Indians Top 50: #17 Zach Putnam

Zach Putnam - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 07/03/1987 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 225 - 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
2008	20	Mahoning Vy	A-	0	1	3.72	3	0	9.2	7	4	0	5	8	.206	4.9	7.8	1.30
2009	21	Kinston	A+	2	0	4.13	5	0	24.0	22	11	1	5	23	.247	1.9	8.6	1.13
2009	21	Akron	AA	4	2	4.13	33	2	56.2	59	26	2	18	57	.261	2.9	9.1	1.37
		Totals		6	3	4.08	41	2	90.1	88	41	3	28	88	.252	2.8	8.8	1.29

History: Putnam was selected by the Indians in the 5th round of the 2008 Draft out of the University of Michigan.  He was slated to go in the late first or first round supplemental and slid to the fifth round because of some minor injuries in 2008 and signability concerns, so was an extreme value pick for the Indians.  He played some third base in college and is an excellent hitter who actually projected professionally as an outfielder with an excellent arm for right field. As a hitter, he showcases raw power to all fields and very good bat speed.  He pitched in the Arizona Fall League last fall and in five games went 0-1 with a 8.76 ERA and in 12.1 innings allowed 18 hits, 3 walks, and had 18 strikeouts.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Putnam is a high impact arm with a five pitch mix led by a fastball that sits 92-93 MPH and has touched 96 MPH, and complements it with a splitter, slider, curveball, and changeup.  His fastball has heavy, late life and has shown some good arm side run.  He has great arm strength to where higher more consistent velocity may still come.  He commands his fastball well, and throws all four of his secondary pitches for strikes.  His best secondary pitch is his devastating splitter which is nasty and already considered a major league strikeout pitch, and was widely considered one of the top secondary pitches coming out of college in 2008.  The splitter sits around 82-83 MPH and gives hitters fits as it often drops out of the zone into the dirt and they still chased it.  He also throws a slider which is an effective third pitch that has really come on recently and has become another go-to pitch in his arsenal and has the makings of a third plus pitch in his arsenal.  The slider is still developing, but has shown good depth and tilt.  His slow curveball sits in the low 70s and has some good depth to it with the potential to be an average pitch.  His fifth pitch is a changeup, but is more of a show pitch just to give hitters a different look and is a well below-average major league pitch. Both the curveball and changeup are rarely used in order for him to concentrate more on refining his other much stronger pitches.

Putnam is extremely athletic with a great baseball pedigree, and is someone the Indians are excited about.  Coming out of college at Michigan, he was a very advanced pitcher and a guy who knows how to pitch.  He is a physical presence on the mound with a very strong delivery.  He has a big frame to go along with very strong legs and broad shoulders that give him an ideal body to be a workhorse in the starting rotation or bullpen. He is an aggressive, power pitcher who has a lot of confidence and shows excellent composure in tight games or when things are not going right for him.  His makeup and toughness are off the charts, and he handles adversity well.  He is a notorious big game player who has that knack of coming through in the clutch.  Not only does he have the right demeanor as a pitcher, but he also puts up a high groundball rate.  Hitters have trouble lifting the ball against him because of his heavy sinking power fastball, and he was one of the best pitchers in the Eastern League at inducing groundballs on balls hit in play.

Putnam began last season in the rotation at High-A Kinston.  If not for an injury to right-hander Bryce Stowell in spring training, he was actually slotted to open the season in the Kinston bullpen from the start, but with Stowell sidelined Putnam slid into his rotation spot which allowed for him to get more regular work before his eventual move to a priority bullpen role.  That move came on May 6th when he was promoted to Double-A Akron and officially moved to the bullpen as a reliever.  His numbers were not overly impressive at Akron, but when you scratch below the surface, you see what makes him so intriguing. He gets hitters to pound the ball into the ground (2.06 GO/AO), has surrendered just three home runs in 90.1 career innings pitched (0.3 HR/9), and has a good career 2.8 BB/9 and 8.8 K/9 rate.

Since the day Putnam signed the Indians' scouting department saw him as a guy who could help out the major league team in the bullpen, and had the potential to be very special as a bullpen pitcher and could come quick.  He has the ability to handle any role, be it starting or pitching out of the bullpen, but the Indians moved him to the bullpen early last season because they felt that the move would help his development and possibly speed up his advancement to the major leagues.  Because he has an advanced feel for pitching to go along with excellent makeup and composure on the mound and two outstanding pitches, they felt he could handle the sudden change even though he had limited professional experience and had not even been in the system for a year.  He is tenacious on the mound, much like a pit bull where he will attack and challenge hitters and go right at them without backing down.  That aggressiveness is what the Indians and scouts love about him as a reliever.

But while he transitioned well to pitching out of the bullpen, the Indians will supposedly have him pitch out of the starting rotation at least to start the 2010 season.  They do not want to abandon him as a starting pitching prospect, where with his stuff he would be more valuable, but pitching in the rotation will also give him the regular work needed to refine his pitches, delivery, and work through several game situations that otherwise could not be reproduced in a bullpen role pitching two to three times a week for a total of three to four innings.  Depending on how things go, he could be moved back to the bullpen later in the year.

Putnam still has some mechanical issues with his delivery he is working through where he doesn't use his lower half well and drags his back leg, and as a result this affects his command at times. He worked on this delivery issue and others all season, and went out to the Arizona Fall League to continue the work set up to straighten out his delivery.  While his arm action is free and easy, he has a high effort delivery which could present problems for him with his command down the road.  He is still working on developing his secondary stuff, namely developing a better feel for both his slider and curveball.  He is also still learning how to pitch and understand that he just can't blow fastballs by everyone.

Outlook:  With Putnam's athleticism, makeup, mid-90s fastball and assortment of pitches, he has the potential to be a dominant pitcher in the big leagues.  When you have a guy with that many tools and the ability to command the strike zone like he does, you have the makings of a special pitcher. The question at the moment is whether he impacts the Indians down the road as a starter or reliever, as that is an unknown at this point.  He should open the 2010 season in the starting rotation at Double-A Akron, though a move back to the bullpen at some point in the season is quite possible.  He also could see time in Cleveland by the end of the season.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Zach Putnam MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Zach Putnam Baseball-Reference page

Zach Putnam MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Zach Putnam Pitching:

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