Widgets Magazine

2012 College Baseball Notes: Volume 12

Written By on 25th July, 2012

2012 Volume #12

Through various webcasts, I was able to watch a few games this weekend and jot down notes along the way. I present them to you in a mostly unaltered form.

Important Note: I must stress that these notes are — in most cases — based on only one game of data. A player is not at his best every time out, and we need multiple viewings before we get a clear picture of the player.

Previous Volumes:

 

Player: Michael Cederoth
College: San Diego State University
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'6″ / 210 lbs
Class: Freshman
Draft Year: 2014
Games:

  • 5/12 at Texas A&M

Notes:

  1. Tall, wide shoulders; thin upper and lower half; well proportioned, projectable frame
  2. Athletic full bodied motion with a very high leg kick; somewhat complicated with some effort
  3. Delivery looks very unsmooth out of stretch; falls off the mound at times, especially when throwing the curve ball
  4. High 3/4 arm slot; loose arm; really exaggerated finish on his arm action
  5. Big fastball with late arm side run; very lively pitch
  6. Good downward plane when thrown down in the zone
  7. Fastball can be blown past hitters and has some overpowering tendencies
  8. 12-6 hard breaking ball with late downward break
  9. Curve has steep late break and tight spin; depth can vary with some having much bigger break than others
  10. Change up has some late drop; some show fairly significant movement but the action is only OK
  11. Does a good job of attacking the zone with his fastball; challenges hitters up in the zone often
  12. Shows some ability to command the fastball to both sides of the plate; by no means pinpoint but was placing  them in the vicinity from the windup
  13. Control and command are more of a struggle out of the stretch
  14. Works extremely quickly; looked best on the mound when he got into a very rapid rhythm; he was hitting his spots much more often and showing most feel for the curve

Comment: Cederoth's outing ended in the 5th inning after being hit in the face with a line drive. He walked off under his own power and was later said to have returned to the dugout.

Michael Cederoth

Player: Taylor Dugas
College: University of Alabama
Position: Center Field
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 5'7″ / 175 lbs
Class: Senior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 4/7 vs. Auburn
  • 5/11 at Kentucky

Notes:

  1. Short, well proportioned athletic frame
  2. Good approach with an advanced sense of the strike zone; will spoil good pitches when behind in the count looking for a mistake
  3. Fairly significant leg kick as timing mechanism; very smooth, fluid swing with good extension; shows good bat control
  4. Generates surprising pop for his size; turned on an inside fastball (Auburn game) to hit a HR over the right field fence
  5. Looked comfortable during left-on-left situations
  6. Speed is average

Taylor Dugas

Player: Anthony Gomez
College: Vanderbilt University
Position: Short Stop
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6'0″ / 185 lbs
Class: Junior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/12 at LSU

Notes:

  1. Average height; well filled out but not overly physical
  2. Approach has become more patient than it was a year ago, working himself into friendly counts
  3. Nice short line drive swing with a knack for quality contact
  4. Best swing of the night came on a fastball up and inner half; dove into the pitch slightly, cleared his hips well, showed good balance and drove it off the right-center field wall for a double

Anthony Gomez

Player: Justin Kamplain
College: University of Alabama
Position: Relief Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/L
Height/Weight: 6'0″ / 170 lbs
Class: Freshman
Draft Year: 2014
Games:

  • 5/11 at Kentucky

Notes:

  1. Average height; with some lankiness and projection in his frame
  2. Delivery has a lot of moving limbs without great fluidity; not too much effort involved however
  3. High 3/4 arm slot; arm action looked fairly clean
  4. Fastball has average velocity with good arm side run; very lively pitch
  5. Big, sharp 1-7 curve ball with steep break
  6. Curve features good late break that falls off the table break; swing and miss offering
  7. Consistently sharp offering that he breaks off well
  8. Change has some very subtle late fade and drop
  9. Decent action on the change but not much more than a ground ball pitch at this point
  10. Showed good control of his stuff but the command came and went throughout the outing
  11. Worked a lot of deep counts but managed to hold things together well
  12. Started 6th inning with a pair of walks but honed in after that point to escape the inning without any damage
  13. Moves pitches around the zone well; not afraid to throw inside
  14. Generally stayed down in the strike zone and was rewarded with quite a few easy ground outs

Justin Kamplain

Player: Luke Maile
College: University of Kentucky
Position: First Base / Catcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 220 lbs
Class: Junior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/4 vs. Florida
  • 5/11 vs. Alabama

Notes:

  1. Tall; wide shoulders; long limbs; big frame in general
  2. Very patient approach, often worked himself into deep counts before swinging the bat
  3. Swing features good bat speed, natural loft, and extension; looked long at times
  4. Showed a lot of mediocre contact in game; hits were not generally well struck, and he rolled over a few pitches for weak ground outs

Comment: I think it's pretty easy to see where the power comes from! I was hoping to see what would happen when he squares something up, but he hasn't shown that to me yet. He could be a very intriguing draftee if a team feels he has a chance to catch.

Luke Maile

Player: Aaron Nola
College: Louisiana State University
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'1″ / 172 lbs
Class: Freshman
Draft Year: 2014
Games:

  • 5/12 vs. Vanderbilt

Notes:

  1. Good height; some lankiness, especially in his arms and legs; high waist; long limbs; projectable frame
  2. Fairly deliberate with a slow high leg kick; some flying parts but clean
  3. 3/4 arm slot with a fast arm
  4. Fastball has some late arm side run and sink; sat 88-90, touched 92 (via TV gun) through the entire outing
  5. Movement is a bit inconsistent with some looking fairly straight
  6. Fastball lacks explosion and seems to play below the raw velocity; LSU hitters put good swings on the pitch
  7. 11-5 curve ball has late break and tight spin; sat 78-80 in the first couple innings, 74-77 in the later innings (via TV gun)
  8. Really breaks the curve ball off well; consistent late depth; quality pitch that generated swings and misses
  9. Very sharp pitch with some showing a bit of two-plane break; late breaking hard downer
  10. Curve ball lost some sharpness and velocity around the 5th inning, started to look loopy often but still flashed the earlier iteration of the curve
  11. Change has good late fade and drop; 78-80 (via TV gun)
  12. Change shows significant drop and good late action; only used on a handful of occasions but had hitters ahead of pitch and got a couple swinging strikes with it
  13. Strike thrower; got ahead of hitters often; lives in the middle of the zone much too often
  14. Command was good in the first inning but merely OK after that
  15. Labored through quite a few at bats but managed to make big pitches at the right times
  16. Mixes pitches well
  17. Good, quick pick off move

Aaron Nola

Player: J.T. Riddle
College: University of Kentucky
Position: Second Base
Bats/Throws: L/R
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 185 lbs
Class: Sophomore
Draft Year: 2013
Games:

  • 5/4 vs. Florida
  • 5/11 vs. Alabama

Notes:

  1. Tall and thin with wide shoulders; good athleticism and size
  2. Works the count fairly well, battled back into the count a number of times after getting behind early
  3. Quick bat with a short stroke and good bat speed; occasionally will finish swing on his heels a bit
  4. Ranged well to both his left and right:
    1. Fielded up the middle behind second base and made strong throw to first; arm seems to be an asset at position
    2. Ranged to his left to field a ball in the grass, made a nice spinning play but the throw was errant
  5. Smooth flip to second base on an eventual double play
  6. Looked uncomfortable against Steven Rodriguez's slider in the Florida game; content to slap pitch foul and try to work a walk; eventually K'd lunging after a good SL out of the zone

J.T. Riddle

Player: Taylor Rogers
College: University of Kentucky
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 175 lbs
Class: Junior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/11 vs. Alabama

Notes:

  1. Tall and lanky; good wide shoulders; thin thighs; projection in his frame
  2. Slow delivery without great fluidity; some effort involved
  3. Effort seems to have lessened a bit after he settled down around the 4th inning
  4. Low 3/4 arm slot, arm action is a bit slingy and messy
  5. Fastball has average velocity and some late arm side run; 86-92 (per announcers)
  6. Fastball delivered on a very flat plane but features good late life and can generate swings and misses
  7. 2-8 slider has good late break; thrown with power
  8. Breaks slider off consistently well; very sharp with good tilt; keeps shape well within the strike zone and out
  9. Works very well as a chase pitch and has swing and miss properties; best pitch by far
  10. Seems to be throwing either a slow cutter or a little, get me over slider; has distinct glove side run
  11. Cutter? doesn't have the crispness of the slider but it's a nice ground ball inducing pitch
  12. Change has some late and drop; good action on the pitch
  13. Throws the change with conviction and good arm speed
  14. Command was a problem early in the game but improved as the outing progressed
  15. Will occasionally come out of his delivery and miss badly up out of the zone â€” about once or twice an inning
  16. Moves pitches around the zone well; spotting pitches on corners at times
  17. Was hit fairly hard in the first inning but generated a lot of weak contact after that point; next hard hit ball was a double off a high change to the center field wall in the 6th

Taylor Rogers

Player: Sam Selman
College: Vanderbilt University
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/L
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 190 lbs
Class: Junior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/12 at LSU

Notes:

  1. Tall and thin; projectable frame
  2. Delivery has some sudden movements, really squats down on back leg before driving towards the plate
  3. Delivery is quick and requires some athleticism but it's a fairly easy motion
  4. Loose, clean arm action; high 3/4 arm slot; gets good extension on arm at release point
  5. Good live fastball with late arm side run and good angle to the plate; sat 89-93 throughout the game, topping out at 94 (via TV gun)
  6. Fastball has late explosion through the zone; very lively offering with significant swing and miss ability
  7. Challenges hitters with the fastball up in the zone and wins
  8. 1-7 curve ball with late rolling break; 78-81 (via TV gun)
  9. Curve has consistently good depth; sharp break at times but will occasionally have more dying action as it reaches the plate
  10. Curve works well as a pitch that breaks into the zone as a called strike
  11. Delivery makes it seem as if he's on the brink of losing control but command was solid, better or worse at times
  12. Showed ability to paint the corners when he was on
  13. Attacked hitters heavily with his fastball

Sam Selman

Player: Ross Stripling
College: Texas A&M University
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 190 lbs
Class: Senior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/11 vs. San Diego State

Notes:

  1. Tall, wide well developed shoulders; not projectable
  2. Delivery fairly well in sync; not all that fluid with a bit of effort involved
  3. Shortish arm action; delivers ball from an overhand arm slot
  4. Fastball delivered on a steep downward plane with some arm side run
  5. Fastball is not overpowering but has heavy ground ball qualities
  6. Change has steady drop and good downward plane
  7. Action is fairly significant and blends in well with the fastball; good deception
  8. Change has some swing and miss abilities
  9. 12-6 curve ball with a lot of depth; not overly powerful
  10. Curve has good steep break that he buries in the dirt well; arm slot and height helps pitch
  11. Curve ball keeps its shape well when thrown in or out of the zone
  12. Disguises his offspeed pitches well
  13. Pounds the bottom half of the zone and shows good command of all of his pitches
  14. Moves pitches around the zone well and works very efficiently
  15. Mixes pitches effectively and cruised through hitters
  16. Works very quickly

Comment: I didn't realize it until near the end of the ninth inning, but Stripling no-hit SD State. He made it look very easy.

Ross Stripling

Player: Cole Swanson
College: San Diego State University
Position: Relief Pitcher
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6'5″ / 195 lbs
Class: Sophomore
Draft Year: 2013
Games:

  • 5/12 at Texas A&M

Notes:

  1. Very tall; thin and athletic; thin waist and thighs; frame is a bit slender so only moderate projection
  2. High leg kick with an extended lead arm that adds some deception; tempo seems off: starts very slow before speeding up and slowing down
  3. High 3/4 arm slot, short, compact arm action; fast arm
  4. Doesn't really finish his delivery and there's some recoil in his arm action
  5. Fastball has good velocity with late armside run
  6. Generates good angle to the plate with late life; fastball can be difficult to catch up with
  7. 2-8 breaking ball has late glove side break and downward movement; nice late slide action
  8. Very sharp late break with good late tilt; keeps its shape when up in zone very well; darting action
  9. Change has hard downward action and a touch of fade; threw most them in the dirt and were easily taken for balls
  10. Came into the game with runners on base; had much difficulty controlling his stuff from the stretch
  11. Showed much better feel for his stuff out of the wind up; not really commanding any of his pitches but throwing strikes

Cole Swanson

Player: Spencer Turnbull
College: University of Alabama
Position: Starting Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'3″ / 205 lbs
Class: Freshman
Draft Year: 2014
Games:

  • 5/11 at Kentucky

Notes:

  1. Good height, well filled upper half; not projectable
  2. Nice fluid delivery; a bit of head snap; he finishes with a trail leg that whips around
  3. High 3/4 arm slot; Quick arm; Long arm action; shows some recoil at times
  4. Fastball delivered with some downward plane; good velocity and some late run; 89-92 touches 95 (via announcers)
  5. Some fastballs look like straight offerings and others have good late arm side run; likely throwing a 2 seam and 4 seam fastball
  6. Fastball gets on hitters quickly with some late explosiveness
  7. Change has good late downward tumble; decently late action
  8. Moved away from the pitch after the first inning and it didn't look as sharp when he brought it back out later
  9. Slow 11-5 curve ball with a lot of depth
  10. Curve seems very soft but does have some steepness and lateness to the break
  11. Spins the ball well however the offering needs a lot of work
  12. Attacked the zone in the first inning but command became a major problem the second inning and on
  13. Worked very deep counts on hitters consistently and had difficulty putting them away
  14. Command and control went further backwards in the third; seemed as if he just lost it

Spencer Turnbull

Player: Drew Verhagen
College: Vanderbilt University
Position: Relief Pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6'6″ / 225 lbs
Class: Junior
Draft Year: 2012
Games:

  • 5/12 at LSU

Notes:

  1. Tall and well filled out upper half; no projection
  2. Delivery features a little bit of effort; hooks his wrist a bit; 3/4 arm slot
  3. Big fastball with some subtle sink and run; sat 92-94, touching 96 (via TV gun)
  4. Fastball velocity is generated easily; looks slower than it actually is; can be blown past hitters
  5. Delivered with a good downward plane; movement on the fastball is very inconsistent with some showing good sink, some showing more run, and others looking straight
  6. 11-5 big downer curve ball; 74-75 (via TV gun); often loses shape and lacks bite
  7. Change up has splitter action with the bottom dropping out; 81 (via TV gun)
  8. Some have a tendency to float but threw a couple of really nice ones for swinging strikes
  9. Did a good job attacking hitters upon entering the game; control and command went backwards in his second inning of work

Drew Verhagen

Jeff Reese
Jeff Reese
About Jeff Reese

Jeff Reese is a writer & administrator for Bullpen Banter. He can be reached via email at JReese@BullpenBanter.com and via twitter @ioffridus. An index of his college notes can be found here and his youtube channel can be found here.

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