Joakim Soria, RHP, closer Sponsor this player for $45/year Soria owns a good four-pitch repertoire. He has a naturally cutting fastball that batters have a tough time making solid contact against. He'll spot his changeup away to LHs and sometimes mix in a very slow curve. Soria's slider has a late break that is very effective against RHs. Soria has the stuff of a starting pitcher, but has excelled in the closer's role in KC. The Royals stole Soria from the Padres in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. 5/1/09 CSJ *fastball(89-94), slider(80-83), curve(66-70), changeup(83-85)

Gil Meche, RHP, starter Sponsor this player for $45/year Meche has done a couple amazing things. First, he got a $55M contract without having accomplished anything in his major league career. Second, after he got the contract, he became a better pitcher. Meche throws a complete four-pitch repertoire. He throws a low-90s fastball with a tight slider that can touch 90mph itself. His curveball is a hard breaking 12-6 type pitch. Lastly, Meche throws a straight changeup. His stuff looks filthy nowadays. 5/1/09 CSJ *fastball(89-95), slider(85-89), curve(73-79), change(81-84)

Brian Bannister, RHP, starter Sponsor this player for $35/year Bannister creates a problem for hitters with his naturally cutting fastball. He has good command to both sides of the plate with it, breaks bats, and gets weak pop flies. Bannister's changeup is his only pitch that moves towards his armside. It gets decent movement, but its velocity varies only a few MPH from the fastball, which makes deception difficult. He throws a tight slider in the low-mid 80s that looks like an average pitch at best. Bannister has a curveball, and will vary the velocity on it dramatically. He'll throw it anywhere between 68-80mph. Bannister is also a smart man that studies his BABIP numbers and uses statistics to help his game. 4/29/08 CSJ *fastball(86-91), curve(68-80), changeup(82-85), slider(82-86)

Kyle Farnsworth, RHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $40/year Farnsworth is an 11-year veteran that is still trying to figure himself out. He has excellent velocity on his 4-seam fastball, a pitch that will sit at 95mph with 'rising' movement. In 2008, he was utilizing a 2-seam fastball in hopes of getting some quick outs. The 2-seamer seems to be gone in '09, but now he's mixing up his breaking pitches. He'll throw his standard breaking pitch in the low-mid 80s to go with a tighter slider in the upper-80s. I have not seen an off-speed pitch from Farnsworth in years. Farnsworth will forever be known around Wrigleyville as one of the great "ScumBunchers" of all-time. 4/20/09 CSJ *fastball(94-98), curve(81-85), slider(87-89)

Luke Hochevar, RHP, starter Sponsor this player for $30/year Hochevar has the distinction of being drafted in the first round twice, including first overall in 2006. His stuff doesn't look dominant however, and I suspect he has already lost some velocity since his college days. He'll vary his fastball between his straight 4-seamer (91mph) and his running 2-seamer (88mph). The former Volunteer will drop in 12-6 curveballs and mix in plenty of sliders. His fourth pitch is a changeup that he'll show to LHs. Hochevar still has promise, but has lots to prove at the major league level. 10/20/08 CSJ *fastball(88-92), slider(81-85), curve(72-76), changeup(81-83)

Jamey Wright, RHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $20/year Jamey Wright has always shown a good arm, but mixes in too many walks and not enough results. He throws a moving fastball to go along with a biting curveball. His splitter looks like a slow version of his fastball, tailing and sinking. Wright also throws a cutter that he is fairly successful at busting LHs inside with. 4/20/09 CSJ *fastball(91-93), curve(77-81), cutter(88-90), splitter(87-88)

John Bale, LHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $10/year Bale is a soft-tossing lefty that somehow continues to stay in the league. His fastball rarely touches 90 MPH and it flies straight. He mixes in big curveballs and sinking changeups. He'll use the curve and change to both RHs and LHs. 8/1/09 CSJ *fastball(87-91), curve(71-74), change(80-83)

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Zach Greinke, RHP, starter Sponsor this player for $50/year Greinke deals the basic four pitches, but they can be devastating. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he throws it with decent command. He has a tendency to work his arm side with the fastball (away from LHs, inside to RHs). Zach's changeup gets good movement and he'll throw it strictly to LHs. Greinke will vary his breaking pitches, throwing his curveball anywhere in the 70s and his slider anywhere in the 80s. Both pitches can break hard and miss bats. Zach has had a crazy up-and-down career so far. He has gone from being high school Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2002, to minor league superstar, to major league bust, to suffering from depression, to his current status of Cy Young candidate. The kid has always had lights out stuff, and it's inspirational to see him finally putting it all together in 2009. 9/29/09 CSJ *fastball(91-97), slider(83-89), curve(65-80), changeup(82-87)

Ron Mahay, LHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $25/year Mahay appears to be your standard lefthanded reliever. He throws a straight 90 MPH fastball that he works to both sides of the plate. Then he'll spin sliders to LHs and drop splitters to RHs. He has become a fairly successful pitcher, and even got some big cash from the Royals. 8/1/09 CSJ *fastball(88-92), slider(77-84), splitter(81-84)

Juan Cruz, RHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $30/year Cruz is a hard thrower and always has been. He has trouble locating his pitches and that has been his downfall in the majors. His fastball is in the mid-90s and moves a ton. He throws a big breaking slider that could end up anywhere. When he feels it's necessary, he'll also mix in a changeup or two. In recent seasons, he's added a cutter, and has begun to use it regularly. In the last Cruz outing I watched, he threw 28 pitches, 18 of which were cutters. Even with his more-than-occasional bouts of wildness, he seems to have settled into a bullpen role. 8/1/09 CSJ *fastball(92-95), cutter (85-92), slider(79-83), changeup(82-83)

Kyle Davies, RHP, starter Sponsor this player for $35/year Kyle Davies throws the standard four pitches. He throws a decent fastball, a good curve, and mixes in his changeup to LHs. Davies works quickly and tries to pound the strikezone. His 4th pitch is a tight slider that he seems to have used much less frequently in '08 than he had in past years. Davies also hit one of the longest homeruns I've ever seen a pitcher hit, a three-run bomb against the Mets in '07. He also threw 8 innings and got a win that day. 10/20/08 CSJ *fastball(90-94), curve(74-77), changeup(82-83), slider(87)

Doug Waechter, RHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $15/year As a reliever, Dougie relies on this fastball/slider combination. He has been known to throw a splitter but I don't see them very often. Waechter is a former Hudson Valley Renegade. 4/21/09 CSJ *fastball(88-92), slider(82-85), splitter(86)

Robinson Tejeda, RHP, reliever Sponsor this player for $15/year Tejeda has a live arm, but average off-speed and breaking stuff. His slider is very flat at times, basically just spinning up to the plate. His changeup cuts and he pulls it towards his glove side often. He has been given many chances to succeed, but unless he dramatically improves his changeup or slider, it doesn't look like he ever will. 8/1/09 CSJ *fastball(92-97), changeup(82-85), slider(83-86)