60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Matt Garza / RHP / starter

Garza has the stuff to be one of the next great starting pitchers in baseball. He’ll throw a hard fastball in the mid-90s to go with his two breaking balls. First, he has a plus slider in the mid-80s that gets good drop. It used to look like a hard curve but has become more of a true slider. Second, he’ll slow the breaking ball down considerably into the low to mid-70s, making a 12 to 6 curveball. Garza’s fourth pitch is an improving straight changeup in the low-80s.

Garza is a former Fresno State Bulldog and 1st round draft pick. He threw a no-hitter in 2010 while with the Rays. 5/3/11

[fastball(90-96), slider(84-89), curve(75-79), changeup(82-86)]

Carlos Marmol / RHP / closer

Since moving to Chicago's bullpen in 2007, Marmol has shown a dominant fastball/slider combination. His fastball has already lost some velocity but his slider still gets some incredible bite. After posting a SO/BB rate of 16.0 in 2010, Marmol's slider has to be rated as one of the top five single pitches in the game. He throws from a strange low-angle power position that makes his fastball appear to rise as it approaches home plate. Despite some brutal bouts of wildness, he is currently one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball. 5/18/11

[fastball(90-94), slider(78-87)]

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)]

Kerry Wood / RHP / setup reliever

Wood starts everything with his fastball. The pitch flies in the mid-90s and can dominate hitters. During his career, Kerry has tinkered with his breaking balls, varying their depth and speed. Since converting to a reliever, Wood has refined his curveball. He has made it into a hard, 1 to 7 hammer that misses bats, but also misses the strike zone. His most recent addition is his cutter, a pitch that spins around 88-92 mph. Wood will throw this pitch almost exclusively on the glove side of home plate. Kerry used to show a changeup as a starting pitcher, and still might have that offering available for a tough lefty.

Kerry Wood broke into the major leagues in 1998, struck out 20 Astros in one game, and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2003, Wood reached 1,000 strikeouts for his career and put together his best full season. Injuries started piling up quickly after that, and by 2007 the Cubs had converted Wood into a short reliever in order to minimize the workload on his arm. Wood's transition to late-inning reliever has been successful, but he still battles the injury bug. 8/12/11

[fastball(91-96), curve(75-79), cutter(87-93), changeup]

Travis Wood / LHP / starter

Wood is a young left-hander from Arkansas. He pitches with excellent control, spotting up his fastball and cutter. Travis' third pitch is a soft changeup. He can pitch effectively with just these three offerings, but he does have a standard curveball and slider. The curve is used as a change of pace and appears to be his fourth pitch. Wood will save his slider for a tough LH. 8/13/11

[fastball(85-91), cutter(84-87), changeup(77-79), curve(71-75), slider(82)]

Randy Wells / RHP / starter

Randy Wells tries to be a groundball pitcher. He short-arms a sinking fastball around 90 mph and cuts a tight slider away from RHs. He works the corners and gets himself in good fielding position. Wells will smother a sinking changeup to both LHs and RHs and uses an occasional cutter.

Wells is a converted catcher from Southwestern Illinois College. Despite being Cubs property the vast majority of his career, he made his major league debut as a Blue Jay. That one outing was enough to get him Rule 5'd back to the Cubs. 9/5/11

[2-seam fastball(87-92), slider(81-83), changeup(79-84), cutter(84-86)]

Jeff Samardzija / RHP / starter

Samardzija is a classic "tools" type prospect. He throws extremely hard and is very athletic. However, he hasn't produced positive results at any level of professional baseball. He can't throw strikes, and when he does, he gets rocked. It's hard for me to feel sorry for a Notre Damer, but it sure looks like he should have stuck with football.

Samardzija throws a mid-90s fastball that got him all the hype, an inconsistent splitter, and a sloppy slider. 6/12/11

[fastball(90-99), changeup(83-88), slider(83-88)]

Paul Maholm / LHP / starter

Maholm keeps it real simple. He throws the basic four pitches and tries to stay ahead of the hitters. His fastball gets some classic left-handed tailing action. Maholm's changeup is fairly hard, sometimes differing only a few mph from the fastball. Maholm will use his slider inside to RHs, attempting to bury it at their back ankle. His curveball is dropped in against any hitter.

Maholm has been an innings eater for the Pirates over the last few years, but that's about it. His stuff leaves a lot to be desired and despite some early season success in 2011, I don't see Maholm as part of the Pirates' long-term plan. 7/4/11

[fastball(82-89), changeup(79-83), curve(70-76), slider(79-84)]

Chris Volstad / RHP / starter

Volstad is a classic over-the-top fastball/curveball pitcher. He's a tall guy (6' 7") with long legs than perch him high above the batter. It appears as if he's throwing his fastballs straight down, which creates a poor hitting angle for batters. Add some good low-90s velocity to that, and Volstad becomes even tougher. Chris throws a few straight changeups as his third pitch. 8/1/09 CSJ

[fastball(89-94), curve(76-82), changeup(81-85)]

James Russell / LHP / reliever

Russell is a four-pitch left-hander from the University of Texas. He has been used as both a starter and reliever early in his career, with the results pretty easy to read…. he should stay in the bullpen. Russell failed to pitch five complete innings in any of his five 2011 starts, but his relief appearances have been much more promising.

Russell guns a fastball that flies around 90 mph. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot and spins off two different breaking balls. James shows a straight changeup as well. 8/5/11

[fastball(85-91), slider(88), changeup(81-83), curve(78-81)]

Manny Corpas / RHP / reliever

Corpas throws a moving fastball and a slider. He has a free and easy motion that allows his fastball to get good sink and tail. Manny will vary his slider velocities and tilt. Since he doesn't throw a changeup, Corpas will often backdoor the slider to LHs. It looks like Corpas' dominant 2007 might have been just a fluke. During the rest of his career, including the minor leagues, he's proven to be very hittable. 4/1/09 CSJ

[fastball(91-93), slider(79-82)]

Rodrigo Lopez / RHP / starter - reliever

Lopez was pitching pro ball in Mexico as a teenager when the Padres bought out his contract and sent him to Rookie ball. He ascended through the minors quickly, despite giving up lots of base hits along the way. He rookie season in Baltimore was magical, but it has been all downhill since then.

Rodrigo relies on movement to try and get his outs. He throws plenty of tailing 2-seam fastballs and numerous cut fastballs. Lopez' cutter is very subtle and it has always been his best pitch. Lopez also spins a standard slider and a sinking changeup. The change is firm, but when located it can lead to easy batted outs. Overall, Lopez suffers from what you might call, "hitability". 8/5/11

[2-seam fastball(84-90), cut fastball(84-89), slider(76-82), changeup(81-85)]

Marcos Mateo / RHP / reliever

Mateo zips a fastball that can reach the mid-90s and will spin plenty of sliders. His stuff has strikeout potential and the Dominican native could have a good future in late inning relief. 6/12/11

[fastball(91-97), slider(81-89)]