Baseball Beginnings on Cody Buckel, #72, (Texas Rangers)

By Jen Marder
June 8, 2010

Today the Texas Rangers selected Cody Buckel in the second round (#72 overall) in the 2010 MLB Draft. Baseball Beginnings has been scouting Buckel from the start of the draft cycle. Enjoy links to the content we have published on him through the year.

Read Cody Buckel Q&A
Read May Cody Buckel Scouting Update
Watch Cody Buckel Video
Read Cody Buckel Scouting Report
Read March Cody Buckel Scouting Update

Q&A with Cody Buckel, RHP, Royal (CA) HS (2010 Draft)

By John Klima
May 25, 2010

Cody Buckel proved wrong the scouts who told him last year that he was finished growing and was never going to throw any harder than he was then. He’ll find himself drafted in a good round this year. The thing with Buckel is you can anticipate some projection for power, but you have a guy who understands that his greatest weapon will be to work low and let his movement work for him. That translates to a power sinker type in the coming years. Baseball Beginnings caught up to Buckel for this Q&A.

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Scouting Update: Cody Buckel, RHP, Royal (CA) HS (2010 Draft)

By John Klima
May 21, 2010

Cody Buckel has enough power to be a pro prospect, but power probably won’t be his strength as he ages. For Buckel, his greatest weapon will be alternating the natural sink and run he gets with his two-seam fastball.

When you look at this player down the road, he has the potential to have a fastball that grades out to slightly above-average in velocity and above-average in movement and command. You see bits and pieces of it at this stage of his development, including in this most recent outing, a 1-0 complete game playoff victory.

I envision Buckel as a pitch-ability type with more power than your typical finesse right-hander. I have put Mike Leake on him in the past. I also see Dan Haren characteristics.

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Scouting Video: Cody Buckel, RHP, Royal (CA) HS (2010 Draft)

By John Klima
May 5, 2010

Cody Buckel has a lot of physical projection left in this body. He has some velocity but will need to get stronger to maintain it deeper into a game. His curveball has always been his out pitch.

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Scouting Report: Cody Buckel, RHP, Royal (CA) HS (2010 Draft)

By John Klima
April 19, 2010

Cody Buckel threw a no-hitter earlier this season, helping himself. Maybe he’ll get to Pepperdine. Maybe he won’t.

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Scouting Update: Cody Buckel, RHP, Royal (CA) HS (2010 Draft)

By John Klima
March 25, 2010

Right-hander Cody Buckel struck out 10, walked one, hit 93 several times, and tied up left-handed hitting prospect Christian Yelich in a seven-inning no-hitter at Westlake High Tuesday.

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Covey cruises, leads 2010 Draft pitching prospects at MLSB Showcase

By John Klima
February 14, 2010

Dylan Covey continued to show the quantity and quality of stuff that separates him from a strong national crop of high school right-handed starting pitchers, but he wasn’t the only starting pitcher who helped himself Saturday at the Major League Scouting Bureau Southern California Invitational Showcase at the Urban Youth Academy. (more)

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First look: 2010 Draft Prospects (High School pitchers)

By John Klima
September 22, 2009

Baseball Beginnings is pleased to unveil our first NATIONAL look at the June 2010 draft here in September, 2009, eight months before the first name is called.

In the scouting world, every quality player is on a follow list. It’s a good bet that most of these players are already on such lists, but it’s important to remember that things will change over the next eight months – no list, no matter this one or one by a team should be considered definitive at this time of year, but should instead be regarded as a road map.

Some players who are not on this list will be hot and others who were hot in summer and fall will lose some luster in spring. That’s why you won’t see rankings here, because Baseball Beginnings works like a major league team. We’re not ranking players right now. And when we do, we keep them in-house. The world is full of people who will rank players. A good scout NEVER tells.

Every single player on this list has been seen by our scouting staff IN PERSON, meaning we don’t take our information from secondary sources. It’s on us.

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Area Codes Game 12: Moore Justice for Midwest pitchers; Ficociello keeps hitting

By John Klima
August 8, 2009

The pitching-rich White Sox team ran out two more right-handers who touched 91 Saturday afternoon at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif., both powerfully built and capable of more power. Dominic Ficociello continued to hit everything thrown his way – and hit it hard.

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