Indians Top 50: #21 Jess Todd

Jess Todd - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 04/20/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 210 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	Batavia	A-	4	1	2.78	16	0	58.1	48	18	2	14	69	.223	2.2	10.7	1.07
2008	22	Palm Bch	A+	3	0	1.65	7	1	27.1	18	5	0	7	35	.184	2.3	11.6	0.92
2008	22	Springfield	AA	4	5	2.97	17	0	103.0	79	34	12	24	81	.216	2.1	7.1	1.00
2008	22	Memphis	AAA	1	1	3.97	4	0	22.2	19	10	4	11	20	.232	4.5	8.1	1.35
2009	23	St. Louis	MLB	0	0	10.80	1	0	1.2	3	2	1	2	2	.375	15.0	15.0	4.17
2009	23	Memphis	AAA	4	2	2.20	41	24	49.0	39	12	3	13	59	.214	2.4	10.8	1.06
2009	23	Columbus	AAA	0	0	0.00	3	1	4.0	1	0	0	0	7	.077	0.0	15.8	0.25
2009	23	Cleveland	MLB	0	1	7.40	19	0	20.2	31	17	3	7	18	.356	3.1	8.0	1.88
		MiLB		16	9	2.69	88	26	264.1	204	79	21	69	271	.214	2.4	9.2	1.03
		MLB		0	1	7.66	20	0	22.1	34	19	4	9	20	.358	3.7	8.1	1.95

History:  Todd was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2^nd round of the 2007 Draft out of the University of Arkansas.  The Indians acquired him near the end of July last year from the Cardinals as the player to be named in the Mark DeRosa trade originally completed near the end of June.  At the time of the trade his 24 saves led the Pacific Coast League and ranked tied for 4th most in all of Minor League Baseball.  He was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Todd has a four-pitch mix led by a four-seam cut fastball that sits at 90-92 MPH and has topped out as high as 94 MPH. His hard slider is filthy and sits in the mid-80s with good late break. It is his out pitch and the best offering in his arsenal, one that he has very good command of and is confident throwing in any count. He also throws a two-seam fastball that sits 88-90 MPH that has some decent sinking action. His circle changeup is an average offering at best that he has a good feel for and gets good downward movement, but his command is inconsistent.

Anyone who had a chance to see Todd pitch while with Cleveland last year knows he is kind of a maximum effort guy as he goes through his motion nice and easy but then as he brings his glove down his windup hits another gear and he just explodes through the rest of his delivery. He has a long step in his stride and very quick rotation in his hips which help him get a little extra behind the ball when he throws it. The quick arm action at the end of the delivery creates some good deception for his fastball and offspeed pitches. He repeats his delivery well, and is a mechanically sound pitcher.  He is not a big guy, but he does leverage the ball and does sink it down in the strike zone.  He is a very aggressive attack mode strike-thrower with excellent command who can sink it or cut it, and he stays out of the middle of the plate.

Todd has a lot of versatility on how he can be used in a major league pen or even as a starter, though because of his smallish frame he is best suited for a bullpen role.  The Cardinals used him as a closer last year at Triple-A Memphis, which is something the Indians don't do so when they acquired him they had to stretch him out in order for him to be able to handle pitching more than one inning.  He does not back down, attacks, and has a bulldog mentality, which is why many feel he is destined to be a very good major league setup man down the road.  One common comparison made of him is that he is a right-handed version of Randy Myers.

Outlook:  As far as Todd's stuff, command, and control goes, he is as close to a finished major league ready product as you will find.  He'll get every chance to lock down a bullpen spot in Cleveland this spring, though because he has options remaining he may initially start the 2010 season in Triple-A Columbus before coming to Cleveland later on in the season.  Either way, he should see significant time in the Cleveland bullpen this upcoming season to properly evaluate him as a potential bullpen building block for 2011 and beyond.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Jess Todd MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Jess Todd Baseball-Reference page

Jess Todd MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Jess Todd Pitching:

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