Indians Top 50: #24 Josh Judy

Josh Judy - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/09/1986 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 200 - 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	GCL Indians	R	1	2	0.63	9	0	14.1	11	1	0	8	14	.204	5.1	8.9	1.35
2007	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	0	0	0.00	4	1	11.0	7	0	0	3	7	.194	2.5	5.7	0.91
2008	22	Lake County	A	12	1	3.51	35	1	74.1	60	29	6	25	80	.223	3.0	9.7	1.15
2008	22	Kinston	A+	0	0	1.93	7	0	14.0	12	3	0	1	17	.226	0.6	10.9	0.93
2009	23	Kinston	A+	0	0	0.00	5	3	4.2	4	0	0	0	7	.235	0.0	15.0	0.95
2009	23	Akron	AA	4	3	3.10	36	11	49.1	35	17	2	18	63	.198	3.3	11.5	1.08
		Totals		17	6	2.68	96	16	167.2	129	50	8	55	188	.213	3.0	10.1	1.10

History: Judy was selected by the Indians in the 34th round of the 2007 Draft out of the Indiana Institute of Technology.  He proved to be just as tough on lefties (.173 BAA, .526 OPS) as he was on righties last year (.219 BAA, .598 OPS).  He made a name for himself in the Arizona Fall League this past fall when in a hitter dominated league he went 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA in 11 games, and in 17.0 innings allowed 13 hits, 8 walks, and had 20 strikeouts.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Judy is a big, physical pitcher at 6'4" 200 pounds who throws a fastball with great life that consistently sits at 92-94 MPH topping out as high as 96 MPH when he was in college. His plus fastball has good sinking action and has shown above average ability to get hitters to put the ball on the ground.  He complements his fastball with a wicked slider and changeup. The slider is very good and has a nice sharp break to it and late movement and has the makings of a plus pitch for him. Hitters have a real hard time picking it up, and it is a swing-and-miss pitch for him. He used to throw a curveball as his third pitch, but it was tabled for the changeup. He does not use the changeup much in games, but has it in his arsenal to use from time to time.

Judy opened the 2009 season as the closer at High-A Kinston, but after just five appearances was called up to Double-A Akron on April 24th, a mere two weeks into the season. Upon joining Akron he pitched mostly in middle relief and performed well even though he was battling some bicep tendonitis in May and June.  Upon taking over the closer duties for right-hander Vinnie Pestano in early July, he took off and was dominant going 0-0 with 9 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 16 appearances after assuming the role.  His late season success was in large part due to him keeping the ball down in the zone at a good angle with excellent sink and avoiding his tendency to at times get under his pitches, which all resulted in a lot more groundball outs.  An adjustment to his delivery was the reason for these changes, as he changed from a high leg kick to more of a load position in the stretch to a more tightened up delivery where it is very quick and subtle.  His slider also saw a lot of improvement due to the mechanical adjustment as it was a lot tighter and sharper and he got more swings and misses with it.

The Indians typically do not develop closers in the minor leagues, focusing more on a set routine where their relievers go every two or three days and for one or two innings in order to ensure regular work and development.  Because of this, it is hard to have a defined closer to pitch every save situation. But it appears Judy is being groomed for a potential 8^th or 9^th inning role in the big leagues, and should get regular work in the 8^th and 9^th innings of games this coming season.  The Indians like his approach on the mound where he is aggressive going right after hitters, displays very good composure, and is a bulldog in tight situations.  He also has his outstanding fastball-slider two pitch mix with the demeanor to handle pitching late in games, so looks to be a backend bullpen prospect the Indians are intent on developing for their big league pen.

Judy's slider is a weapon for him, but also can be the root of his troubles as it tends to flatten out at times, so he needs to be more consistent with it and tighten it up.  He also needs to be more consistent with repeating his delivery, and also continue to get better with his fastball-slider command.  He needs some work on controlling the running game by changing up his tempo from the stretch and also improve his pickoff move.

Outlook: Judy has made a quick ascent up the Indians minor league ladder, both in the level he is playing at and in his standing within the organization. As a late round pick, he came into the organization with very little fanfare but has since put up a couple of strong seasons and paved the way for him to be included as one of the Indians top relief prospects, if not one of the top relief prospects in all of baseball.  After a year in which the Indians claimed he improved the most of any reliever in the system, he will need to be just as strong this coming season to keep that momentum and stay relevant to the big league situation in Cleveland.  He should open the 2010 season as the closer at Triple-A Columbus, though due to the cramped roster in Cleveland and Columbus it is possible he could start the year in Double-A Akron and by midseason move to Columbus after things shake themselves out from a roster perspective.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Josh Judy MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

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