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Dan Haren, RHP, starter
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Dan Haren has become one of the premier pitchers in the game, and it all starts with his excellent command. He helps himself by consistently posting low walk totals. Haren uses a heavy, sneaky fastball that he can paint corners with. Haren's signature out pitch is his splitter, which dives under bats. For a breaking ball, he'll throw a hard biting curve that he spikes with his index finger. Haren has experimented with a cutter and a changeup in the past, and seems to have settled on the cutter as his fourth pitch. He'll use it in typical fashion, which is inside to LHs and away from RHs. The changeup he used to experiment with hasn't appeared in at least two years.
Haren was a second round draft pick out of Pepperdine University, where he starred on the mound and as the Waves designated hitter. Then, despite succeeding at the professional level, he has been traded twice in two of the higher profile deals in recent memory. 9/29/09 CSJ
*fastball(87-94), split(83-87), curve(77-82), cutter(86-89)
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Chad Qualls, RHP, closer
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Qualls is a strict fastball/slider pitcher. He has a great sinking fastball that is difficult to hit squarely. His delivery looks stiff and awkward, but produces a sharp slider that can duck under LH's bats like a cutter. He can also change planes with his slider, giving it more downward break and bury it below the strikezone. I have not seen Qualls throw a changeup, ever. He has been a significant bullpen producer for the Astros, and now the DBacks. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-95), slider(85-90)
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Scott Schoeneweis, LHP, reliever
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Schoeneweis seems to have refined his repertoire down to two pitches, a fastball and a slider. He used to bring a cutter and a curve when he was a starter. He may still throw the occasional changeup, but since he usually faces LHs, the changeup isn't shown often. 5/11/08 CSJ
*fastball(85-90), slider(77-83)
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Esmerling Vasquez, RHP, reliever
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Vasquez is a young righthander from the Dominican Republic. He has excellent arm strength and I've seen him get his fastball up to 97 MPH. He likes to try his sinking changeup to get quick outs, and will use his slider to try and get Ks. Unfortunately, his slider has appeared to be somewhat flat and hittable. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(93-97), slider(81-87), changeup(80-85)
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Leo Rosales, RHP, reliever
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Leo Rosales, a CSUN alum, throws a good fastball/changeup combination. His fastball is of the 4-seam variety, missing bats up in the zone. Rosales' changeup comes straight over-the-top like his fastball, but 12 mph slower. Leo's third pitch is a slider, a pitch I have seen backup on him often. 9/16/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-93), changeup(78-82), slider(82-84)
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Doug Slaten, LHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Slaten's slider looks like his best pitch. It flies in the low-80s with good sweeping action. Against LH batters he will use this pitch off the outside corner to get them to chase. Doug's fastball looks very straight, but has decent velocity, which makes him tough on LHs. When facing RHs, Slaten will bring out his straight changeup. In the past he has also shown a very slow curveball. 10/23/08 CSJ
*fastball(89-92), slider(79-82), changeup(81-85)
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Jon Coutlangus, LHP, reliever
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Coutlangus relies heavily on his cutter and slider. His cutter is hard and can appear subtle due to most camera angles. His slider has a big break. Coutlangus may throw a changeup somewhere around 80mph. 5/25/07 CSJ
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Daniel Cabrera, RHP, starter/reliever
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Cabrera has been a project for years. He has one of the best pure arms in baseball, but has never been able to harness any control of his pitches. He can throw mid-upper 90s with his fastball and drop in hard breaking curves in the low-80s. Cabrera will also try a few changeups. 6/18/08 CSJ
*fastball(88-95), curve(75-82), changeup(79-82)
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Brandon Webb, RHP, starter
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Webb gets the most out of his pitches. He pounds his sinking fastball low in the zone, inducing numerous groundballs. He occasionally mixes in curveballs that he'll vary the velocity on. Webb's changeup has become a dominant pitch. He'll throw it often to both LHs and RHs, who can't touch it. The change acts much like his sinker, but at 10-12mph slower. In 2008, Webb has added a tight slider that he'll use inside on LHs a few times a game. On a side note, Webb once comped me tickets to a game at Wrigley Field. 10/23/08 CSJ
*fastball(86-91), changeup(76-81), curve(71-74), slider(83-85)
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Max Scherzer, RHP, starter
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Max deals on people. He throws a heavy, moving fastball in the upper-90s. His awkward, low delivery even gives his pitches some deception. He mixes in a slider and changeup to keep hitters off-balance. His slider appears to hang a bit, while his changeup gets good sink. Scherzer pitched for the University of Missouri in college. 5/20/08 CSJ
*fastball(93-97), slider(85-87), changeup(86-88)
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Jon Rauch, RHP, reliever
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Rauch still has his full four-pitch starter's repertoire, and has even added to it. He has a plus fastball in the low 90s that he commands well. He'll use a slider to both RHs and LHs as his clear second pitch. Rauch still owns both a 12 to 6 curveball and a hard changeup. Recently, he has added a cutter, and will mix that in often.
Rauch was Baseball America's minor league player of the year in 2000, and began his major league career by being the starting pitcher against which Mike Cameron began his four home run game. He has since made himself into one of the more reliable setup men in baseball. 9/11/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-94), slider(80-84), curve(72-77), change(83-88), cutter(86-88)
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Jon Garland, RHP, starter
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The former White Sox starter still deals the same repertoire. He uses a low-90s fastball and a fairly straight changeup. Garland throws two breaking pitches, but prefers his curveball over the slider. The curve gets big, slow break. Jon uses his slider almost exclusively away to RHs. Not surprizingly, Garland pitched his best baseball in 2005, when the White Sox won the World Series. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(87-93), curve(74-79), changeup(80-83), slider(82-83)
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Doug Davis, LHP, starter
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Davis has a four pitch repertoire. He throws a straight fastball, a big curve, a soft changeup, and a cutter. He relies on his cutter, a plus pitch he'll use to either side of the plate to any hitter. His other pitches are league average at best. Davis consistently puts up high walk totals, but somehow manages to keep his ERAs respectable. Davis beat cancer in early 2008, but has trouble beating anyone while pitching. 8/1/09 CSJ
*fastball(82-87), cutter(79-85), changeup(77-79), curve(67-71)
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Yusmiero Petit, RHP, starter/reliever
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Petit throws a variety of pitches and uses them well. He has average velocity on his fastball (upper 80s), and a tight slider that he couples it with. Working deeper into games brings him deeper into his repertoire, which includes a changeup and slow curveball. His stuff doesn't overpower but has been surprizingly effective in the pros. 9/16/09 CSJ
*fastball(85-89), slider(79-82), curve(76), changeup(78)
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Blaine Boyer, RHP, reliever
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Boyer has a stiff delivery that unleashes a hard 95 MPH fastball. His breaking pitch is a 12-6 curveball that appears to get decent bite. Blaine's offspeed pitch is a straight changeup. Blaine does not practice magic in the offseason. 10/23/08 CSJ
*fastball(91-96), changeup(86), curve(74-75)
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Clay Zavada, LHP, reliever
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Zavada, 25 years old, has already created quite a buzz around himself, even while pitching middle innings out of the Arizona bullpen. Zavada sat out the 2007 baseball season after the death of his father. He was talked into returning to professional baseball in 2008, and dominated his way from the independent leagues to AA, before reaching the major leagues in 2009. He's also created fanfare due to the Rollie Fingers type moustache he was sporting in the beginning of the seaon.
On the mound, Zavada deals a four-pitch repertoire, but seems to rely on his fastball/curveball combination. Clay shows good command and confidence. 9/16/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-91), curve(74), slider, changeup
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