Dan Haren, RHP, starter

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. 5/8/08 CSJ *fastball(87-93), split(83-86), curve(79-82), cutter(87-88)

Chad Qualls, RHP, reliever

Qualls has evolved into a fastball/slider only pitcher. He has a great sinking fastball that is difficult to hit squarely. His delivery looks stuff and awkward, but produces a sharp slider that can duck under LH's bats like a cutter. He also changes planes with his slider, giving it more downward break to 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. 5/8/08 CSJ *fastball(86-95), slider(86-90)

Doug Slaten, LHP, reliever

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 has 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. 5/8/08 CSJ *fastball(89-92), slider(79-82), changeup(81-85)

Juan Cruz, RHP, reliever

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. Even with his more-than-occasional bouts of wildness, he seems to have found a role in the DBacks bullpen. 5/8/08 CSJ *fastball(94-97), slider(77-86), changeup(83)

Micah Owings, RHP, starter

Micah Owings is like that kid in Little League that would throw a 1-hit shutout against you, and hit two homeruns in the same game. Except Owings is still doing it in the Majors. His velocity won't overwhelm anyone, but he deals a heavy, naturally cutting fastball around 90mph that batters just can't seem to hit squarely. Owings will follow that up with a tight slider in the low-80s and a sinking changeup. At the plate, Owings makes the Mets wish they had a guy like him playing firstbase. He can hit, and hit for power. He has five career major league homeruns in just 79ABs, and in college at GTech and Tulane he combined to hit 33HRs in his NCAA career. 5/15/08 CSJ *fastball(88-92), slider(81-86), changeup(80-82)

Brandon Webb, RHP, starter

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 got me tickets to a game at Wrigley Field. 5/15/08 CSJ *fastball(86-91), changeup(76-81), curve(71-74), slider(83-85)

Tony Pena, RHP, reliever
	Pena throws hard and is tough to hit. His fastball sits in the mid-90s, rising in the strikezone. He tries to dive his slider at LH ankles and away from RHs. His palmball changeup is fairly straight. Tony(Ramon) may mix in the occasional slow curve. 5/16/08 CSJ *fastball(93-96), slider(84-90), changeup, curve

Brandon Lyon, RHP, closer
	Lyon owns a good repertoire for a reliever. He has a hard fastball that can touch the mid-90s with movement at times. His second pitch is a big overhand curve that buckles knees. He'll also show a tight slider to RHs and a straight changeup to LHs, giving him four quality pitches. 5/16/08 CSJ *fastball(91-95), curve(73-76), changeup, slider

Brandon Medders, RHP, reliever
	Medders has a good four-pitch repertoire. He relies on a hard, cutting, moving fastball and a biting curve. He also mixes in changeups and a tight slider. 5/20/08 CSJ *fastball(90-94), curve(74-76), slider(86), changeup

Randy Johnson, LHP, starter

The Big Unit, formerly the tallest ever baseball player, can still rack up Ks. He has a tough fastball that is released about 50ft 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. During Randy's previous stint with the DBacks, he posted four consecutive 330K+ seasons, winning the Cy Young award each year. Now he is the DBacks ancient #4 starter, constantly dealing with injury problems. 5/20/08 CSJ *fastball(90-94), slider(83-87), splitter(84-88)

Max Scherzer, RHP, starter
	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)

Doug Davis, LHP, starter

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 has beaten cancer in early 2008, and should be back in the majors soon. 5/20/08 CSJ *fastball, cutter, changeup, curve

Edgar Gonzalez, RHP, starter

Gonzalez throws the basic four pitches, but gets a lot of movement. Edgar's fastball tails and sinks consistently, but his slider can vary from game to game. It often appears as a sweeping pitch, but can also tighten up and appear to backup on him. Gonzalez throws a curveball that will get more 12-6 movement and be slower than the slider, usually in the mid-70s. Lastly he throws a changeup that can move like his fastball or merely float up to the plate. 5/20/08 CSJ *fastball(86-93), slider(77-83), changeup(78-80), curve(74-76)

Jon Rauch, RHP, reliever

Rauch still has his full 4-pitch starter's repertoire. 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 12-6 curveball and a hard changeup. 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 homerun game. He has since made himself into one of the more reliable setup men in baseball. 5/11/08 CSJ *fastball(90-94), slider(80-86), curve(72-77), change(83-88)