60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Ryan Dempster / RHP / starter

Dempster made an amazing transition from average closer to above average starting pitcher in 2008. He still throws the same repertoire of fastball, slider, and splitter, but the results have changed somehow. His fastball may be getting more movement nowadays, and his out-pitch, the splitter, looks like a better pitch. Or maybe it’s his new glove wiggle-twitch thing he’s doing in his windup that is creeping out batters.

Legend also says that as a kid in British Columbia, Dempster commuted over an hour each way, including a 40 minute ferry ride, every day, to play high school baseball. 8/12/11

[fastball(87-93), slider(83-88), splitter(80-83)]

Jon Lester / LHP / starter

Lester, the cancer surviving left-hander from Tacoma, already owns a no-hitter. He deals a low to mid-90s fastball and a high 80s cutter. His fastball gets some tail and sink, but it's the velocity from the left side that makes the pitch tough to hit. His second pitch is the cutter, a very tight breaking ball that he deals inside on RHs and sometimes away from LHs. Lester throws a big "Uncle Charlie" curveball that can miss bats. His fourth pitch is a changeup that he still doesn't command very well. Lester prefers to work everything to his glove side of home plate. 9/7/11

[fastball(90-96), cutter(85-91), curve(75-80), changeup(82-85)]

Clay Buchholz / RHP / starter

Buchholz realized his 1st round draft pick potential in 2010, and I believe a subtle change to his repertoire was the reason. He altered his slider by ratcheting up the velocity and turning it into a darting cutter. It also doesn't hurt that his velocity seemed to improve all-around. His fastball routinely hit 95-96 mph and his 12 to 6 curveball became an 80 mph pitch. Clay's changeup gets good deception and sinks hard when he keeps it down. When thrown to his glove side, the changeup will cut on him. Unlike the majority of pitchers, Buchholz appears to use his entire repertoire for all batters. For example, he often sinks changeups to RHs and frontdoors them with his cutter.

Buchholz grew up in Texas and earned a scholarship to McNeese State in Louisiana. After getting busted for stealing laptop computers from his hometown elementary school, he was dismissed from his college team. You live, you learn. Buchholz supposedly realized his mistakes and enrolled at Angelina Community College in Lufkin, Texas, where he became a 1st round draft pick. His major league career already includes a no-hitter, model girlfriends, and an All-Star selection. 5/27/11

[4-seam fastball(90-98), changeup(78-83), cutter(88-95), curve(75-82)]

Andrew Bailey / RHP / closer

Bailey burst onto the scene in 2009 by first winning the closer job in Oakland, and then winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He throws a hard, heavy, 4-seam fastball that can be difficult to hit. Once ahead of hitters, he deals a 12 to 6 curveball that gets plenty of swings and misses. Bailey also owns a good, tight cutter and a rarely thrown changeup. Bailey is a New Jersey kid who pitched four years at Wagner College before being drafted by Oakland in 2006. 8/13/11

[fastball(92-95), curve(74-79), cutter(85-91), changeup(87)]

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)]

Franklin Morales / LHP / reliever

Morales has an excellent arm and piles up Ks everywhere he goes. His control appears to be improving, as he has cut down his walk rate significantly since joining the Red Sox.

Morales uses an old school repertoire of fastball, curve, and splitter. He can bring 95 mph heat with the fastball and break off sharp 11 to 5 curveballs. The split flies fairly straight without the expected drop, but it can get good deception. 7/23/12 CSJ

[fastball(91-95), curve(72), splitter(82-85)]

Craig Breslow / LHP / reliever

Breslow throws a 90 mph fastball and an upper-80s cutter. His four-pitch repertoire includes a sweeping curve and a changeup. Breslow seems equally effective against LHs and RHs. The former Yale Bulldog has been called the smartest athlete by the Sporting News thanks to his degree in molecular biophysics. 6/22/12 CSJ

[fastball(90-93), cutter(84-87), curve(78), changeup(77-78)]

Daniel Bard / RHP / reliever

Bard's delivery has an uncanny resemblance to Brandon Morrow's, and both pitchers seem to be dealing the same type of stuff. Bard is firing a mid-90s fastball that shot him through the Red Sox system. He has also shown a low-80s, 12 to 6 curveball, that looks like a dominant strikeout pitch.

Bard pitched for the University of North Carolina, where he joined Andrew Miller at the top of the rotation, to form one of the best starting pitching duos in the country. 5/27/11

[fastball(96-99), curve(81-86), changeup(90-93)]

Pedro Beato / RHP / setup reliever

Beato is a converted starter and Rule 5 pick from the Orioles. Pedro owns two distinct, and good, fastballs. He throws a sinking 2-seamer in the low-90s and can pump straight 4-seamers up in the strike zone. Beato also spins a sharp slider, biting curve, and changeup. The former 1st round pick was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Brooklyn. 7/4/11

[2-seam fastball(90-93), 4-seam fastball(93-95), curve(77-83), slider(85-88), changeup(84-86)]

John Lackey / RHP / starter

Lackey has made himself into one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball, piling up innings by pitching deep into games. He uses a sinking 2-seamer and a rising 4-seamer with good control. His breaking balls are his bread and butter though. He'll throw lots of curveballs in the low-80s; a hard downward breaking pitch that gets swings and misses. John's slider usually sits in the mid-80s, but the two breaking balls tend to blend together at times since he'll vary both of them. Lackey will use a few changeups per game to keep LHs honest. Lackey is also a member of baseball's "All-Ugly" team. 3/6/09 CSJ

[fastball(87-94), slider(82-84), curve(76-83), changeup(82-86)]

Junichi Tazawa / RHP / reliever

Tazawa owns a solid but unspectacular repertoire. He deals a moving fastball in the low-90s, mixes in plenty of breaking balls, and like most Japanese pitches, uses a splitter for his off-speed pitch. Junichi is still young, has a new elbow, and has pitched very well in the minor leagues. 7/23/12 CSJ

[fastball(91-93), curve(80), splitter(38-88)]

Alfredo Aceves / RHP / closer

Despite limited Major League experience, Aceves is a Mexican League veteran, and looks like a polished pitcher. He moved through the Yankees' minor league system in just one season, and pitched well through the end of '09. His stuff isn't overpowering, but he definitely knows what he's doing. His fastball in a low-90s pitch that gets a little sink. He'll follow that up with an effective cutter thrown to both LHs and away from RHs. Aceves has a straight changeup that looks hittable and a curveball that gets good bite. 7/31/09 CSJ

[fastball(90-93), cutter(87-90), changeup(82-85), curve(77-81)]

Andrew Miller / LHP / reliever

Touted as the next Randy Johnson, Miller seems to have lost much of the college velocity that brought him that hype. However, he can still bring his fastball in the low-90s, which can be real tough against LHs. Miller isn't afraid to pitch inside, routinely pounding his fastball in on batters' hands, and even following it up with an inside changeup. His breaking ball is a sweeping curve. Miller has struggled in the Majors so far, but may be finding a role in the bullpen in 2012. 7/23/12 CSJ

[fastball(87-93), curve(82), changeup(83-85)]

Clayton Mortensen / RHP / starter - reliever

[2-seam fastball(85-88), slider(79-82), changeup(78-81)