By John Klima
July 6, 2010
I’m on the record for liking Jack Armstrong quite a bit. At this point in time, Summer 2010, the three college right-handers I’d want the most are Armstrong, Connecticut’s Matt Barnes, and UCLA’s Trevor Bauer.
By John Klima
June 15, 2010
No sooner does one draft cycle end than the next one begins. The next draft cycle always starts with a group of players pretty much everyone knows, but from now until next June, the draft cycle is nothing but a horserace. What follows are some of the prospects that I have already seen and will see more of in 2011.
This is not meant to be a complete list or a ranking, and if this story is the first time you are discovering Baseball Beginnings, we invite you to stick around throughout the year to see video and read about the players we are talking about. If you stay with us, by the time draft day rolls around, I promise you many players that are not even in this story will come alive for you through video, scouting reports, scouting updates and interviews.
If you’re a 2011 prospect and you’re not in this story, it doesn’t mean you are not a prospect. It just means I haven’t seen you yet. If you can play, chances are I will find you.
Here, then, is a sneak peak at what is inside the 2011 stable, both high school and college, on a national scale.
By John Klima
April 30, 2010
Gifted with a major league pedigree, the right frame for the job, and a smooth and explosive delivery that is as close to the big leagues as you’ll find in college baseball, Jack Armstrong set forth lofty goals for himself. His plan was to emulate the career path of former Vanderbilt left-hander David Price, who was the 1/1 of the 2007 draft.
Here’s the road map thus far: close the Aflac game in 2007 and drafted by the Rangers in the 36th round in 2008. The Rangers have a long history of not offering market money for probable major leaguer starters, so Armstrong went to the bullpen in Vanderbilt in 2009 and the summer on the Cape, where Baseball Beginnings grabbed him for this Q&A.
In 2010, he’s a weekend starter in Vanderbilt, complete with an outing at Dodger Stadium, where he was the only guy who physically belonged. I was beyond bitter when he was pulled after four innings. His numbers indicate a young power pitcher who is still learning, but he’s a guy whose ceiling should be substantial.
By John Klima
November 5, 2009
The feeling here is that if Jack Armstrong was in the 2010 MLB draft, we’d be talking about him as a solid 1/1 candidate.
ESPN and MLB PR types would shoot me, but Armstrong is better than Strasburg, and it ain’t even close. Armstrong hits 96 in this video (twice) with a power curveball, and a great body. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I read that line about not caring about if the guy looks good in blue jeans, too, assuming it was really spoken. But let’s get something clear. This guy is as close to big league ready as there is in the SEC right now. I’m not saying he won’t have some refinements to make, but I’m willing to bet he’s going to be making them in the big leagues. I saw Prior, too, and Armstrong’s arm action, slot, and extension are all achieved with less stress on his elbow. Freelance pitching coaches can pan me all they want, but if I was sitting in a front office, I’d be telling the owner that if he doesn’t sign this guy, he may as well go back to whatever business he came from.
By John Klima
October 15, 2009
Love that drive to Wareham, especially on a Saturday. I’m from Los Angeles and the traffic jam there wanted to make me cry. Good thing I got there and there were some good players. We enjoyed our PB&Js in the parking lot five hours before the game. (more…)
