John Klima | March 31, 2009
UCLA third baseman Casey Haerther
UCLA has produced three notable major league infielders with above-average power in the last decade, with corners Troy Glaus, Garrett Atkins and second baseman Chase Utley. Its corner infield prospect for the 2009 draft, Casey Haerther, presently a third baseman in college, will take a crack at running with that tradition.
There’s enough interest in Haerther to indicate that he’ll probably go pretty good in June. We’re not saying Haerther is Glaus or Atkins right now, because that would be like calling me Stephen King, and that just wouldn’t be fair to either of us. (more…)
Category: '09 Meet the Player |
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Tags: Casey Haerther, Chaminade High School, Chase Utley, Cody Haerther, Conor Jackson, Garrett Atkins, Ryan Braun, Troy Glaus, UCLA
John Klima | March 30, 2009
Since our first video installment here on Baseball Beginnings was a hard-throwing right-hander (Stephen Strasburg), we felt that a look at a soft-tossing left-hander was a worthy follow-up. Have a look at Oklahoma State left-hander Tyler Lyons, a junior who will probably hear his name called somewhere inside of the first five rounds. The full report on Lyons, who pitched for Team USA last summer, is forthcoming. In the meantime, the scouting video shows us a few nice things.
First of all, this kid repeats his mechanics. That alone has value. Lyons shows some moxie: a kid with the confidence to throw his breaking ball when he’s in a jam. He won’t light up the radar guns, but as the wise Gene Handley once said, “If you’re left-handed, you better have the curveball.” This kid has a curveball. There’s also the makings of a change-up he throws late in the video. Lyons’s forte is fastball command and this breaking ball. He could use more power, but so could 90 percent of left-handed pitchers on planet earth. A comparison for me is J.P. Howell, though Lyons is physically more stocky than Howell is. Roll the tape:
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Read updated Tyler Lyons Scouting Report
Read Back to School: Q&A with LHP Tyler Lyons
Watch Tyler Lyons Cape Cod League bullpen video
Watch Tyler Lyons Cape Cod League game video
Watch Tyler Lyons vs. Cory Vaughn
Read Tyler Lyons Scouting report
Tyler Lyons Drafted by the New York Yankees
Category: '09 Videos, '10 Videos, 2009 Draft |
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Tags: J.P. Howell, Oklahoma State, Stephen Strasburg, Team USA, Tyler Lyons
John Klima | March 29, 2009
Here’s to helping you look busy for a few minutes on Monday morning. This is the same stuff front office guys look at every Monday morning while they slack off in the office, too. This is not a full list of hundreds of guys, because I don’t have a team of lowly clerks to do my dirty work, but I’m mostly aiming for money guys here, per norm.
Starting pitchers
Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State
W, 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R\E, 1 BB, 14 K (more…)
Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Alex White, Andrew Oliver, Ben Tootle, Brett Jackson, Brett Smith, Dustin Ackley, Grant Green, Jeff Inman, Kendal Volz, Kentrail Davis, Kyle Gibson, Kyle Heckathorn, Mike Minor, Rich Polythress, Shelby Miller, Stephen Strasburg
John Klima | March 29, 2009
Since I just sort of ripped off Mel Allen’s “This Week in Baseball,” slogan and I don’t have the punchy hero music playing in the background, here’s what I’m working on for the coming days. (more…)
Category: 2009 Draft |
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John Klima | March 28, 2009
Stay tuned for a pair of new Q&As with UCLA freshman right-hander Gerrit Cole and junior third baseman Casey Haerther coming up soon.
Cole talks about what he’s working on next.
Hearther discusses the perks of having an older brother in pro ball. Hearther will be a 2009 draft pick and he’s probably going to find a nice ride. We’ll have a report and video on both players in the near future as well.
Category: 2009 Draft, 2011 Draft |
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Tags: Gerrit Cole, UCLA
John Klima | March 28, 2009
Arizona right-hander Jason Stoffel threw eight pitches in the seventh inning Friday night at UCLA, all fastballs, with four of them clocked at 94 mph. We’ll have a report and video up on him in the coming days.
Read Jason Stoffel Q&A
Read Jason Stoffel Scouting report
Watch Jason Stoffel Scouting video
San Francisco Giants Draft Jason Stoffel
Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Jason Stoffel
John Klima | March 28, 2009
On a side note, two kids that I covered in my prior incarnation as a newspaper slave faced each other for one at-bat Friday night. They would be UCLA sophomore left-hander Matt Grace and Arizona sophomore shortstop Bryce Ortega. They were both Class of 2007 high school kids from Palos Verdes, perhaps best known today as the place where USC football coach Pete Carroll lives and surfs. (more…)
Category: 2010 Draft |
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Tags: Bryce Ortega, Matt Grace
John Klima | March 27, 2009
The first part of Scouting 101 is now up as we fill in our menu pages. It’s the basic framework of scouting grades used by major league scouts and what we use here at Baseball Beginnings when we write up our scouting reports. We will post more information on the page as time allows.
Take a look at it here.
Category: Uncategorized |
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John Klima | March 27, 2009
DRAFT CARD: Ryan Ortiz, C,
Oregon State (2009 draft)
6-3, 205, BR/TR
Games seen: 2, Innings: 9
(more…)
Category: '09 Scouting Reports |
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Tags: 2009 Draft catchers, Oregon State, Ryan Ortiz
