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Matt Cain, RHP, starter
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Cain is a powerhouse that uses the typical four pitches at a plus level. He throws a hard fastball with late life and movement, while his curveball is a big 12-6er. Matt's slider is often a very sharp breaker, but can soften as the game goes on and his arm tires. Cain also deals a moving changeup in the mid-upper 80s. Cain's only obstacle is his command. He still issues too many walks, putting himself into trouble often. Cain has been a "tough luck loser" early in his career. 6/9/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-95), curve(73-78), slider(84-89), changeup (84-88)
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Barry Zito, LHP, starter
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Barry Zito is a nice guy. He does yoga and gives money to injured veterans. Unfortunately his fastball is slow and his changeup looks like a little league pitch. In his prime, he pumped in a 92mph fastball and was tough to hit. Always known for his curveball, the pitch has become a lob that is hard to throw for a strike. A couple years ago he added a tighter breaking ball that he uses like a slider to LHs. I actually feel bad for him, because most likely there is nothing he can do to recapture his lost velocity. 4/8/08 CSJ
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Brian Wilson, RHP, closer
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A closer with bad hair, tight pants, and a high ERA. Sound like Mitch Williams? No, it's not that bad. Wilson struggles with his command at times, but will never be as erratic as Williams. Brian Wilson has an upper-90s fastball, a high velocity slider, and a changeup. Despite his 'plus' stuff, Wilson has proven to be hittable. His stuff has the potential to blow a hitter away, but he often works himself into tough situations. 6/2/09 CSJ
*fastball(94-99), slider(86-91), changeup(84)
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Jonathan Sanchez, LHP, starter
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Sanchez relies on his fastball to get hitters out. He has plus velocity, but can have trouble finding the strikezone at times. The lefty shows a curveball, usually away to LHs. The curve gets good break but hitters seem to be able to lay off. Sanchez seems to tip his changeup by slowing his delivery, and he can't find the strikezone with it anyway. 6/2/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-94), changeup(82-86), curve(78-84)
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Justin Miller, RHP, reliever
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Miller throws a fastball/slider/splitter combination. His fastball tails and bores in on RHs. Miller's slider is a big breaker, and he will mix in an unpredictable split-finger pitch. Also, if you give him $1000, he'll tatoo your name on his right buttock. 6/2/09 CSJ
*fastball(88-92), slider(77-82), splitter(79-83)
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Merkin Valdez, RHP, reliever
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Merkin is a hard thrower. He has a mid-90s fastball but not much of a breaking ball or offspeed pitch. His slider is consistently flat and gets hammered. Valdez has shown me a splitter that he uses against LHs. 6/5/09 CSJ
*fastball(93-97), splitter(85-86), slider(82-84)
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Billy Sadler, RHP, reliever
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Sadler has shown me a good fastball and a biting curve in limited appearances in '08. 6/16/08 CSJ
*fastball(91-94), curve(77-80)
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Tim Lincecum, RHP, starter
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Lincecum has a great arm and has quickly become a dominant pitcher in the National League. He routinely brings his fastball upwards of 95 mph with an awkward, jerky delivery. Lincecum gets good rising and running action on his fastball, but holds the ball with a 2-seam grip, not a 4-seam grip like you would expect. Throughout his baseball life, Lincecum has been known for his power curve, a 12 to 6 hammer that racks up Ks. However, since his first Major League start, he has made great strides with his changeup, so much so, that Tim will use the changeup as his second strikeout pitch, not just for show. He apparently holds his changeup with a modified split-finger grip that I haven't gotten a close-up view of yet. Then, as if he needs another weapon, Lincecum has also tried a slider as his fourth pitch. The slider is basically a harder version of his curveball, sitting in the mid 80s.
Lincecum has gotten alot of scrutiny over his delivery that appears to put an abnormal amount of stress on his throwing shoulder. On the plus side of his mechanics, he uses plenty of leg drive to generate velocity and take some of the onus off of his arm. Listed at only 5' 11", is simply known as "The Freak". 9/29/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-97), curve(75-82), changeup(81-85), slider(84-86)
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Randy Johnson, LHP, starter
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The Big Unit, formerly the tallest baseball player ever, can still rack up Ks. He has a tough fastball that is released about 50 feet from home plate due to his massive wingspan. Once ahead of hitters, he buries sliders at their ankles. He uses a split-finger pitch that acts like a changeup or 2-seamer. The splitter will often be used early in the count to induce a quick groundout. In his old age, Johnson seems to be having trouble staying on top of his slider, making in hang in the strike zone often. During Randy's stint with the DBacks, he posted four consecutive 330K+ seasons, winning the Cy Young award each of those years. Now he is the Giants' ancient #4 starter, constantly dealing with injury problems. 6/5/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-94), slider(83-87), splitter(83-87)
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Jeremy Affeldt, LHP, reliever
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Affeldt is still a hard thrower with 90+ heat from the left side. However, he seems to have lowered his arm slot to get some movement on his fastball. He mixes in an overhand curveball for his breaking pitch. When facing RHs, Affeldt will mix in occasional straight changeups. In the past he has tried throwing a tight cutter/slider pitch, but has scrapped that in recent years. Affeldt arrived in the majors with a big arm and big expectations with the Royals. Instead he has made himself into a serviceable setup man. 6/5/09 CSJ
*fastball(91-96), curve(76-79), changeup(87)
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Bob Howry, RHP, reliever
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Howry relies on his low-90s fastball to get hitters out. He'll throw fastballs upwards of 80% of the time, or more. Howry owns a sharp slider as his second pitch, and a changeup as his third. 6/9/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-94), slider(81-84), changeup(82-83)
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Brandon Medders, RHP, reliever
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Medders works with a naturally cutting fastball that provides him with whatever success he may have. The pitch can get inside on LHs and confuse RHs. Brandon will drop in good 12-6 curves, a standard slider, and a straight changeup. 6/2/09 CSJ
*fastball(88-91), curve(69-71), slider(80-84), changeup(76)
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Osiris Matos, RHP, reliever
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Osiris' stuff looks average, but he has produced decent minor league numbers, especially as a reliever. I've seen him throw a 4-seam fastball and a loopy slider. 10/21/08 CSJ
*fastball(90-92), slider(79-84)
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Noah Lowry, LHP, starter
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Lowry throws an average fastball that can get some sink in the mid-80s. He couples that with a straight change and slider. His slider breaks big with lots of sweep and drop, anywhere between 75-80mph. His curveball is a rare pitch, a very slow version of his slider around 70mph. 5/2/07 CSJ
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