Like I mentioned in my last entry (Pt. 1) I only attended Games 1, 2, and 4 of the 5 game series. Game 1's starting pitchers, Jim Paduch for Montgomery and Joseph O'Gara of Jacksonville are not considered to be true prospects and their arsenal was nothing special as both featured average velocity on their fastballs (again without a working radar gun their true velocity is unknown) and spotty command. O'Gara only struck out one batter in 7 innings, while Paduch struck out 4 in six innings, but also struggled to put away batters and surrendered 4 BB.
There did not appear to be many scouts in attendance for Game 1 because of the relatively unappealing pitching match-up, but Jhan Marinez (Jacksonville) did appear out of the bullpen in the eighth inning. Marinez, 22, is rated as the #7 prospect in the Marlins farm system by Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein. Marinez's one inning featured a lead-off walk to the 9 hitter which was quickly followed by a wild pitch and an RBI single. He then settled down to record three straight outs, including a K to end the inning. Although the results were quite mixed, the process showed great promise as Marinez flashed a fastball with good velocity. Again, due to my limitations without a radar gun I can not put an exact figure on the pitch, but it was evident that the velocity was overpowering. Marinez struggled a bit with his command as evidenced by the BB and WP but I liked his make-up on the mound and his ability to work out of trouble (albeit self-imposed). Goldstein noted in the pre-season that he expected Marinez to start in AAA after spring training broke, yet Marinez has stayed in Jacksonville thus far this year. He has had a pretty solid season so far striking out 60 in 44.1 IP, but he still needs to fine-tune his command as he has also given up 36 BB. Overall, I came away pretty impressed with Marinez and the outing that I saw seems to be indicative of his season so far--overpowering stuff with a lack of command. I would expect Marinez to be called up to AAA sometime this year and he could also be a September call-up for the Marlins.
Like Jacksonville, Montgomery also used an overpowering RHP out of the bullpen after pulling their starter. Matt Bush, 25, former 1st overall pick by the San Diego Padres in 2004 pitched 2 innings of relief work for the Biscuits. Drafted as a SS, Bush has resurrected his baseball career after being out of the game for a number of years. Bush pitched 13.2 innings last year in the GCL and Florida State League, but this year has been his first true test as a pitcher. Because of his age and relative inexperience as a pitcher, Bush was not featured on many prospect lists coming into the season. However, his outing in Game 1 was pretty impressive. Bush pitched 2 innings, surrendered 2 walks, yet struck out 4 and did not allow any hits or runs. He flashed an overpowering fastball that appeared to be in the mid-90s and had decent command of the pitch. His breaking ball was sharp and froze a couple of hitters for called third strikes, but his command of the pitch was spotty. Bush does not have the typical pitchers body, only standing at 5-9" but he has thick legs and a strong torso, along with a very strong arm, which allows him to create such great torque and pitch in the mid 90s. With some more seasoning and experience Bush may eventually find himself in a MLB bullpen in the future.
Game 2 of the series featured a prominent starting pitching prospect, as Chris Archer of Montgomery took the mound. Archer, 22, was a part of the package sent to the Rays by the Chicago Cubs this past offseason in the Matt Garza trade. Archer was rated as the #4 prospect by Kevin Goldstein and #5 prospect by Minor League Ball's John Sickels in the pre-season. Thus far Archer has had a decent 2011 campaign in AA as he has 100 K in 113.1 IP, but has also allowed 65 BB and has 14 WP (via FanGraphs). BP's Goldstein noted before the season that Archer's development would depend on his command as he has always had trouble throwing strikes consistency. Again, in Game 2 I sat down the right field line and the radar gun was not functioning so it was impossible to get an accurate reading of Archer's velocity, but Goldstein wrote that Archer sits around 92-94 and that his power slider can be un-hittable when its on. Archer was not at the top of his game when I saw him, but he was pretty impressive nontheless. His fastball overpowered a number of Suns hitters and his slider definitely had a sharp bite on it. However, his outing was typical of the reports as he did struggle some with command allowing 4 BB in 6 IP (although the umpire's strike zone was tight throughout the game).
Archer was relieved by Marquis Fleming, a 24 year old righty drafted in the 24th round out of Cal State Stanislaus. Fleming has put up solid stats thus far, with 90 K in 63.2 innings (via FanGraphs). However, minor-league statistics are not always great indicators of true talent level because things such as age and experience vary by level. I got the opportunity to watch Fleming warm-up as I was situated near the visitor's bullpen. Fleming showed solid run and sink on his two-seam fastball and he was able to utilize this pitch to get out of trouble and induce a double play in the eight inning. He didn't have the strongest line of the night, and he may only be a middle-reliever type but I liked what I saw from Fleming and could envision him coming out of the bullpen as a middle-man in the majors at some point in his career.
As I mentioned in Part 1, I was able to sit behind home plate in the scouting area for Game 4 and I am confident that I picked the best game of the series to do so. Whereas I had only seen a handful of scouts at Games 1 and 2, there were about 15 or so at Game 4 to see Alexander Colome of Montgomery pitch. Colome, out of the Domincan Republic is the nephew of former Devil Ray (and apparent current Colorado Springs) reliever Jesus Colome. The start on Wednesday was only Colome's third of the season at the AA level. He had been pitching well in the Florida State League this year before his call-up, going 9-5 with a 3.66 ERA. Colome was rated as the #6 prospect in the Rays system by Kevin Goldstein, who said that Colome offers a plus-plus fastball that sits at 93-95 and can touch 97. Goldstein further wrote that Colome has the potential to be a star-level rotation piece with plenty of strikeouts. Colome did not disappoint as he brought tremendous pure stuff to the table.
Mechanically, Colome throws with a very loose arm action and he generates a ton of power behind his slight, skinny frame through his burst off the rubber (For comparison his windup almost had a Pedro Martinez-like look to it). He had decent enough command of his fastball throughout the game, although in the middle innings (3rd and 4th) Colome seemed to lose some of his command and had to battle through some long at-bats. Like Kevin Goldstein wrote, Colome's fastball did indeed sit at 93-95 and hit 96 on a number of occasions. His curveball was sharp after using mainly his fastball in the first inning he put away two hitters with his power-curve (76-78 mph) in the second inning. His changeup had some good armside run to it and usually clocked in around 85-87 mph, but he did not throw it all that much (although throw a great one to Kyle Skipworth in the 6th inning). His slider/cutter usually registered at 87-90 mph, although he did throw a few slower (83-85 mph). The pitch was particularly effective to lefties down and in. Overall, Colome had a pretty solid evening as he pitched into the 7th inning, going 6.1 allowing 4 hits, 4 BB, 2 ER, and striking out 6. Like I said, Colome looked a bit lost in the 3rd and 4th innings and showed visible signs of frustration on the mound, but he was able to put it together and put together a solid 4th and 5th inning. Colome will undoubtedly need more time on the farm to work on the command of all of his pitches but his pure stuff does project well and if he continues to develop he could be a quality starter in the big leagues in a few years.
Colome's counterpart on Wednesday night was Bryan Evans, a 14th round draft pick out of UC-Davis in 2008. Evans, 24, has spent the better part of the past two years in Florida State League and the Midwest League and is probably not projected to be a true prospect. His minor-league K/IP statistics are not all that impressive and his arsenal is not made up of typical swing-and-miss type stuff. However, I came away liking what I saw from Evans, even though there have been thousands of pitchers with similar stuff that have never sniffed the big leagues. Evans' delivery is a bit complicated and it appears as if when he releases the ball he is throwing across his body or is facing the hitter at an extreme angle. His arm angle is over-the-top and the best comparison that I can give is kind of a hybrid mix between Josh Collmenter and Jered Weaver. The scouts were clearly there to see Colome (even though Evans was also just recently called up to AA), as most put their radar guns down when Evans was on the mound. However, I was able to see from those that did keep the guns out that Evans' fastball sat at 85-90 mph, his slider clocked in around 81 mph, and his curve/slurve measured in at 74 mph. I did not get a good read on what the velocity was on his changeup, but the pitch did feature some arm-side run (although he did telegraph a few by slowing down his windup considerably). His fastball also featured some good arm-side run and he was able to sneak some in on right handed hitters. Evans' pure stuff was nowhere near as dominant as Colome's but his line was a bit better for the night as he went 6+ innings (walked first two guys in 7th) for the win, giving up 6 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, while striking out 6. Evans' future is nowhere near as bright as Colome's given his age and lack of velo, but his windup and pitching mechanics were deceptive enough to hitters that he was able to strike out 6 in 6 innings of work. Given that this was only his 3rd appearance and 1st start in AA, it remains to be seen if hitters will be able to adjust and exploit Evans' pedestrian stuff or if his pitchability and deception will allow him to succeed and climb the ladder of professional baseball.
In the forthcoming Pt. 3 (and final part of the series about the Montgomery-Jacksonville series) I will discuss some position players and briefly mention some relievers that I did not get a chance to get to in this entry.
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