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.