60ft6in – Pitcher Scouting Reports

Jhoulys Chacin / RHP / starter

Chacin has made himself into one of the top pitchers in baseball. He throws two distinct fastballs; a straight 4-seamer that touches 95 mph and a sinking 2-seamer that sits in the low-90s. His 2-seamer moves all over the place, sometimes even appearing to cut glove side. Chacin is known for his good changeup, a pitch that can dive under bats. Jhoulys’ fourth and fifth pitches are his breaking balls. He has tightened up his slider since his first MLB start and likes to pound in inside on LHs. Chacin’s curve gets good downward break.

I believe the Rockies have brought Chacin along properly. They gave him some time in a Major League bullpen before saddling him with the pressure of a big league starting job. 8/5/11

[4-seam fastball(93-96), 2-seam fastball(86-93), changeup(82-86), curve(76-80), slider(80-86)]

Jorge De La Rosa / LHP / starter

Jorge, from Monterrey, Mexico, is a four-pitch pitcher. His fastball looks good, especially coming from the left side. He mixes in slow curves, a sharper slider, and a splitter. His repertoire looks decent and when he's on, he can be dominant, but an overall lack of control has given him problems at the Major League level. 8/1/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-94), splitter(80-85), slider(82-88), curve(69-78)]

Rafael Betancourt / RHP / setup reliever

Betancourt is very deliberate on the mound. The time he takes to go from receiving his sign to coming set is notoriously long. Then, about 85% of the time he's just throwing a fastball anyway. He continually pounds the outside corner when facing LHs. His velocity is good, usually sitting in the low-90s. Betancourt's success may come from his maddening slow pace that lulls hitters to sleep. That, or his excellent control of the fastball. Betancourt will mix in a sinking changeup, usually to LHs only. He also has a hard biting curveball, usually thrown to RHs. 6/7/11

[fastball(89-94), changeup(82-87), curve(78-83)]

Matt Lindstrom / RHP / setup reliever

Lindstrom has a great arm. He has a fastball that can touch 100 mph and he has a big breaking slider to go with it. The former Mets farmhand has tried to learn a splitter and will mix those in occasionally. Lindstrom has been given a few chances to be a closer, but can't quite hold down the job. 6/7/11

[fastball(92-98), slider(80-86), splitter(85-89)]

Jason Hammel / RHP / starter

Cut from his high school varsity squad, he has certainly embarrassed that head coach. Hammel can bring low-90s heat with decent movement. His changeup looks like his next best offering, getting movement from his good arm action. Hammel throws two different breaking balls as well. He has a curveball that gets good 12 to 6 drop, but like many pitchers, he has a hard time controlling it. Lastly, Hammel's slider is used fairly often, but it doesn't appear to get very good bite. 4/29/08 CSJ

[fastball(89-93), changeup(83-84), curve(74-76), slider(81-85)]

Aaron Cook / RHP / starter

Cook has a decent sinking fastball and uses it about 75% of the time. He will consistently bore it low and in to RHs and sink it away from LHs. Cook has a slider that he'll change velocities with. He'll mix it in anywhere between the low to upper-80s. Cook also uses a slow curveball. Aaron will rarely use his changeup, and may not show it in a given start. 7/23/11

[fastball(85-90), slider(82-87), curve(72-75), changeup]

Matt Belisle / RHP / reliever

Belisle has made himself into a valuable relief pitcher. Matt whips a low-90s 4-seamer and two breaking balls. He appears to use the curve as his strikeout pitch, and use his slider to induce a weak out. Matt will throw a rare straight changeup. 7/23/11

[fastball(90-95), curve(75-77), slider(84-89), changeup]

Tyler Chatwood / RHP / starter

Drafted in the 2nd round out of high school in Redlands, CA, Chatwood progressed quickly through the Angels' system. Tyler proved to be a high WHIP pitcher in the minor leagues, mostly due to his high walk totals. However, his plus arm strength pushed him all the way to majors at just 21 years old.

Chatwood relies heavily on his 4-seam fastball, throwing it the vast majority of the time. He backs it up with a plus 12 to 6 curve and a straight changeup. Chatwood reminds me of Roy Oswalt. The two aren't mirror images of eachother, but they have similar builds and similar repertoires at this stage of their careers. Chatwood even uses a dramatic drop-and-drive delivery similar to Oswalt. At this early point in his career, Chatwood's stuff is already good enough to get major league hitters out, but his control issues may hold him back for a few years. 8/1/11

[fastball(90-96), curve(78-81), changeup(82-84)]

Rex Brothers / LHP / setup reliever

Brothers is a hard-thrower left-hander from Lipscomb University. He could be a closer in the future if he can harness some control. Brothers pops the glove at 95+ mph and cranks a good slider. I have not seen an off-speed pitch from Brothers. 7/23/11

[fastball(93-97), slider(84-87)]

Esmil Rogers / RHP / starter - reliever

Rogers is a skinny kid with a fluid delivery. He can crank his fastball into the mid-90s and snap off a good curveball. The Dominican native has shown a plus changeup at times, but has trouble consistently locating it. His fourth pitch is a standard slider. I don't see stardom in this kid's future. 5/14/11

[fastball(90-96), curve(76-83), changeup(81-87), slider(83-86)]

Matt Reynolds / LHP / reliever

Reynolds looks like he'll have a solid career as a lefty specialist. His minor league numbers are impressive and his breaking ball is already giving major league hitters problems. He's 6'5" and drops a sharp 80 mph curveball on LHs. Reynolds graduated from Austin Peay in 2007. 5/14/11

[fastball(87-91), curve(76-81), splitter(80-83), changeup]

Sean White / RHP / reliever

Sean White is a Washington kid. He was born in Pullman, went to U of W, and pitched for the Mariners. He's a career minor league starting pitcher that never fared that well in pro ball. However, since being moved to the bullpen in 2009, he's putting up numbers at the big league level. White owns a four-pitch starter's repertoire, relying heavily on his changeup. 6/5/09 CSJ

[fastball(92-95), changeup(83-86), curve, slider(88)]

Josh Outman / LHP / starter

Recently returned from TJ surgery, Outman still has some impressive stuff. He throws hard for a left-hander, dealing a fastball in the low to mid-90s. The fastball is fairly straight, but it sets up his sharp slider well. Outman's post-surgery changeup looks like a real weapon. It appears to die halfway to home plate and he's mixing up his velocities with it. He has also shown me a big hook that gets decent 11 to 5 movement. 7/4/11

[fastball(89-94), slider(79-81), changeup(74-83), curve(71-77)]

Jamie Moyer / LHP / starter

Moyer throws a four-pitch repertoire. He has a fastball/cutter combo that he'll use to any hitter, to either side of the plate. His velocity on these pitches sits around 80 mph. Moyer has a good changeup that he tries to locate down in the zone. His breaking ball is a curve that he spikes with his index finger. Basically, his stuff doesn't look any better than the pitches you see in your amateur Sunday league. However, the ancient pitcher has somehow enjoyed success where other old moundsmen have failed. 9/16/09 CSJ

[fastball(79-83), cutter(77-80), changeup(73-75), curve(67-71)]

Guillermo Moscoso / RHP / starter

[fastball(88-92), changeup(76-80), slider(78-80)]