60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Tim Hudson / RHP / starter

Since coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2009, Hudson has basically become a sinker / breaking ball guy. Hudson lives off of his 2-seamer, which is one of the best in the league. It’s a pitch he can duck under bats or paint corners with to set up his secondary pitches. Hudson will use a sharp cutter in the mid to upper-80s, a slider around 81 mph, and a standard curveball in the 70s. In 2011, Hudson’s signs from McCann were a ’3′ for the cutter, a ’2′ for the slider, and a ’2 wiggle’ for the curve. Hudson’s splitter, a pitch he used to be known for, is all but gone. It used to fly in the mid-80s with considerable sink. However, Tim is no longer pre-gripping a splitter and appears to only be throwing changeups when he goes off-speed.

Huddy was part of Oakland’s “Big Three”, back when he was helping the Athletics make the postseason on a regular basis. He has since survived Tommy John surgery to win the 2010 NL Comeback Player of the Year for the Braves.

As a collegian at Auburn, Hudson was named an All-American his senior year after going 15-2 on the mound and dropping 18 bombs as an outfielder. 10/23/11

[2-seam fastball(88-94), cutter(84-88), slider(80-82), curve(73-78), changeup(80-84), splitter]

Tommy Hanson / RHP / starter

Hanson, a 22nd round draft pick out of community college, has made himself into one of the top pitchers in baseball. He owns a running, low to mid-90s fastball that has proven to be a plus pitch. He'll try and locate the fastball on both sides of the plate in a given at-bat, unafraid to pitch inside. However, Hanson is best known for his breaking stuff. He throws a curveball that gets sharp downward break, and he shows a tendency to use this pitch against LHs. Against RHs, Tommy will tighten this pitch up just a bit, giving it more slider action. Both pitches get tons of movement and are swing-and-miss offerings. Hanson's fourth pitch is a changeup that he throws just a few times per outing. 4/15/11

[fastball(89-95), slider(78-84), curve(72-77), changeup(81-83)]

Jair Jurrjens / RHP / starter

Jurrjens has three basic pitches, but seems to get the most out of them. His fastball doesn't overpower anyone, but he's smart with location. His second pitch of choice is his changeup which gets good sinking action, making it difficult on LHs and RHs alike. He also has a big slider that he'll use to any hitter. Jurrjens cocks his hand funny at the bottom of his arm circle during the delivery of all his pitches. He can also speak English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamentu. 7/4/11

[fastball(87-95), changeup(79-84), slider(78-82)]

Craig Kimbrel / RHP / closer

Kimbrel has a smooth delivery that produces a dominant running fastball. He also has the ability to break off a slider that gets swings and misses. Missing bats is something Kimbrel did throughout his minor league career, to the tune of a 14.9 SO/9 ratio. Now a major league closer, Kimbrel is likely on his way to a Rookie of the Year Award. 8/14/11

[fastball(93-98), slider(85-89)]

Jonny Venters / LHP / setup reliever

Venters is already known for his insane sinking fastball. Jonny can survive simply by throwing this pitch low in the strike zone and watching batters swing over it. Unfortunately, all that movement has lead to bouts of wildness, yet overall he finished 2010 with a WHIP around 1.20. Venters' second pitch is a sharp slider that he'll use against LHs. I have also seen Venters use a changeup to RHs. 5/14/11

[fastball(91-96), slider(83-86), changeup]

Brandon Beachy / RHP / starter

Beachy's simple mechanics remind viewers of a dart thrower. He glides through his delivery before flicking the ball to the catcher. Brandon releases from 12 o'clock, which makes his fastball fly remarkably true. He gets plenty of swings and misses when his "rising" 4-seamer is up in the strike zone. Beachy has good control but average velocity. I believe that his #2 pitch is his changeup. The change gets good deception and plenty of separation (about 12 mph) from his fastball. The Indiana native rounds out his repertoire with a standard slider and 12 to 6 curve. He throws the slider often, although it looks like an easy pitch for batters to lay off. Beachy's curve is a slow, low-70s pitch, that can fool an unsuspecting batter.

Beachy was signed by the Braves after going undrafted in his junior year at Indiana Wesleyan University. An infielder and pitcher in college, the Braves put him on the mound for good. He bounced between minor league bullpen roles and starting assignments until 2010, when he simply dominated AA hitters just three years after signing. Now a full-time starter, Beachy was promoted to Atlanta that September. 1/21/12

[4-seam fastball(90-93), changeup(78-80), slider(80-84), curve(72-76)]

Eric O'Flaherty / LHP / setup reliever

O'Flaherty is a young left-hander that is trying to solidify himself as a late inning reliever. He pitches just over 90 mph with his fastball, and shows what looks like a deceptive changeup. Eric also deals a sharp slider that is becoming his favorite weapon. In the past, I seem to recall a big, slow curveball as well. O'Flaherty is from Walla Walla, Washington. 5/14/11

[fastball(89-92), changeup(81-85), slider(83-87), curve]

Mike Minor / LHP / starter

A 2009 1st round draft pick, Mike Minor dominated for three spring seasons at Vanderbilt before the Braves called his name. Then, Minor only made 25 minor league starts before getting his first shot at The Show.

Mike's repertoire looks like a good one, and somewhat similar to the Orioles' Brian Matusz. Minor adds and subtracts with a fastball that he throws to the corners. He backs that up with a solid changeup in the low-80s. A curveball rounds out this lefty's selection of pitches for now. 9/10/10 CSJ

[fastball(88-94), curve(76-81), changeup(80-84)]

Peter Moylan / RHP / reliever

Moylan is a sidearm pitcher from Australia. He throws a sweeping slider to go with a moving fastball. He shows abnormally high velocity for a sidewinder. Moylan figured out he could bring it as a sidearmer while playing in an Australian beer league. 4/15/11

[sidearm fastball(87-93), slider(76-82), changeup(80-83)]

Scott Linebrink / RHP / reliever

Linebrink is basically a fastball/splitter pitcher. The splitter seems to pop up out of his hand, floating and breaking glove side. This can make it appear to be a curveball at times, and/or dance strangely towards the plate. His fastball is extremely straight at 92 mph, but hitters have a tough time getting around on it. His other two pitches are a slider and changeup. His slider is in the upper-70s to low-80s and isn't nearly as sharp as it used to be. Linebrink's changeup sinks some but is fairly straight. 8/14/11

[fastball(91-95), splitter(80-84), changeup(81-84), slider]

Kris Medlen / RHP / starter-reliever

Medlen wasn't much of a prospect, until the spring of 2009, when he began the year by going 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA at AAA Gwinnett. The Braves called him up and he has since filled in at both starter and reliever.

Medlen uses a low-90s fastball to get ahead of hitters, then flips his 12 to 6 curveball that disappears off the plate, or runs his changeup away from LHs. 8/19/09 CSJ

[fastball(90-94), curve(78-81), changeup(80-83)]

Kenshin Kawakami / RHP / starter

Kawakami has been brought to Atlanta to help rebuild their starting rotation. He was a Japanese Central League veteran, and one of the best pitchers in Japan over the last six years. Kenshin owns what looks like a heavy 90 mph fastball that gets some sink. Kawakami uses a cutter often. Strangely, he prefers to backdoor the cutter to LHs, often with two strikes in an attempt to get backwards Ks. Kenshin's strikeout pitch is his splitter, a good change of pace that can duck under bats. Lastly, he'll mix in a very slow curveball around 70 mph. His only "plus" pitch appears to be the splitter, making him somewhat hittable. Kawakami does have excellent control though, and appears to be ahead of most hitters mentally. 5/26/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-93), cutter(86-89), splitter(83-86), curve(67-72)]

Buddy Carlyle / RHP / reliever

Buddy is a pitcher. He tries to spot fastballs, break off some spinners, and pull the string on hitters. His stuff is underwhelming, but can be effective at times. His fastball sits around 90 mph, flying fairly straight. He then uses a very tight slider away to RHs and inside on the hands of LHs. His changeup gets decent sink and he'll show the occasional 12 to 6er. 5/26/09 CSJ

[fastball(86-92), slider(83-87), changeup(79-83), curve(76)]

Cristhian Martinez / RHP / reliever

[fastball(90-92), changeup(82-86), slider(84)]

Adam Russell / RHP / reliever

[fastball(92-95), changeup(83), slider(81)]

Dusty Hughes / LHP / reliever

[fastball(87-93), slider(80-83), changeup(79-84), curve(69)]