Indians Top 50: #12 T.J. House

T.J. House - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 09/29/1989 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 215 - Bats: Right - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2009	19	Lake County	A	6	11	3.15	26	26	134.1	127	47	8	49	109	.250	3.3	7.3	1.31
		Totals		6	11	3.15	26	26	134.1	127	47	8	49	109	.250	3.3	7.3	1.31

History:  House was selected by the Indians in the 16th round of the 2008 Draft out of Picayune High School (MS).  As a senior in high school he went 7-2 with a 0.89 ERA and had 99 strikeouts and 25 walks.  He also pitched out of the bullpen in qualifier action for Team USA in the summer of 2007, pitching only three innings while posting six strikeouts and a .214 opponent batting average.  He was projected to go in the fop five rounds of the draft, but a commitment to Tulane University and a $1.5 million bonus demand scared teams away.  He eventually signed just before the signing deadline for $750K.  In high school, he stayed in great shape during the offseason by participating on the swim team and helped them win a state championship in 2006.

Strengths & Opportunities: House is a very skilled and projectable pitcher who pitches well beyond his years.  He is a physically, mentally advanced left hander has a three pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and changeup where all three pitches have the makings of being at least above average pitches.  His heavy fastball is a plus pitch that sits at 90-93 MPH and has touched 95 MPH, and has good tailing action.  He has very good arm strength to where his velocity is expected to improve as he matures.  His excellent slider is another plus pitch that sits in the mid 80s and shows good depth and late break.  The slider is a nasty pitch and a true weapon for him.  Last year he began work on a changeup which is a rapidly developing pitch for him that he made big strides with last year.  He has worked so hard on developing his changeup that it is now the pitch he has the most confidence using.  The changeup sits at 80-81 MPH, which is good separation from his low 90s fastball.  He also has a curve which is often confused with his slider, but it has been dropped since it lacks much separation from his slider which really is more of a power slurve anyway.  He mixes up his speeds and pitches well and has good command of the zone at an early age, and down the road is projected to have at least average command.

House has the drive and courage to do what it takes to be a major league pitcher.  In almost every one of his starts last year he was able to keep his composure, maintain his stuff, and take his team deep into games even on nights when he didn't have it.  His maturity level is off the charts and it showed itself on the mound and in the dugout last year when he was not pitching as he was always tuned into the game action watching the pitchers and hitters from both teams to try and pickup an advantage to use on hitters the next time he faced them.  He is very coachable and very open to ideas for improvement presented to him from his coaches.  Baseball people think he is very much like lefties Scott Kazmir and Mike Hampton in that he is very athletic, is a competitor, has a strong build, and has a lot of power to his stuff.

House was a late signing with the Indians in 2008, so he never officially pitched in the Indians system until last season.  He slid because of signability concerns since he was pretty committed to attend and play at Tulane University, but when the coach that recruited him to go to Tulane stepped down and took another job, he rethought his option to start his professional career right away and ended up signing with the Indians.  He opened last season at Low-A Lake County, which was somewhat out of the ordinary since high school draft picks for the Indians typically open their first full season in extended spring training to better adapt them to the game, learn to develop a routine, and receive more instruction.  But the Indians did not do that with House, which shows the level of confidence they have in his advanced pitching abilities and his maturity level.

House is still very green and needs to learn how to pitch in professional baseball, but he has all the tools to develop rapidly.  While he has a smooth delivery, he needs to work on the command and location of all of his pitches.  He is still learning how to establish the lower part of the plate, and how to setup hitters and reading them.  He is working on the development of his changeup, and throwing a first pitch strike with his slider.  At times last season when a runner was on first base, he would lose focus on the hitter and pay too much attention to the runner, so the Indians will work with him in learning to balance when and when not to focus so much on the opposing team's running game.  He is a very competitive kid and he wants to succeed so at times he tries to force the issue which has gotten him in trouble, so he is working hard at controlling that and maintaining his stuff.

Outlook:  House had a lot of hype surrounding him coming into last season considering he was a high profile draft signing.  Even though he had yet to throw a pitch as an Indian before the start of the season, he was ranked almost unanimously as one of the Indians top 20-25 prospects coming into the season.  With all of those expectations he handled it very well and put together a good season both objectively and subjectively.  He is one of the Indians best pitching prospects in the lower levels of the system, and is someone we will continue to hear a lot about the next few years.  He projects at least to be a #3 starter with the potential to be a good #2 starter if he learns to better command the zone and develop that third pitch.  He should open the 2010 season in the starting rotation at High-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

T.J. House MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

T.J. House Baseball-Reference page

T.J. House MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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