|
Carlos Zambrano, RHP, starter
Sponsor this player for $50/year
Zambrano is a circus. He throws tons of fastballs with varying degrees of movement. His 2-seamers will run towards his arm-side and his 4-seamers will stay somewhat straight. He'll also mix in lots of cut fastballs that he'll throw to any batter, to either side of the plate. Carlos has a standard slider that appears to just spin up to the plate when he's throwing poorly. Zambrano starts each delivery by pre-gripping a splitter while looking for the signs. Like most splitters, his will dive when he keeps it down, or float like a changeup when he leaves it up. Lastly, he'll throw a very slow lob for a curveball on occasion. 9/10/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-96), cutter(87-92), splitter(82-87), slider(80-85), curve(66-73)
|
Carlos Marmol, RHP, closer
Sponsor this player for $40/year
Since moving to Chicago's bullpen in 2007, Marmol has shown a dominant fastball/slider combination. His fastball has good velocity and his slider gets very good bite. 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 setup men in baseball. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(93-97), slider(81-86)
|
Kevin Gregg, RHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $25/year
Gregg has shown a variety of pitches in a variety of different roles throughout his career. He has a good straight fastball in the low 90s and a power curveball. He throws a splitter as his primary off-speed pitch. Sometimes the splitter dives, and sometimes it acts like a straight changeup. To add to the confusion, Gregg also occasionally throws a true changeup that he turns over, making it sink and look like a 2-seamer. Gregg appears to have brought back his old slider/cutter pitch at some point in 2009, spinning those in around the upper 80s. 9/10/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-95), curve(79-83), splitter(83-87), slider(85-90), change(86)
|
John Grabow, LHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Grabow throws a good fastball that can reach the low 90s. From the left side, that looks like real smoke coming out of the bullpen. He uses his changeup to both RHs and LHs. The changeup is fairly straight, but he gets deception with his good arm action. He has what looks like a sharp slider, but he still prefers his changeup as his secondary pitch. 9/10/09 CSJ
*fastball(88-92), changeup(81-85), slider(83-86)
|
Aaron Heilman, RHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $25/year
Heilman features his changeup as his out pitch. The changeup tails and sinks towards his arm side, similar movement to his low-90s fastball. Heilman threw a slider when he was a starter, and brought back a tight version of that pitch in 2008. He sweeps the slider away to RHs or tightens in up inside to LHs like a cutter. However, the fastball may be Aaron's best pitch. He can bring it in the mid-90s with tons of movement. With the sinking changeup in the back of their minds, hitters are often blown away by the heater. Heilman had trouble with his command in 2008, and a 5.21 ERA and eight losses was the result. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(91-96), changeup(81-87), slider(82-87)
|
Tom Gorzelanny, LHP, starter
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Gorzelanny has good fastball velocity for a lefthander, around 90 MPH. He uses his changeup often, to both RHs and LHs as well. The changeup is hard, usually in the low-80s, and fairly straight. Tom will then mix two different breaking balls, a loopy curve and a tight slider. He'll vary the velocity and tilt on his curveball anywhere in the 70s. Gonzo will rarely use his tight slider. 7/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(87-92), changeup(81-85), curve(71-78), slider(83)
|
Neal Cotts, LHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Cotts always seems to be tinkering with his repertoire. He has the ability to be a four-pitch pitcher due to his minor league days as a starter. He deals a fastball that gets good velocity, touching the mid-90s at times. Cotts has developed a tight slider that he'll throw often in his current role of lefthanded specialist. He used to be known as a fastball/changeup pitcher, and will still throw that changeup occasionally, along with his slow mid-70s curveball. 4/9/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-94), slider(86-88), changeup(82), curve(75-76)
|
|
Ryan Dempster, RHP, starter
Sponsor this player for $40/year
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 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. 8/18/09 CSJ
*fastball(88-92), slider(83-86), splitter(81-83)
|
Rich Harden, RHP, starter
Sponsor this player for $45/year
Harden deals a dominant fastball that usually sits in the mid-90s and "rises" as it approaches home plate. His second pitch has been called, 'The Spluckler'. Stupid name, but it's his splitter that is thrown with very little spin and mid-80s velocity. The lack of spin makes the pitch's movement completely unpredictable. It can dive like a splitter, look like a slider, or even float in like a changeup. Harden also owns a straight changeup and has used a slider at different points in his career. However, at this point, I believe he is basically a two-pitch pitcher, using his fastball/splitter combination. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-97), splitter(82-87), changeup, slider
|
Ted Lilly, LHP, starter
Sponsor this player for $40/year
Lilly is old school. He pitches inside and just doesn't care about 'the book'. He throws the vast majority of his fastballs inside to hitters, then does the same thing with his changeup. Lilly will often throw his slider away to RHs in "backdoor" fashion, making it appear to float up to the plate. Lastly, 'Ol Ted will bring a big curveball in the low-70s. 10/9/08 CSJ
*fastball(88-93), changeup(80-83), slider(79-84), curve(69-75)
|
Jeff Samardzija, RHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $35/year
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…. Until the Cubs moved him to AAA in 2008. He finally started striking batters out and cutting down his WHIP. He even produced decently out of the Cubs bullpen late in the year. Samardzija has fallen back to Earth in 2009. He can't throw strikes, and when he does, he gets rocked. It's hard for me to feel sorry for 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, a straight changeup, and a loopy slider. 9/16/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-97), changeup(85-89), slider(82-84)
|
Sean Marshall, LHP, starter/reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Marshall is a tall lefthander that deals a good fastball/cutter combination. He owns a hard, straight changeup that varies only slightly in velocity from his fastball. Marshall also deals a big curveball that he likes to use against LHs. Sean pitched collegiately at VCU. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(88-90), cutter(85-87), changeup(83-84), curve(70-76)
|
Angel Guzman, RHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Guzman is a hard thrower that can touch the upper 90s with his fastball. Angel uses two different breaking pitches as well, starting with a tight slider 90 MPH slider. He also owns a classic curveball that gets good drop. The right hander from Caracas has used a changeup in the past, but I haven't seen one in a while. 8/18/09 CSJ
*fastball(93-97), curve(78-79), slider(90-92), changeup
|
|
