Game Highlight: Josh Dezse

     I know I did a player profile on Josh during the preseason, but I wanted to record some video and talk about his game tonight. In tonight's game at Doran Park, Josh hit the go ahead home run in the Bottom of the 7th. Then, he came in to record the save. In tonight's save, Josh dropped his ERA an entire run from 5.79 to 4.76. His WHIP was 1.71 and dropped to 1.59. Batters are hitting a paltry .200 (71.4% weakly hit average), and Josh records outs on 85.7% of the hitters he starts off with a first pitch strike. Most Importantly, Josh is 100% in his save chances.
    As for his mechanics, they are flat-out effortless. Ordinarily, It is difficult to hit a player who throws in the mid-90s with a high-70s curve. However, when the ball jumps out of the hand of the opposing pitcher, your task becomes that much more daunting. Josh takes a small step to the first base side, keeps his head above his drive foot, and uses a strong base to work into his balance point. While Josh's leg is slightly higher, than that ideal balance point that Chad Green had, he is very balanced before his delivery. Josh turns his trunk slightly to gather a little bit more momentum to the plate. I would like the viewer to notice that his hands are together and right above his raised leg. This is my preferred hand position. I know that pitchers, like Dice-K, are a little bit different, but this is what I feel best prepares the pitcher to deliver the baseball. The next step is the power position. I know it is petty to tell a guy who throws in the mid-90s that he can generate more power, but this is where I feel Josh is losing those 2-3mph on his fastball he had last year. If the viewer stops the video at exactly 0:09 seconds,or chooses to watch the slow motion side view, you can see that Josh could drive that little bit extra before delivery (see photo of my favorite pitcher Greg Maddux below). The contrast is that Maddux's leg is straight and fully extended, and that Josh's is slightly bent. You can notice that Greg's front foot is pointed because he needed that little-extra on his fastball. I feel if Josh gives that little extra push, off his back leg/foot, his fastball will EXPLODE! The next step is rotation. Josh does an excellent job of involving his core muscles in his delivery. He uses the "bow and arrow" technique and whips his entire upper body to the plate. Finally, he allows his leg and arm to come to a natural stop. I have heard from a former trainer that more damage is done to the arm while stopping than during the actual throwing motion. It is important for all young pitchers to let their body naturally finish their delivery. As for Josh Dezse, he is going to close out games and come in during pressure situations. This is expected from this flamethrower who has a bright future ahead of him. So bright that the Bleacher Report has him projected as the #11 overall pick in the 2013 Draft!

Player Profile: Justin Jones

     Last night was the debut for 6’2” 188 lb. LHP Justin Jones. In 2012 at the University of California-Berkeley, Jones appeared in 16 games (starting 15) and posted a 4.57 ERA. In 80.2 innings of work, he struck-out 50 and walked 31. In the Bleacher Report’s “Omaha Eye-Openers” they said that, “He controls his high 80s fastball very well. His curveball and changeup both have slightly above-average potential. That was enough to get him tabbed in the seventh round out of high school by the White Sox.”
         Jones fastball registered on the gun 86-89 mph, with a lot of inside tail to a right-handed batter, and his curveball sat 76-79mph. He was 1.58 seconds to 1.79 seconds with runners on, but that is because of his quirky delivery to the plate. The first weird thing Justin does is pitch from the third-base side of the mound. This is obviously something he feels comfortable in doing. Pitching from the side of the mound is common among several big-leaguers, including C.C. Sabathia (Picture and funny animated GIF Below). Justin Jones takes his “footwork” step to the third base side as well. I firmly believe that it doesn’t matter where, or how, a pitcher steps to set his feet. The important thing is that his head remains above his balance/drive foot. Jones does an excellent job of keeping his head above that drive leg. The next unusual thing, Jones does is when he kicks his leg; he curls his body to gain more momentum to the plate. Justin then kicks his leg out and swings it to the plate. Another belief of mine is that as long as a pitcher maintains balance throughout his delivery and reaches the “power position” effectively then it doesn’t matter what he does. Jones does an excellent job of driving off his back leg to reach that power position upon delivery. Rather than using the “bow and arrow” technique, he uses a straight arm tuck. Finally, Justin Jones does a very good job of allowing his arm and body momentum to finish his pitch. I really like his exaggerated finish. From the side view, I want the viewer to notice that Justin does such an excellent job of driving off his back leg that you can see that his knee has scraped the dirt. From the front view, you can see how he does an excellent job of “hiding the baseball” from the hitter. In fact, you don’t get your first look at the baseball until it is behind his head and on the way to the plate. With this being Justin Jones first appearance, I am not sure what role he is going to fill in the Braves rotation. However, I can see why this lefty, with a high-80’s fastball, was taken by the White Sox out of high school, and he garnered attention from the Bleacher Report.

Player Profile: John Murphy

   
     John Murphy is a 5’11” 175 lb. Junior infielder from Sacred Heart University. He enjoyed an extremely impressive season in Fairfield, CT. On top of being named to the 2012 New England Conference All-Tournament team, John ranked among the top 10 statistically in batting average (3rd-.347), slugging (9th-.476), on-base percentage (3rd -438), runs scored (7th-38), triples (2nd-4), walks (7th-25), and stolen bases (2nd-24). He led his team in runs-batted-in with 36, and hits with 61, as well. If that is not impressive enough, Murphy was second on the team with a .965 on-base plus slugging.  While playing for the Bourne Braves this year, he has attracted a lot of attention. Most recently an article titled “The Braves man in the middle” was written about him. My favorite notation from this article is that: “He has been making the action happen as he ranks in the top three in every major offensive category on the team while also leading the team in runs scored with six and stolen bases with four through the first eight games.”
    John has very quick, soft hands as a fielder, and he turns an excellent double play. He has plus speed, meaning he runs well-above average. I have timed him 4.07 down to first, and I will not be surprised if he breaks 4.00 before the end of the season. I would describe his hitting approach as a slap-hitter who does a very good job of turning on a fastball (while not a direct comparison think Ichiro or Wade Boggs during batting practice). John’s hitting mechanics are slightly unorthodox, but with his statistics, why fix what isn’t broken? He stands upright in the box with his hands at ear level. He keeps his hands over the “hitting slot” and then takes a huge stride. In the process of his stride his hands slide into that hitting slot with his elbow down. He then pre-bends his back leg and turns his hips into the ball. In fact, when he takes a pitch, you can see his back knee bending and turning before the ball arrives. Regardless how he gets there, John has a very strong base and good balance at the point of contact. Moments after striking the baseball, he supplants his back foot and begins running towards first base. This is very common among leadoff hitters, and is a great way to “leg-out” infield hits. I slowed down two different hits that John had in the Hyannis game. The first is a 3rd inning ground out to the pitcher. I hope the viewer notices that John plants that left foot and runs directly up the line to try for an infield hit. The second hit is a 1st inning double to right-centerfield. Murphy hits the ball, plants his left foot, takes two steps, and immediately takes a wide turn. This is an example of great situational base-running. A popular baseball cliche is “Triples are hit out of the box” or “thinking double after the ball is hit.” John Murphy follows that popular cliche, but why should I be surprised? This “man in the middle” makes the action happen!

Player Profile: Chad Green

     Chad Green is a 6’4” 215lb. He is a Sophomore, RHP from the University of Louisville. He was drafted in the 37th Round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010. In 2012, Chad was 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He appeared in 22 games and started 6. He recorded 42 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched and walked 23 batters.
    Chad Green pitched 3.2 innings last night before the skies opened up. Chad threw very well. He threw 64 pitches and 67.2% of them for strikes. He struck out 5 of the 11 batters he faced and he retired every single batter he threw a first-pitch strike to. When the ball was hit, 87.5% of the batted balls were weakly hit (fly balls and ground balls). After seeing Chad twice this season, I made these observation: Chad has very nice mechanics. They are slow and deliberate, which allow him to possess a nice 3/4 arm motion. Chad shows a slight shoulder turn while coming to his balance point. A minor adjustment Chad has made to his mechanics is viewable on the front view in slow motion. The adjustment is that he steps ever so slightly to the third base side. I noticed this during his first appearance of the year when his fastball was sitting 89-91mph. Unfortunately, I was unable to attain any velocities last night due to the inclement weather. From the side view, you can see Chad using the “bow and arrow” technique I posted about in the Mike Mayers Player Profile. From the front view, I hope the viewer notices that Chad Green comes to an ideal balance point.  While every pitcher’s mechanics are like fingerprints (no two the same), and every pitcher is comfortable with different leg kicks, ideally, you want a leg kick where you can balance a tray at its peak.

Player Profile: Logan Norris

 
     Tonight’s Reliever was Logan Norris a 5’10” 175 lb. RHP from Bossier City, LA. He pitches at LSU-Shreveport, an NAIA school. This season Logan compiled a 3.50 ERA going 9-1. He pitched 3 complete games, including 1 shutout. He pitched 64.1 total innings and struck-out 57 batters while allowing 27 walks. Last year he pitched 10 innings for the Braves and struck out 5.

     Logan Norris does not possess the typical major-league pitcher’s body. It is safe to say that he is on the small side. With this being true, he needs to do some unorthodox things with his mechanics to throw an 87-89 mph fastball. In the wind-up, he uses a huge leg kick to gain a lot of momentum towards the plate. His fastball shows a lot of late action; riding in on a right-handed batter. His curveball is a nice compliment to the tailing fastball he throws. He gets every ounce out of his 175 pound frame by staying closed and whipping his upper body around. A lot of pitching coaches would not advise throwing off your front foot, but I feel like Pedro Martinez (another small pitcher) pitched like that throughout his career. In the video, you notice that Logan uses his front leg the same way Pedro did. I posted a picture below of Tim Lincecum (yet another small pitcher) spinning off his front leg. In Logan’s first outing at Falmouth it looked like his front shoulder was swinging open, and I felt like that led to his control issues. However, you can tell in the video he keeps his front shoulder tucked-in and threw first pitch strikes to 91.7% (11/12) of the batters he faced. At Falmouth he threw only 32.4% strikes. He was very successful today, throwing 75% of his pitches for strikes. In the video, I would like to point out that Logan utilizes the slide step, when in the stretch, to control the running game. The slide step is when a pitcher does not lift their leg as high and their front foot sort of “slides” towards the plate before the release point.

Game Highlight: Mason Robbins

 

      Tonight, I would like to talk about how Mason Robbins played an excellent all-around game, In tonight’s 9-3 loss against the Chatham Anglers, Mason was 2 for 4 with a double; He increased his batting average from .250 to .292; and increased his slugging from .400 to .458. Out of the 4 times he came to the plate, he produced 2 quality at-bats. He used the entire field to hit (had a base-hit to left and then hit a double to right). Not only did he have a good day at the plate, Robbins gunned out Aaron Brown at second base when he attempted to stretch his 7th inning single into a double. Robbins has had a hit in every game except the game Monday against Orleans. I noticed that in his spray chart, he has 4 hits to the left side of the field while creating only 3 outs. When hitting to the right side of the field, Mason has 4 outs with 3 hits. I firmly believe that Mason's power is based on his ability to drive the ball to Right-Center, but I wonder if he will continue to find more success hitting the ball the other way throughout the season.

Player Profile: Mike Mayers

     Mike Mayers is a 6’3” 195 lb. RHP from the University of Mississippi. He was an excellent three-sport athlete out of Grove City High School in Grove City, Ohio. He was named All-League in Football, Basketball, and Baseball. This year, he was a weekend starter for the Rebels. Mayers was 6-3 with a 3.50 ERA, he held batters to a .222 batting average (8th in SEC), and pitched 92.2 innings (10th in SEC). He struck out 70 batters and walked 30. Arkansas second baseman, Bo Bigham, raved about Mayers’ talent saying, “You can’t sit on anything. He throws all his pitches for strikes. He just keeps the hitters guessing, and that’s been tough on us.”
     Mike’s fastball was thrown in the 90-94mph range and his slider was 79-81mph. When he geared it up, his fastball even sounded impressive. I felt like he had some nice action on his slider too. Mayers did an excellent job of getting the ball to the plate with runners on (3.18 range). He throws out of a 3/4 arm slot. Mayers generates his power through crisp mechanics. He uses a high leg kick to initiate an excellent low drive to the plate. Mike does a very good job of “staying closed” which means he doesn’t open up his front foot to the hitter until the final moments of his delivery. He does a very good job of incorporating his upper body into his mechanics, as well. While looking at the side view in slow motion, I noticed that this Ole Miss Rebel does an excellent job of driving off his back leg. The front view, on slow motion, shows Mike using the technique that I like to call the “bow and arrow” technique; this is where you flex your back, the front elbow is pointed at the throwing target, and the glove hand is relaxed near the chest area. Mayers then tucks his glove into his armpit and uncoils his back muscles. Mike Mayers finished the night with 4.0 IP, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, and striking out 5. In the process of recovering from his arm being taxed during Mississippi’s NCAA Regional run, the best is yet to come from this Bourne Brave.

Player Profile: Jaron Long

Jaron Long is a 6’0” 180 lb. Sophomore from The Ohio State University. He was named First-Team Big Ten All-Conference this season. In 2012, Long pitched 101.1 innings (4th in Big Ten), striking out 63 (11th in conference), walking 13 (2nd in Big Ten), and posted a 2.66 ERA (6th in conference). Jaron pitched 2 complete games and had a 6-2 record. He went at least 7.0 innings and allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his 12 starts. His assistant coach Mike Stafford said, “Jaron fills up the strike zone and works fast. He works both sides of the plate and can throw strikes with four pitches. [He isn’t] a strikeout pitcher- he throws the fastball anywhere from 87 to 90 - but he relies on movement and adding and subtracting speed.”

Jaron throws out of the 3/4 arm slot with a smooth arm action. Like Coach Stafford said, he works very fast. This is an excellent way for pitchers to keep their fielders involved in the game. The first thing I noticed when watching Jaron’s bullpen session: he has solid mechanics and has a nice repertoire of pitches. When I asked him about the slight foot kick after he reaches his balance point, he spoke about how it helped him incorporate his lower body better. He uses a fastball with some late action that sits around 86-88, a cut fastball around 84, a curve around 74, and a good change-up that comes in at 80 mph. I feel like his change-up is well disguised, has very nice tail, and downward movement to a right-handed batter. He works diligently at controlling the running game by varying his looks and keeping his time to the plate around 1.32-1.36. Long pounded the strike zone by throwing 63.4% of his pitches for strikes. To the batters he threw first-pitch strikes to; he retired 89% of them. Jaron Long is a very solid pitcher who understands the finer aspects of his craft. In the video, you can see how the delivery Jaron uses for his fastball and change-up are the same.  Jaron Long has a high baseball IQ and should be a valued part of the Braves starting rotation.

Player Profile: Mike Ahmed

     Mike Ahmed is a 6'2" 195lb. INF/RHP for the College of the Holy Cross. He enjoyed an excellent season this past year batting .295 in 207 AB, and drawing 31 walks. His hitting statistics become more impressive when you note his .396 on-base percentage, and his .488 slugging percentage. Mike finished 4th in the conference in Runs Scored, 5th in the conference in Doubles, and led the conference in home runs. He has started his Bourne Braves season on fire! At a time when the league's pitching is supposed to be dominating, because the hitters are adjusting to the wooden bats, this Brave has been on top everything. Through 4 games he is batting .467. He has compiled 15 at-bats; hitting a triple, home run, 4 RBIs, and drawing two walks. At this rate, he appears to be a fixture at the top of the Braves order.

     After seeing several batting practices and at-bats, I noticed that Mike does an excellent job of finding every hole in  the field. In fact, several people have commented that he flat-out "rakes." This is evident through his hitting chart. Two things to note in this chart: 1. He equally distributes flyballs, line-drives, and groundballs 2. He uses the middle of the field well (biggest hole in the field).  He makes excellent contact because his approach is very balanced. He keeps his front foot open with what I like to call a neutral stance. This means his feet are at a comfortable distance and his weight is distributed evenly. As the pitch arrives: his hands stay high, he uses the landing of his front foot to set his hands, his weight stays balanced throughout his swing, and his hands take a very efficient, direct path to the baseball. I showed the swing three times in slow motion, so the viewer can see how he does an excellent job of "punching" his hands at the ball, and allowing the head of his bat to explode at the point of contact. Mike Ahmed has a quick, compact swing, and has shown the ability to drive the ball out of the park. At this point in the season, all he has done is rake.

Player Profile: Jeff Thompson

Jeff Thompson is a 6’6”, 245 lb. RHP. He enjoyed an excellent year for the Louisville Cardinals. Jeff finished his season tied for first in the Big East with 9 wins, 8th in the league in strikeouts with 73, averaging 8.35/9 IP, and finished second on his team in innings pitched. During the summer of 2011 he pitched for the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s (NECBL) Keene Swamp Bats. He started 8 games during the regular season posting a 1.90 earned run average, finishing 3rd in the league with 53 strikeouts in 38 inning pitched. In the playoffs Jeff was 2-0 with 15 strikeouts and a 0.71 ERA. It was really nice to see that Jeff “rose to the occasion” during the playoffs. This strong performance earned Thompson the NECBL Top Prospect award and he was named to the NECBL First-Team.

This University of Louisville product pitched 5.0 strong innings last night surrendering 2 hits while striking out 2, and not allowing a run to score. The first thing that really sticks out about Jeff is definitely his size. The moment he took the mound at Doran Park you could hear the comments range from “Wow, that’s a big boy!” to “Look at the size of him!” It is easy to say that he is an imposing presence on the mound. Jeff uses his large frame very well to generate power to the plate. He throws from a 3/4-over the top arm angle, and really extends his long arms to the plate. I thoroughly enjoyed his arm extension and the look it gave behind home plate. His fastball was around 89-91 on a 60-57 degree night with a strong 13mph NE wind. His change was around 82-84, and his slider sat around 82. His change-up showed some nice downward drive and it compliments his four-seam fastball well. He did a very nice job of disguising his change-up. The hitters were certainly off-balance when he threw it. In the top of the 3rd inning he struck out Binghampton’s Billy Bereszniewicz on a nasty backdoor slider, that Bereszniewicz really had no chance at. When runners did reach base, Thompson was quick to the plate (1.33-1.35 from the stretch). In the top of the fourth, he showed some pitching moxie by changing his looks with University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Derek Smith on first. In this instance, he had two strikes, and he slowed down slightly to 1.51 with a change-up. Overall, I am looking forward to a very strong summer from Jeff.

Player Profile: Chase McDonald

    Chase McDonald is an East Carolina sophomore who has started the Braves’ first two games of the year at first base. Going in to the 2012 season, he was ranked by College Baseball Daily as the #40 Best Player. This ranking was the highest of any Bourne Brave. This is his first season in the Cape League. He played in the Coastal Plains League(CPL) in 2011. In the CPL, he led the league with a .403 batting average, 51 RBIs, and finished second in the league with 13 home runs. So after missing the CPL triple crown by two home runs, McDonald was named to the CPL All-Star game and named the 2011 Rawlings CPL Offensive Player of the Year. Before the summer of 2011, McDonald hit .314 with 4 HRs, 11 doubles, and 31 RBIs. He was on the Conference USA (C-USA) All-Freshman team, College Baseball Daily’s C-USA All-Freshman team, and the Charlottesville All-Regional Team. To read even more about the praise being lauded upon this young man, check out his Baseball Factory Player Page and click on the Professional Evaluation tab.
    After watching Chase in the first two games, and three batting practices, I noticed he has a very good power swing.He keeps his hands at his eye level beginning his swing, and his elbow up. He really gets into the ball well.  I spoke to him about how he generated a lot of topspin line drives in his first couple batting practices and how he did an excellent job of getting inside the baseball while hitting two long drives to right field during the game. He said, “I was trying to hit line drives because it was very windy, and once the wind died down you could elevate the ball a bit more and hit more balls in the gap.” His hitting adjustment was critical in this 3-2 game, because his bottom of the 6th double and eventual run gave the Braves a 2-1 lead. I posted two videos to show a timing adjustment in his swing. The first video was shot at the Impact Invitational on March 6, 2010, the second was on June 15, 2012 at Doran Park versus the Hyannis Harborhawks.  The adjustment made from 2010-2012 is a slight toe tap and leg twist to allow him to set his hands better. You can see in the 2010(top) video his hands move together with his hips, and that his hands drop into his swing. In the 2012(bottom) video, you can see his hips initiate the swing and how the first motion his hands make is directly to the path of the ball. After his hands follow the path, you can see the adjustment Chase made (in the game today). He fouls off the pitch I filmed, but it is very easy to see that he is trying to get inside this baseball and drive it to right field.

Player Profile: Shane Taylor

 

      Shane Taylor is a 6’1 186 lb. pitcher from the University of North Carolina. He is from Mullica Hill, NJ and pitched for Clearview Regional High School. Taylor was ranked as the seventh-best prospect in New Jersey and the 360th nationally by Perfect Game. He finished 5-0 on the season with a 3.48 ERA. Shane was second on the team with 26 appearances. He posted 34 strikeouts and surrendered 17 walks. This New Jersey product was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after pitching 8.0 innings allowing no runs and only 1 hit against Duke. He only allowed three base-runners total, and retired the last 16 batters he faced.
      In last night’s game Shane Taylor pitched 3 complete innings. He gave up 3 earned runs, walked 4, and struck-out 3. He throws from a low 3/4 arm slot. His arm angle is around the hour hand at 2:00. His fastball was between 84-86 mph with nice tail inside to a right-handed batter, and his Slurve was around 76-78mph. It is important to have an 8-10 mph drop between your fastball and off-speed pitch(s). I think the slurve compliments his tailing fastball well. I am not sure if he was choking his slurve at times or he threw an occasional slider. I posted a video of his mechanics. Taylor really extends and gets good forward momentum towards the plate. It is impressive to see a smaller pitcher generate that much power (his fastball sat around 90-92 against St. John’s at the Regional, 90 according to Perfect Game). Warming up in the bullpen(side view) I noticed how he did an excellent job of finding a slightly high balance point. When warming up at the begining of the second (straight-on view), I noticed his leg-kick became higher. As his leg kick increases his mechanics become quicker and he tends to overthrow a bit (second pitch from straight-on view). His lead arm tends to drift slightly rather than staying tight and tucked under his arm(note picture below). During the third inning his arm angle dropped to a 2:30-2:45 angle. This is when Phil Ervin hit a homerun.

Player Profile: Mason Robbins

 

     Mason Robbins is a freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi. He wants to receive his Bachelors in Construction Engineering. This 6 foot 2 inch 196 pound CF/LHP was drafted in the 20th round (612 overall) by the Mets in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft. He played his high school baseball at George County High. He acquired quite the reputation as a dominant pitcher and centerfielder. Stan Caldwell a writer for the Hattiesburg American commented on one of Robbins’ hits: "It's the darnedest thing I've ever seen, it had to go at least 420 feet in the air. I'd never seen a ball hit like that." The ball one-hopped a wall 445 feet from home plate.  The 2011 Mississippi Mr. Baseball is an apparent five-tool player.  His ability to hit for power and average was on display when he batted .500 his senior year and hit 14 home runs and 14 doubles. He has been clocked at 91mph from the outfield by Perfect Game USA. On the mound at George County, Mason won 7 games with a 1.83 ERA and struck out 99 batters in 65 innings of work. He was the Conference-USA Freshman of the Year for the Golden Eagle baseball team leading the team in average at .332 to go along with 3 HRs, 36 RBIs. He appears to be excellent on the base-paths because he was second on the team with 7 stolen bases in 8  attempts, and he led Conference-USA in triples with 7. Not to discount, he has a 4.13 ERA as a left-handed pitcher for Southern Miss.

    The video I posted above was taken at the Baseball Factory Under Armour All-America Game on August 14, 2010. Robbins’ slows down and concentrates on fielding the ground ball, but you can notice he is diligent in catching it on the outside of his foot. Even though he is using a small crow hop he shows off an excellent arm from the outfield (0:42). While hitting, he small toe-tap with his front foot. It appears he is an excellent rhythm hitter as the foot allows his hands to hit sharply into the ball. His hands are in the perfect hitter’s slot and move in a direct path to the ball. He does a good job of hitting the ball out in front. I am excited to see him use all of his tools this summer at Doran Park the home of the Braves.