Indians Top 100 Prospects: #87 David Roberts

87. Dave Roberts - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 10/26/1986 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 215 - Bats: Left - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2008	21	Long Beach St	C	3	1	3.58	26	0	1	27.2	27	11	2	5	26	1.6	8.5	1.16
2008	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	1	1	6.11	21	0	0	35.1	34	24	5	12	32	3.1	8.2	1.30

History: Roberts was taken in the 4th round of the 2008 Draft out of Long Beach State University.

Strengths & Opportunities: Roberts had been one of Long Beach State's primary setup men in a talented bullpen the past two years, and although he was somewhat of a surprise to be taken as high as he was, the Indians like his power arm and build. His fastball has good life and sits at 91-93 MPH and has touched as high as 95 MPH. He complements the fastball with a power curveball that sits in the low-to-mid 80s and a changeup. He is big and strong, and has late inning ability with the potential to be a major league middle reliever or even a setup man. On the surface, his high ERA makes it look like he really struggled last year at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley, but he actually pitched better than his numbers indicate. Opposing hitters only hit .248 off him and he had good command (3.1 BB/9) and was punching batters out (8.2 K/9), but his inflated ERA is really the result of two disastrous outings on August 15th ( 0.1 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and August 24th (2.0 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, 2 K) where he gave up half his earned runs on the season in those appearances.

Outlook: Roberts looks like a real reach by the Indians in the 4th round of last year's draft, but given his lofty draft status he will be given every opportunity to prove himself and the Indians right and the doubters wrong. He should open the 2009 season in the backend of the Single-A Lake County bullpen, possibly even as the closer.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Dave Roberts' MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Dave Roberts' Baseball-Reference page

Dave Roberts' MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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