Player Profile: Tim Giel

     Timothy Giel is a 6’2” 230 lb. Junior from Columbia University. He has been given the nickname “The Professor” by the Bourne Braves. At Columbia in 2012, Tim made 9 starts allowing less than 3 runs in 8 of his 9 starts. He was 3rd on the team in strikeouts and led the team in innings pitched. This summer in the Cape League, Giel has pitched 24.1 innings. He has posted 22 strikeouts while allowing only 6 walks and recorded 1 save. His most impressive stat is an outstanding 0.705 WHIP. He was awarded a full-time contract and has earned the honor of representing the West in the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game. The All-Star game is this Saturday July 28, at Whitehouse Field in Harwich.
     Tim Giel’s repertoire consists of an 87-91 mph fastball, a 77-84 mph slider/cutter, and a power change-up that ranges from 81-84. His change-up is thrown very hard, and what it lacks in depth; it makes up for in late life. As for Giel’s mechanics, he uses a slightly raised balance point, coils his upper body, and bends his back leg to gain momentum to the plate. He does an excellent job of keeping is front leg closed. A lot of youth pitchers will lose speed and accuracy on their fastball when their front leg opens up too soon. Opening up too soon can lead to shoulder problems, and inconsistent release points. Tim’s arm action is quick with a backside stab, and he throws out of a low 3/4 arm slot. He has a stocky build that allows him to utilize a quick, strong trunk rotation. His stocky build helps his legs in his delivery as well. Tim incorporates his lower body for a strong push off of the mound. He finishes with good arm extension, and a comfortable follow-through. Personally, I enjoy watching a pitcher who has a natural, clean follow-through, and Giel allows his body to finish. You can seen him naturally walk off the mound from the side view. He controls the running game through a natural leg kick (side-view slow motion). While this seems like a contradictory statement, it is not. Tim is very quick to the plate from the stretch. It is important for any pitcher to be quick to the plate while not rushing his mechanics, Giel has found a very good balance. For the remainder of the season he will work in a set-up/closer tandem with Hawtin Buchanan and the Bourne Braves should have few problems protecting late game leads.

Player Profile: John Farrell

     John Farrell is a 6’2” 210lb. closer for the College of William and Mary. In fact, he is the college’s all-time leader in saves. He is a strongly-trusted, late-inning reliever for the Bourne Braves. In the summer of 2011, Farrell was selected to the CCBL All-Star team. In 2012, he pitched 42.2 innings making 24 appearances and recorded 8 saves. John posted a 2.32 ERA with a 42 to 14 strikeout to walk ratio. He posted a 1.35 WHIP for the William and Mary Tribe. This summer for the Braves, Farrell has been lights out. He is 2-0 with a 2.46 ERA, has recorded 2 saves, has 24 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched, and has an outstanding .980 WHIP.
     Farrell’s arsenal includes a fastball that sits anywhere between 88-92,  a curveball between 79-83, an 81-84 mph slider, and a devastating 82-86 mph change-up with vicious arm-side tail. As for mechanics, John uses a quick leg kick because he is a reliever. This adjusted slide step would look like it would steal some of his power. This is not true because John has an outstanding back-leg drive (side view slow motion). His upper body stays strong through his delivery; he creates as much angle as a 6’2” pitcher with a low 3/4 delivery is going to create. That low 3/4 delivery does take away some of his downward angle, but it does not take away from his arm side tail. His fastball has good movement. His curveball and slider compliment both his fastball and his change-up. Farrell’s out pitch is a very strong change-up that breaks sharply like a 2-seam fastball, but comes in 6-10 mph slower (slow motion front view). In fact, his arm speed and motion is so similar to his fastball that his own father had trouble distinguishing his change from his heater! John will continue to operate in his closer/set-up role for the Braves, and with his arsenal will continue to find success.

Player Profile: Trent Gilbert

      Trent Gilbert is a 6’1” 175 lb. Freshman at the University of Arizona. In 2011, he was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 40th round of the MLB Amateur Draft. He enjoyed a great deal of team success this past year, as the Arizona Wildcats won the 2012 NCAA National Championship. As a true freshman, he started 64 games and hit .272. For the Bourne Braves, he had a rough start making some adjustments to the speed of the Cape League. Despite his struggles, he still has managed to produce an on-base percentage 120 points higher than his batting average. I am very impressed with his great grasp of the strike zone, especially considering that he is a young baseball player.
      The reason I am writing a player profile on him is that I fell in love with his swing at first sight! In my opinion, his swing is very pretty. He has a nice, compact swing and his hands get through the zone quickly. He has impressive power for a player his size because his hands generate so much snap through the zone. I would say: his bat-head explodes through the hitting zone. As for mechanics, he starts his swing with his weight back, his elbow up and his bat on his shoulder. He uses a slight toe tap to set his hands into the hitter’s slot. When the bat comes off of his shoulder, his front foot lands and his weight shifts to the middle of his body. At this point, his hands move directly to the baseball. His hands come through the zone before the bat-head. The bat-head then explodes into the baseball. He hits the ball out in front and his head stays down. His eyes are on the bat when he makes contact. I firmly believe that Trent’s average will begin to soar when he makes the necessary adjustments. He sees the ball well, and his swing is impressive. In fact, I believe he may already be turning it around. He has at-least one walk and one hit in the last three games he has been in the starting line-up. That includes a home-run at Falmouth on July 20th.

Teaching Moment: Outfield Drills

Today I am hoping to do a Triple Feature! It will include one pitcher, one hitter, and this teaching moment. This first posting is some helpful outfield drills. It is hard for me to record an individual fielder, but I hope these drills help you understand what to look for when assessing the ability of an outfielder. I would like to thank Sacred Heart’s John Murphy and Eckerd College’s Ted Regan for allowing me to film these drills. My favorite part of these drills is: all they need is a partner and you can do them in your backyard or anywhere you have about 20-30 yards of grass (except shagging).

Drill One
Don’t Step In The Bucket
The most important thing about this drill is not to step straight back or backpedal. If you have developed the habit of stepping straight back or backpedaling, simply put a bucket behind you! The idea is to turn your head and sprint to the spot of the baseball. Ideally, you want to catch the ball over your throwing shoulder. Make sure to work using both shoulder.

Drill Two
Going Straight Back
The hardest ball to read in the outfield is the ball straight at you. In fact, any baseball hit over your head is difficult to get a true read on. Rather than backpedal, the outfielder needs to turn to their glove side, “create some depth” in other words the outfielder needs to make sure the ball is not traveling directly over their head, and then sprint to the spot of the ball. In this drill, you throw the ball directly over the fielder’s head. The fielder wants to avoid drifting to the baseball. Ideally, a fielder will have his shoulders facing the infield while making the catch.

Drill Three
Shuttle Drill
This drill prepares the fielder for a line drive with a lot of spin. Sometimes the outfielder will be running in one direction and the spin off the bat causes the outfielder to change their route. In the drill, the outfielder starts running in one direction and is forced to change direction on the drop of a dime. It is imperative that the fielder turns his head and not his entire body. Initially, this can feel very unnatural, but through hard work this can become easy. Be sure to find the baseball after making the turn, and work on turning both ways when doing the drill.

Drill Four
Shagging
This requires more room than the other three drills. Be sure to implement all of the fundamentals worked on in the previous drills. See the ball off of the bat, sprint to the spot where you think the ball is going to land, and always make an attempt to catch the ball over your throwing shoulder.

The art of the pick-off move

Today, I would like to discuss the pick-off move from a left-handed pitcher. This is something that is often feared by youth league coaches and overlooked at the advanced levels. However, James Shields (RHP), Jarrod Washburn, Chris Capuano, and Andy Pettite are able to use it as a weapon. The pick-off move can be used to keep a runner close, and a great pick-off move can get a pitcher an easy out. I am going to be using the University of Central Florida's Chris Matulis as an example of how one little problem in your mechanics can make it easy on the runner. First, let me discuss some of the things Chris does correctly. His head movement is excellent, he is always looking to the plate whether he throws there or at the runner. Some LHP are so predictable that coaches/players will know where they are going to throw just by where they are looking. His does a good job of varying his timing. He pauses goes to the plate and one time pauses and throws to first. Another thing he does that is vital, he pushes that imaginary 45 degree angle the front foot has to step on to stay within the limitations of the "distance and direction" discussed in MLB rule 8.01(c). Another important aspect of a good pick-off move is the leg kick; you want to have the same leg kick towards first base as when you deliver the ball to the plate. Chris does an excellent job of replicating his leg movement. However, the reason Matulis is not deceiving the runner is because of his hand motion. When throwing to the plate, Chris breaks his hands at his chest, and when throwing to first he brings his hands down to his waist. When watching the video you can see as soon as his hands drop below his chest the runner appears on the screen. At the college level, these players will pick up on that slight mechanical flaw every time! Barry Zito does an excellent job of replicating his throwing motion (picture below), and he isn't known for a great pick-off move. As for Chris, he is making an amateur mistake, and I am not sure if anyone has even pointed this out to him before. I did not notice it until reviewing it last night. I think with this minor adjustment, he will see a vast improvement in his ability to keep runners close.

Player Profile: Aaron Payne

Aaron Payne is a sophomore from the University of Oregon. Payne hit .277 with 42 runs, 16 stolen bases, and 84 total bases in 65 games with the Ducks. He also led the Pac-12 conference by getting hit with 25 pitches.  He was 2012 Pac-12 All-Academic Second-Team, 2012 Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention, and named the Pac-12 Player of the Week twice (May 7 and April 30). He has been playing extremely well for the Braves, as well. In just 16 games, Aaron is batting .340 with 4 stolen bases, 9 runs scored, and 7 runs batted-in. He will doing anything to get on base for his team, so it is no surprise he leads the Cape League in hit-by-pitches.
Aaron Payne is just a hard-working player that is willing to do anything to help the Braves pick up a win. I say this with the utmost respect for Aaron's style of play; I consider him a "scrappy" ballplayer. In the field, he never gives up on the baseball, and his ability to get the ball out of his glove and make successful snap throws to first base makes him a very capable fielder. At the plate is where Aaron's true "scratch and claw" mentality shines. He will see 4 pitches in a majority of his at-bats. Aaron loves to grind out plate appearances until the pitcher makes a mistake. When he does get a good pitch he possesses very quick hands (slow-motion swing and miss) and excellent plate coverage (slow motion foul ball). These attributes have allowed him to be a table-setter for Colin Moran during his recent success. Personally, I think his presence has stabilized, a once inconsistent, top of the order. As for hitting mechanics, Aaron starts with an open-stance and his back leg right on the boundary of the batter's box. In fact, the first thing Payne does when he leads off is scrape off that boundary, so he can stand even closer. One unique thing about Payne's hitting mechanics is the way he sets his hands. Most hitters with a high leg kick use the beginning of the leg kick to start their hands. Payne's hands don't start moving back until a brief pause while he leg is descending. When that front foot does touch, he is in an excellent hitting stance. The slow motion video shows that his weight is back, his hand's are in the hitter's slot, and he is square to the pitcher. I included a back view so you can see exactly how close he is to the plate. I noticed in the back view that he does pull his back leg early to get a head start to 1st base.
I firmly believe that Aaron Payne will will be drafted in the 2013 draft. He has appeal to an organization's system in the David Eckstein mold. I believe any team that drafts him will be elated with the player they get back.  He will be solid in the field and do whatever it takes to help his team win baseball games.

Player Profile: Justin Leeson

Justin Leeson is a Junior at Georgetown University. He was signed by the Braves after having played a week with the Harwich Mariners. Justin enjoyed a good deal of success for the Hoyas this past year, he was voted 3rd Team All-Big East. Leeson hit .325 with 69 hits. He recorded 8 doubles, 5 triples, and 2 home runs. He scored 40 runs and batted-in 21. He posted a very good OPS (.858) and when on base he was 18 for 24 in stolen base opportunities. To cap off his successful season, Justin Leeson was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 39th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Justin has shown that he has 3 useful tools for a Major League franchise. First, I have timed him 4.38 down to first. That is considered an average time for a right-handed major leaguer, and I know he will run faster before the end of the year. Second, he shows good range in the outfield, and I am confident he will continue to improve going back on a baseball.  Third, he has a nice, compact swing that should translate into hitting for average. In the first slow motion replay, you can see his hands move too far back. This causes a little bit of a loop in Justin’s hand path. He makes the proper adjustment in the same game, he keeps his hands in that hitter’s slot, and he is able to hit a nice line drive to right field. As for hitting mechanics, he does a very good job of setting his hands in the hitter’s slot. While setting his hands, Leeson shifts his weight to his back leg. He then implements a little toe tap for timing purposes. The toe tap is used to start his hands and back leg. He starts his back leg (load leg) early, the same way John Murphy does (shown here). His hands travel to the ball, and Justin makes sure not to roll his wrists early. He keeps his head on the baseball throughout his swing and finishes with a two-handed follow through. Personally, I don’t think anyone is going to be “WOWED” by Justin’s play night-in and night-out. However, Justin always puts himself in the right spots, can bunt, and hustles. There is a lot to be said about a baseball player who plays the game right, and has a good head on his shoulders. Mr. Leeson is joy to watch at Doran Park, and should be drafted in the later rounds in 2013.

Follow-up: Colin Moran

 

In the preseason, I broke down Colin's swing mechanics, and talked about how important going to the opposite field was. (Link is here)     Colin Moran has been tearing the cover off of the ball throughout his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League. This is nothing new, he has been an outstanding hitter since arriving at the University of North Carolina and was an All-Star in 2011 for the Bourne Braves. He leads the entire Cape League in runs batted in (24) and is tied for 5th in home runs (5). Moran is 3rd on the Braves in batting average, hitting an even .300. He is pacing the Braves in hits with 27, and is showing an excellent grasp of the strike zone; ranking second in walks (11). It is evident by his hitting chart (below) that he knows how to use the whole field. His ability to hit is even more apparent when you watch him take batting practice or make contact during a game. He hits everything on the sweet part of the bat. I hope I don’t jinx him, but he hasn’t broken a single bat this season. All this should not discount the fact that he moves well in the field, shows soft hands, and can make all the throws at third base. I cannot fathom a scenario where he is not in the upper half of the first round in the 2013 MLB draft. He is worth the drive to Doran Park, because he is just that impressive of a hitter. 

Player Profile: Tyler Skulina

     Tyler Skulina is a 6’6” 225lb. Sophomore from Kent State University. While a lot of college baseball fans remember the outstanding run Kent State had in the NCAA Tournament, few recognize the Golden Flashes for their outstanding regular season. KSU won 32 of their last 39 games, and including 21 of their last 23. Skulina was vital in is team’s amazing success. Among MAC pitchers, Tyler led the conference with 11 wins and 17 games started, plus ranked 3rd with 97 strikeouts. He paced his team with a .786 winning percentage and 36 strikeouts looking (over a third of his overall total).
    Tyler Skulina is another tall, big-bodied right-hander. In fact, between Jeff Thompson, Josh Dezse, Hawtin Buchanan, Patrick Young, Jon Keller, and Chris Matulis, I think it is safe to say Bourne has the biggest (size-wise) staff on the Cape. As for Tyler, he features an arsenal of pitches. His fastball hit anywhere from 90-93 on the radar gun, his curve was 69-70, his slider sat around 80, and change-up around 76. When Skulina gets ahead in the count he likes to compliment his throw-me over curve, with an explosive slider. In fact, I wrote down in my notebook that his slider is filthy (7/4) and then last night I described it as nasty. After having seen it more frequently in his second start, I think this pitch could contend with a select few pitches as one of the best I have seen on the cape this summer. As for mechanics, Tyler features a huge leg kick. That massive leg kick allows him to generate great push and extension to the plate (slow motion side view). He gets excellent arm extension to the plate, and that is important for a tall, long-armed, right-hander. He stands tall throughout his delivery. A scout at the game described this as a “North-South delivery”, and explained how this is their organization’s preferred way of throwing. His pitches come to the plate with a great downward plane. One adjustment I would like to make with Tyler, is he was between 1.58-1.72 to the plate with runners on-base. I feel like a pitcher with a 1.8+ WHIP needs to be more conscientious of the baserunners. However, I think with Tyler’s mechanics, and repertoire, his WHIP will plummet by season’s end. As for the 2013 draft, I would be surprised if he fell lower than the 3rd round, with a current ceiling the 2nd.

Follow-up: Mason Robbins

On 6/21, I posted a Game Highlight on Mason Robbins. I included a hitting chart showing how Mason was more successful hitting the ball the other way. I still believe that Mason’s power is to the right-center gap, but he has hit one home run to right and the other to left (in the same game). My only defense, other than watching batting practice, is his only triple of the season was to right-center. Regardless of where his power lies, he has found more success going to the opposite field. He has more hits, and made less outs, hitting the ball the opposite way. Robbins has 12 hits to left this season and 6 to right (hitting chart below).

His recent hitting success can be attributed to an adjustment to his swing, as well. In the video below you can see Mason on 7/1 pulling his front shoulder off of the baseball. I am referring to his front shoulder opening up to the pitcher rather than staying under his chin. This tends to cause a loss of power, not letting the ball travel deep enough in the zone, a reduced rate of contact, and hitting the ball directly into the ground (topping off). Since 7/1, Mason's batting average has risen from .306-.390, and his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) from 0.776 to an outstanding 1.056. He has hit 3 doubles and 2 home runs. It is obvious in the video, that after the first hit, his chin goes from shoulder to shoulder. I slowed down the last hit for two reasons. The first is to show how well Mason goes to the opposite field. The second is to show how, on a similar pitch, Mason not only makes contact, but he hits the ball with great authority. Currently, he is 10th in the entire Cape Cod Baseball League with 15.429 runs created (sabermetric stat). Runs created is a formula, which is based on hits, walks, at-bats, and total bases, and predicts the number of runs a batter scores in a season. If Mason continues to stray true to his swing, this number will continue to rise!

Player Profile: Hawtin Buchanan

Hawtin Buchanan is a 6’8” 250lb. freshman at the University of Mississippi. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 19th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Baseball America chose him as the SEC’s third-best newcomer in their season preview. In 2012, Hawtin was 1-0 in 15 appearances for the Ole Miss Rebels. He pitched 20.1 innings and struck out 31 batters, while only walking 8. For the Braves, he has pitched 7.0 innings in 5 appearances. Buchanan has struck out 9 batters, and has a 0.86 WHIP.

My initial reaction to watching Hawtin take the mound is “Wow, he has a pro-pitcher body!” His body-type reminds me of Josh Johnson (6’7” 248), a lot (see pictures below). He is a huge pitcher, and I become more impressed when I put the radar gun on him. He throws between 92-95mph with an 11-5 curve that sits around 81mph. I like that he has a 10mph difference between his power fastball and his show-me curve. For a freshman pitcher that seems to be growing into his body, he repeats his throwing motion very well. Buchanan uses his large-frame to throw the ball on a nice downward plane. His arm action is slightly concerning to me. Hawtin is very “arm-fast,” which is normally a good thing. However, I am worried about the way his elbow leads into the pitch (slow-motion front view). Other than that minor hiccup in his arm motion, Buchanan shows good mechanics for somebody his size. He starts with a slight step to the first base side of the mound and uses a high leg kick (impressive for such a big body) to generate his momentum to the plate. While he doesn’t fully extend into the power position, he plants his front leg and uses that action to throw the ball on such an aggressive downward plane (slow motion side-view).  He uses the “bow and arrow” technique and tucks his glove very well. His rotation and finish are smooth. He allows his back leg to fall into place, squarely facing home plate. His arm has a little “snapback” action, but I do not think that is an issue. This Biloxi, Mississippi native is going to pitch in some tight spots, as a reliable reliever, for the Braves this summer. Right now, Hawtin is a big-body power arm, and I really believe he can turn his curveball into a plus pitch as he gains confidence in it. With continued development, tt would be hard to picture Buchanan going anywhere other than the top 5 rounds in 2014.

Player Profile: Ryan Donahue

Ryan Donahue is a 6’4” 200lb. LHP from La Salle University. He made 24 appearances for the La Salle Explorers this past year, including 9 starts. He pitched a total of 65 innings and posted a 2.91 ERA. He struck out 62 batters and walked 34 of them. He ranked third on his team in ERA, second in wins, third in total appearances, and third on his team in strikeouts.

I know the first thing people are going to ask themselves is “How does a guy like this, who doesn’t put up the best statistics for his small-baseball school, pitch in the Cape Cod Baseball League?” The question becomes reinforced when I talk about how Donahue throws 84-85 mph with a 70-73 mph breaking ball. I am going to pile on to the argument when I talk about how he is below-average (1.53-1.55) to the plate with runners on base. I will defend his ability to keep the running game in control by telling you that he led his team at La Salle in pickoffs, and I will defend Ryan as a pitcher by talking about how unique his mechanics are. I have never seen a pitcher with an arm slot/motion like Ryan’s. He has an extremely deceptive delivery, and that delivery comes from a left-handed arm. As for the 5 points of emphasis used in assessing pitching mechanics, Donahue does everything well. His footwork, balance position, power position, rotation, and follow-through are solid. After watching the video you notice he has strong, yet unique, mechanics. I would not support any youth pitcher trying to emulate his pitching form, but Ryan is successful because his throwing motion creates so much deception. He is not going to blow the ball by anyone in this league, but he will keep hitters off-balance. One of my favorite things about his motion is the step to the first base side, and throwing back across his body. That action creates a lot of movement on his baseball and confuses the hitter. This is evident because he is averaging 14.2 strikeouts per 9 innings. He is going to work exclusively out of the bullpen throughout this 2012 season. Ryan is going to throw the ball funky for the remainder of the year. In doing so, he is going to confuse most hitters and make every left-handed hitter uncomfortable in the box.