on LHs a few times a game. On a side note, Webb once comped me tickets to a game at Wrigley Field. 10/23/08 CSJ

[sinker(86-91), changeup(76-81), curve(71-74), slider(83-85)]

Michael Gonzalez / LHP / reliever

Gonzalez has been fighting injuries and inconsistency his whole career. In 2011, you can expect to see a low-90s fastball that he likes to throw on the inner half. Gonzalez will also sweep an 80 mph slider across the plate. His small bag of tricks also includes a soft changeup that he can't throw for a strike. Gonzalez uses a signature rocking motion before beginning his windup. 5/15/11

[fastball(87-92), slider(77-85), changeup(79-85)]

Greg Reynolds / RHP / starter - reliever

A #2 overall draft pick out of Stanford, Reynolds holds large expectations, but looks a little short on stuff. He deals a sinking fastball in the low-90s that he moves in and out. His breaking ball is a 'spiked' curve, and he floats in a sinking changeup to LHs. His stuff looks underwhelming and his minor and major league numbers do not point to stardom either. 6/23/08 CSJ

[fastball(86-93), curve(77-82), changeup(80-84)]

Mitch Stetter / LHP / reliever

Stetter a classic left-handed specialist. He throws from a low arm angle, making for an uncomfortable at-bat for LH hitters. He mixes his pitches between fastball and sweeping slider. 4/15/11

[fastball(81-86), slider(74-80)]

Sean Green / RHP / reliever

Green throws from a very low 3/4 arm angle, giving his fastball some good sinking action. He has a slow, sweeping slider for his breaking pitch and will mix in a sinking changeup as his third pitch. He throws lots of balls and allows lots of baserunners. Don't expect much. 5/3/11 CSJ

[sidearm fastball(82-87), slider(69-75), changeup]

Michael Kirkman / LHP / starter - reliever

[fastball(90-95), slider(80-82)]