Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
June 26, 2010

Trevor Bauer has now been introduced to the rest of the country, following his 11-strikeout performance against Florida in his Saturday night start at the College World Series. While Bauer has been a name on a list for most of the country, he’s been no secret out here. Long before he set the single-season UCLA strikeout record, Bauer had established himself as a guy with arm speed and big stuff. What you see is what you get: Bauer pounds the lower half with his two-seamer at 90-92, bumps up to 93-95 when he wants it, and has that hard curveball that he can throw for a strike or make hitters chase in the dirt. He skipped his senior year of high school, so you don’t have to predict that he will be fastracked, because he already is. We’ve shot quite a bit of video of Bauer and will cover him in the 2011 draft cycle, but I’m willing to bet what you see here at Baseball Beginnings will be better video than what you see anywhere else.  

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Category: '11 Videos | No Comments »
Tags: Trevor Bauer, UCLA

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.

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Category: 2011 Draft | No Comments »
Tags: Alex Meyer, Archie Bradley, Austin Hedges, Brandon Loy, Brett Mooneyham, Brian Humphries, Chad Wright, Christian Lopes, Dean Espy, Dylan Bundy, Eric Snyder, George Springer, Gerrit Cole, Harold Martinez, Henry Owens, Jack Armstrong, Jack Marder, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jason Esposito, Johnny Ruettiger, Matt Barnes, Matt Purke, Phillip Evans, Ryan Carpenter, Scott McGough, Sonny Gray, Taylor Rogers, Taylor Wall, Travis Harrison, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Anderson, Tyler Pill, Tyler Rahmatulla

By John Klima
June 12, 2010

In this day and age, many a young pitcher attempts to imitate Tim Lincecum. Most guys should not attempt this at home. The one guy in baseball who can do it and get away with it because it works for him is UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer.

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Category: '11 Videos | No Comments »
Tags: Trevor Bauer, UCLA

By John Klima
October 20, 2009

Trevor Bauer had a great freshman season but didn’t get the results he hoped for last summer with Team USA. This is our first look at Bauer since last spring at USC. Keep in mind this guy skipped his senior year of high school to speed up the draft process. Having not seen Bauer last summer, I can’t confirm reports that his velocity had slipped. That said, I wouldn’t be terribly concerned about any young pitcher’s dead-arm period. It would be a different story if he were further down the line. Last week at UCLA, Bauer was back to 91-93 and his change-up was 81-82. His command wasn’t as sharp as it was last spring, but it’s also October, so it’s not quite time to push the panic button. Bauer is still going to be a guy many scouts love and will watch in 2011. He did drop down a few times with a lower slot that I had never seen before, sort of a Jeff Weaver look. He looked a little rusty and gave up some hard contact against wood. (more…)

Category: '11 Videos | No Comments »
Tags: Trevor Bauer, UCLA

By John Klima
April 19, 2009

Five no-hit innings against metal bats is pretty good, I don’t care what league or what level. For Trevor Bauer, his one-hitter with nine strikeouts Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium might have carried one additional meaning: he did it against Washington, where his boy Tim Lincecum pitched.

Here at Baseball Beginnings, we’ve said before that we’re not just a damn good source of information, video, scouting reports and writing, but a karma factory. Bauer’s video appeared on the site Friday and he shoved on Saturday. It’s as simple as that.  If it works for Rome, it can work for us.

In any case, you can see Bauer’s video here.

Gerrit Cole had a career-high 13 strikeouts on Friday night, and UCLA’s terrible twosome of freshman right-handers is on a roll. Not only are they pitching well in college, they’re also prospects, which means they belong here.

Gerrit Cole. Remember that name and head back here this week.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: Gerrit Cole, Tim Lincecum, Trevor Bauer, UCLA

By John Klima
April 17, 2009

UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer skipped his senior year of high school baseball to push himself. He hasn’t missed a step in his rookie year, so this self-starter gets to be the first kid in our 2011 Draft Content. Bauer lists Lincecum as his hero and he has a delivery that, like Lincecum’s, is all his own. Bauer is known for power bullpen sessions, for warming up by throwing as hard as he can from in front of second base to the catcher. You can look up his numbers elsewhere if you like, but suffice it to say, he’s coming along. For those of you around the country just finding Baseball Beginnings, have an early look at Bauer and his don’t-screw-with-me breaking ball.

 

If you scout Southern California, you know the name Jack Marder. In addition to having Canadian blood, the Newbury Park HS infielder can hit. You’ll meet him soon on this very site, and if he gets away from the draft and plays college baseball at Oregon, I assure you he’ll be here three years from now as well. Marder describes facing the high-octone, high-energy voltage of Bauer, the human slingshot: (more…)

Category: '11 Videos, 2009 Draft, 2011 Draft | No Comments »
Tags: Tim Lincecum, Trevor Bauer, UCLA