Scouting Report: Casey Haerther, 3B, UCLA (2009 Draft)
By John Klima
April 30, 2009
(photo: UCLA)
Casey Haerther, 3B
BRTR
UCLA (2009 Draft)
6-2, 210
Games Seen 3, Innings: 27
Baseball Beginnings
Scouting professional prospects and identifying future major leaguers
Scouting Report: Bryan Berglund, RHP
By John Klima
April 29, 2009
Royal HS right-hander Bryan Berglund
Bryan Berglund, RHP
Royal HS, Simi Valley (2009 Draft)
6-4, 200
Games seen: 2, Innings: 6
Scouting video: Ryan Ortiz, C, Oregon State
By John Klima
April 28, 2009
A very solid hitter, Ortiz is an interesting player. The view here is that his best baseball is in front of him. I think he’s going to hit. There’s some work to do behind the plate, but I’ve seen nothing to make me think he isn’t athletic enough not to make those adjustments. Have a look at what he can do.
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Read Ryan Ortiz report
Ryan Ortiz Drafted by the Oakland A’s
Scouting Report: Mike Leake, Arizona State, RHP
By John Klima
April 27, 2009
(photo: ASU)
Mike Leake, RHP
Arizona State University (2009 draft)
6-0, 180
Games seen: 1, Innings: 9
First Rounder vs. First Rounder: Matt Hobgood vs. Jake Marisnick
By John Klima
April 25, 2009
First rounder vs. first rounder is a tradition here at Baseball Beginnings. The video here follows the report I filed live on April 23 when Marisnick and Riverside Poly visited Norco and Hobgood. To sum it up, Hobgood hit Marisnick on the forearm in the first at-bat. Marisnick struck out in his second at-bat against an above-average breaking ball, and then singled on a hanging breaking ball in the third at-bat.
You could jot your scouting notes down on the inside of a matchbook cover. Hobgood: above-average fastball and curveball, workhorse, should be mainstay on a contendor. Marisnick: above-average runner, thrower and fielder right now. Graceful athlete, a lot of potential in front of him.
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Read Matt Hobgood Q&A
Watch Matt Hobgood Scouting video
Read Matt Hobgood Scouting report
Watch Matt Hobgood’s Camden Yards bullpen session
Catching up with Matt Hobgood
Read Jake Marisnick Q&A
Read Jake Marisnick signs
Read Jake Marisnick Catchup
Watch Jake Marisnick Scouting video
Read Jake Marisnick Scouting report
Hobgood vs. Marisnick game
Jake Marisnick Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays
Scouting video: Mike Leake, RHP, ASU (2009 Draft)
By John Klima
April 24, 2009
Here’s a look at Leake, as savvy a starter as they come in college baseball.
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Learn more about Mike Leake:
Read Mike Leake Q&A
Who Will Be the Better Pro: Stephen Strasburg or Mike Leake?
Read Mike Leake Scouting Report
Read Fall 2009 Mike Leake Scouting Report
Mike Leake Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds
Read Reds sign Leake
First Rounder vs. First Rounder: Matt Hobgood vs. Jake Marisnick
By John Klima
April 23, 2009
Facing each other today at Norco HS, Hobgood hit Marisnick on the forearm with a fastball on his first pitch of the game. Marisnick showed his athleticism around the bases, advancing to second base on a ball in the dirt and stealing third base. We’ll have further updates this afternoon.
Update: Second at-bat
Hobgood strikes out Marisnick. Hobgood looks looser and stronger as the game enters the middle innings.
Update: Third at-bat
Hobgood threw a first-pitch fastball at 94 mph, and on the third pitch left a 77 mph off-speed pitch over the plate for Marisnick, who chopped it through the left side for his first hit of the game. Marisnick again showed his speed and quick first step when he advanced to third base on a sacrifice fly. Hobgood has touched 96 in this game.
Final Update: Hobgood pitched another complete game, getting stronger, more fluid and found more extension later in the game. This was probably the last time these guys will face each other until pro ball.
“He’s too good of a hitter,” Hobgood said. “I tried to jam him inside during the first at-bat and a two-seamer ran too far inside. I think he has good hands, and with a good fastball properly located, you can get him out. But he can hit the gaps and he has legitimite power.”
Read Matt Hobgood Q&A
Watch Matt Hobgood Scouting video
Read Matt Hobgood Scouting report
Watch Matt Hobgood vs. Jake Marisnick Video
Watch Matt Hobgood’s Camden Yards bullpen session
Catching up with Matt Hobgood
Read Jake Marisnick Q&A
Read Jake Marisnick signs
Read Jake Marisnick Catchup
Watch Jake Marisnick Scouting video
Read Jake Marisnick Scouting report
Hobgood vs. Marisnick game
Jake Marisnick Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays
Q&A with Mike Leake, RHP, ASU (2009 Draft)
By John Klima
April 23, 2009
(photo: ASU)
Mike Leake knows he doesn’t fulfill every scout’s physical profile for what they want right-handed starting pitchers to look like. Listed at 6-0, he’s not the tallest pitcher.
His listed weight is 180-pounds, which makes him a comparatively slight figure on the mound.
What he can do is touch 92 mph with his fastball, though he’ll comfortably work around 89-90, relying on deception, movement and command to get his outs. He mixes in a curveball, a sinker and a change-up. His command of his two best pitches, his fastball and his curveball, will get him drafted in 2009.
Leake has won as a college pitcher since he first laced his spikes at Arizona State. He was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 7th round of the 2006 draft out of Fallbrook High in pitching-rich San Diego, but elected to go to ASU. He helped the Sun Devils reach the midway mark of the season ranked No. 1 in the nation. In his first 55 2/3 innings of 2009, Leake was 7-1 with 62 strikeouts and 13 walks.
This June, he will be drafted, and it will likely be much higher than in the seventh round. A nice amateur career-path comparison for Leake might be former USC right-hander Seth Etherton, who was drafted in the 9th round in 1997, came back to USC, and was a first-round pick in 1998.
Leake draws comparisons to former USC right-handers such as Etherton and Ian Kennedy for his mixture of fastball command and his breaking ball. The 2008 Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, Leake is 31-7 lifetime at Arizona State. Baseball Beginnings caught up with him after he defeated host USC recently. (more…)
Scouting Video: Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA (2011 Draft)
By John Klima
April 22, 2009
Gerrit Cole can strike a guy out or strike fear into him.
Sometimes both.
When he’s locked in, he’s difficult to deal with. When he’s getting loose and looking for his location, he can be wild. It’s the curse of guys with great stuff: sometimes stuff has a mind of its own. One thing to like about Cole: watch him when he misses. You have to like a young pitcher who expects himself to be better when he struggles, rather than to just sit back, throw hard, expect velocity to get outs, and quit pitching with all four weapons. I believe we’d call that an intangible.
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Learn more about Gerrit Cole:
Gerrit Cole Q&A
Gerrit Cole Scouting Report
Watch Gerrit Cole vs. Grant Green
Scouting Report: Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
By John Klima
April 21, 2009
Gerrit Cole
RHP, UCLA
6-4, 215
Games Seen: 2, Innings: 12
(Spring 2009, freshman year)
