2009 Indians 3rd Round Pick: RHP Joe Gardner

With the 94th overall selection in the 2009 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Indians select: RHP Joe Gardner - UC Santa Barbra
6'5" 220 lbs.

UPDATE (11:54 PM EST): Dennis Nosco

MiLB.com website
Player Bio
2009 stats

Commentary: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder at this point. In the 3rd round you are looking for projectability and signability. Pitchers still on the board at this point were Ben Tootle and Joe Kelley, both snatched up right after Gardner and a number (23) of other guys, some pitchers, some position players, in Baseball America's top 100 prospects who weren't drafted on the first day. This is where the scouts and minor league coaches make their money. They must have scouting reports on most if not all of these guys. If they like Gardner better than 25 other players (plus all the guys in BA's top 160 or Keith Law's top 80 or whatever ranking you wish to use who were left when we took Gardner) then it is their gamble. It wasn't a pick where you were scratching your head and saying "who?" like some other teams' fans may have been with some of the picks that I saw but, at the same time, it wasn't the kind of pick that you went "YES, YES, YES" on. It was a scout's pick, in my humble opinion and, while it wouldn't have been my pick, it beats the heck out of Cord Phelps last year and, even for that matter, Ryan Garko a few years ago, in terms of where the guy was ranked versus where we picked him in the 3rd round and notice that those picks haven't been disasters, have they? Also, looking back at Mirabelli's 3rd round history, I think he has a pretty good record of not having clunkers in that round recently so let's give Brad Grant and Mirabelli some slack on this one. I can't wait to see this guy pitch. I am more anxious to see him pitch than to see White pitch, frankly, as they must see something in Gardner that I would like to see, as well.

UPDATE (11:24 PM EST): Official Release

With their 3rd round selection (94th overall) in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft the Indians selected RHP JOE GARDNER, a 6-5, 220-pound right-handed pitcher from UC Santa Barbara College. The junior hurler posted a record of 7-1 with a 3.40 ERA (84.2IP, 79H, 48R/32ER, 31BB, 69K) in 13 starts this past season as he led the team in nearly every pitching category. The Fremont, CA native was named to the Big West Conference’s First Team following the season. During the 2008 summer, he played for the Kenai Peninsula Oilerers of the Alaskan League going 6-0 with a 0.60 ERA in 8 starts as he was named the Alaskan Baseball League Co-MVP.

UPDATE (11:04 PM EST): Jeff Ellis, information courtesy of Keith Law
Joe Gardener transferred to UCSB and ended up being the Gaucho’s ace this year, leading his team in era by more than a run and a third. He’s very big, but lacks athleticism and looks awkward on the mound. He sits right around 90, with a very good tailing life on the pitch, possibly thanks to his ¾ slots. His slider has decent speed but he gets around it too much. His change up has decent fade but stays up too long. His delivery isn’t pretty with a lot of extra movements and lack coordination. He is very raw, but has size, arm strength, and a good ability to throw strikes. With a decent pitching coach there is is a chance there is even more velocity in that arm.

UPDATE (10:51 PM EST): Jeff Ellis
Joe Gardner is a big pitcher from UC Santa Barbara. He is 6’5”, and extremely raw. Last year as a draft eligible player coming out of Ohlone junior college, he went completely undrafted. He was rated 84^th by Keith Law and 161^st by BA so the opinions on him vary on if he was worth the 94 pick. His delivery is ¾ quarters delivery. Some scouts think he could be a middle of the rotation starter others think he’s a pen guy. He has a fastball, change, and slider. His fastball is typically 91-93, but has a nasty heavy sink to it. It projects as a plus pitch. His change up is in the 78-82, with a decent fade but projects out to be average. His slider I have seen reported as below average and also a plus pitch. I also got conflicting reports on the speed of his pitch. Gardner is not the most athletic and is very raw compared to the typical college pitcher. There is the hope he could add some MPH to his pitching once his mechanics get fixed. His main issue is that he some times slips from the ¾ slot into more of a sidearm this causes the ball to raise in the zone and get hit. When he stays in the ¾ he has the ability to really throw strikes. We all know how much the Indians love pitchers who induce ground balls and this guy seems to have the ability to do that. I for one like the pick and with good coaching this pick should help improve pitching depth.

UPDATE (10:40 PM EST): MLB.com Player Page

UPDATE (10:35 PM EST): UC Santa Barbra Player Page

More information when available.

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