One of the strengths of this draft is the college pitching, and that may be where the Cardinals are leaning with their first pick. We have already profiled the top two pitchers, but the next group of hurlers is pretty strong as well. This set of pitchers may not have the polish of a Crow or Matusz, but they still possess the stuff to be top of the rotation starters or in the case of Josh Fields a dominating closer. This group also contains the guy who I think is the current favorite to go to the Cardinals with the 13th overall pick, Shooter Hunt. Check it all out after the break.
Tanner Scheppers RHP Fresno State 6′4″ 200 lbs. DOB: 1/17/87
Tanner Scheppers is long and projectable, but he already has the makings of a top of the rotation starter. Scheppers has dominated this spring with a plus fastball in the 93-95 range that he can occasionally dial up to the high-90’s. He also features a devastating 86-88 mph slider that can be unhittable at times and a curve that has had its moments. Scheppers not only has powerful stuff, he also has pretty good control and is fairly polished for someone that was originally recruited as a shortstop and is new to pitching. He first drew the interest of scouts last fall with his velocity, but this spring his performance has cemented his place among the top 3 starters in college baseball. With his size and stuff Scheppers has drawn comparisons to former Bulldog ace Matt Garza, and like Garza he might not have to spend much time in the minor leagues.
Shooter Hunt RHP Tulane 6′3″ 205 lbs. DOB: 8/16/86
Hunt is a pure power pitcher with a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 96 and a true power curve that he throws around 80 mph. He has been nearly unhittable this spring for Tulane allowing only 24 hits in 56.2 innings, but about the only thing holding him back is his control as he has walked 32. Hunt uses a classic drop and drive delivery, and his arm action is pretty smooth so there are no serious mechanical flaws leading to so many balls. He can throw his curve for strikes, and at times he commands his fastball well. Consistency is his biggest problem. Obviously the team that drafts Hunt is going to believe they can straighten out his control problems and let his stuff take him to the top of a big league rotation, but it is also possible that he will never fully harness his stuff and have to try and make it as a late inning reliever.
Josh Fields RHP Georgia 6′0″ 180 lbs. DOB: 8/19/85
Fields was seen as a mid-first rounder heading into last year’s draft as the top closer in college baseball. However, he had a disastrous season and fell to the Braves in the 2nd round. Atlanta didn’t meet his asking price, so he came back to Georgia to try his luck again and see if he couldn’t become the next Casey Weathers. Fields seems to have made the right choice as he is pitching the best baseball of his career and has re-established himself as one the best pitchers in the draft. Fields has the stuff of a prototypical closer with a mid-90’s fastball and a hammer curveball. The deadly combo has devastated college hitters this spring as he has yet to allow an earned run and has 36 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. Obviously his draft position will depend on which teams are willing to take a college closer in the first round, but Fields has the stuff to close at the big league level and the polish to do it rather quickly.
Filed under: 2008 MLB draft
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Good stuff as always fewgood.
People better get used to Shooter Hunt..b/c to me he is the odds on fav to be the #13 pick.
Wouldn’t “power pitchers” include these guys?
Brett Hunter
Ryan Perry
Brett Jacobson
Chris Carpenter
Cody Satterwhite
Luke Burnett
Aaron Weatherford
Bryan Price
Zach Stewart
Or are you just listing your 3-5 college pitchers?
Anyways good stuff like always. I would love to get Scheppers with our first pick, but I doubt he last that long. If Scheppers isn’t there and the Crow and Matusz are gone I really don’t want to be picking a pitcher with that pick.
What are your thoughts on Gorgen, I forget his first name but he’s on UC Davis? Is he a sandwich guy, 2nd rounder? From what I’ve read of him, he’s got pretty good stuff although he’s undersized.
If they take Hunt, I think I would be moderately upset.
those guys certainly would be considered power pitchers, but hunter is the only one i think has a chance to go in the first round. although he is hurt right now and hasn’t pitched since early march. i will probably have some profiles on some of those guys later, but i usually only do 3 at a time and i went with the top 3 on my list.
scott gorgen is actually from uc irvine. i wouldn’t necessarily say he has good stuff as it is more average, and he is very small. however, he is one of the best college pitchers out there in terms of production. i think he is like a wes roemer or barry enright from last year, and like you said go in the sandwich or 2nd round.
Well, maybe I spoke too soon. I see Hunt had 12 K’s to just 1 walk and 2 hits in 7 last night. Maybe he’s figuring some things out. I could see a team that loves high velocity pitchers, a team like the White Sox, scooping him up first.
One note on Gorgen, his changeup is supposed to be the best change in the draft. But like few said, his fastball is really below average for a righty(87-90) and he is only 5′10″ or so. One BA writer called him one of the best pitchers in the college ranks, though. If you are looking for a Kevin Slowey/PJ Walters pitcher, Gorgen might be your guy. Although Slowey and Walters are like 6′4″ so they have that downward plane on their fastballs that might make them tougher to hit. He might have a chance to go in the 3rd-4th round.
hunt was very good last night. he walked the first batter of the game and then didn’t walk another man. neither of the runs were really his fault either as the first one scored when the rightfielder knocked himself out diving headfirst into the side wall to allow an inside the park homer, and the second one was allowed by a reliever after he left the game. i was watching on the internet, and he commanded his fastball pretty well and he was dropping in his curve for strikes all night. the guy that pitched last night looked nothing like his stats from the rest of the year.
Shooter Hunt has a great arm…..his control has actually regressed.
in 99IP as a Soph he only walked 30 for a sub 3 BB per 9.
This year he already has 32 in 56 IP…..maybe he is trying to strike out people and that is causing him to be too cute instead of just going after the hitter.
Last year he wasnt nearly the K pitcher nor the BAA pitcher he is this year..so he could also be trying to harness his new found “stuff”
He also walked 20 in only 36IP at the Cape this summer.
So this new found lack of control has been going on for awhile.
after watching last night’s game i can see why he would want to strike out every batter. his infielders booted two pretty softly hit grounders and threw another one away plus the previously mentioned play in the outfield.
Hey few, what was with that camera angle in the Tulane game? Why didn’t they just keep it on the camera behind homeplate?
i have no idea. i have never seen a baseball game covered like that before. like you said the camera behind home plate looked fine to me.
Luhnow may have seen enough of guys without enough control. If the Cards pop for a pitcher in round one, command seems a valuable quality. Also a good sinker helps someone rise in the rankings for the Cards.
John Flanagan, LHP, 6′4″ , 220, formerly of Belleville West High School, and now pitching for Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. This kid is terrific…and, he’s right in the Cardinals back yard!!