Indians Top 100 Prospects: #78 Dallas Cawiezell

78. Dallas Cawiezell - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 09/04/1985 - Height: 6'6" - Weight: 255 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	0	1	3.46	8	0	1	13.0	12	5	0	5	13	3.5	9.0	1.31
2008	22	Lake County	A	3	8	3.60	40	0	2	55.0	52	22	6	16	54	2.6	8.8	1.24
		Career		3	9	3.57	48	0	3	68.0	64	27	6	21	67	2.8	8.9	1.25

History: Cawiezell was a 40th round pick in the 2007 Draft out of Valparaiso.

Strengths & Opportunities: Cawiezell was a summer draft-and-follow in 2007, and the Indians were hoping for durability and power when they drafted and signed him, and so far have seen it. He is a bit of a project, but at 6'6 and over 250 pounds he is a specimen and an intimidating presence on the mound. He has a major league body and pounds the zone with an explosive fastball that sits at 92-93MPH and tops out at 95 MPH. He gets good downward action at times with his fastball, but it lacks much movement. He relies more on his ability to locate his fastball to both sides of the plate and has a ton of confidence in it. He complements his fastball with a slider and splitter, mostly relying on his fastball-splitter combination.

Both secondary pitches need more work, but the split finger could develop into an out pitch at the higher levels. He has had problems getting a feel for the arm action required to throw a slider, and he is working on getting out in front in order to get downspin to create some depth and tilt to it as opposed to the side spin it currently has that causes it to drift. His slider is certainly a work in progress, and if he can grasp the pitch and tighten it up it will give him three good pitches in his repertoire. He has some control issues, which may be a result of his very unorthodox, inconsistent delivery. He faded in the second half of last season (4.79 ERA post-All Star), mostly the result of him coming down with shoulder inflammation in mid-June which sidelined him for about a month, but in any case he is still adjusting to the everyday rigors of professional baseball and maintaining consistency for an entire 140-game season.

Outlook: Cawiezell had a very good season last year in Lake County, but it will only get harder as he continues to move up the minor league ladder. He should move up a level in 2009 and pitch out of the bullpen in advanced Single-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

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