Nick Hagadone - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/01/1986 - Height: 6'5" - Weight: 230 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left
| Year | Age | Team | Lvl | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | AVG | BB/9 | K/9 | WHIP |
| 2007 | 21 | Lowell | A- | 0 | 1 | 1.85 | 10 | 10 | 24.1 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 33 | .163 | 3.0 | 12.3 | 0.91 |
| 2008 | 22 | Greenville | A | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 3 | 3 | 10.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | .135 | 5.4 | 10.8 | 1.10 |
| 2009 | 23 | Greenville | A | 0 | 2 | 2.52 | 10 | 10 | 25.0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 32 | .149 | 5.0 | 11.5 | 1.08 |
| 2009 | 23 | Lake County | A | 0 | 1 | 2.45 | 5 | 5 | 14.2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 21 | .163 | 3.2 | 13.3 | 0.92 |
| 2009 | 23 | Kinston | A+ | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 2 | 2 | 5.1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | .250 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 1.96 |
| Totals | 1 | 5 | 2.16 | 30 | 30 | 79.1 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 38 | 104 | .161 | 4.3 | 11.8 | 1.05 |
Strengths & Opportunities: Hagadone is a very big, physical left-handed pitcher who features an incredible fastball which sits at 95-97 MPH and tops out at 99 MPH. Some think that because he is so strong and has such a live arm that he has the potential to reach triple digits with his fastball down the road once his mechanics are straightened out and he peaks physically. He commands the strike zone well with his fastball with no fear of putting the ball over the plate. Because of his height he gets a nice downhill plane to his fastball and also has some good natural sink to it, which results in a lot of groundballs. Hitters time after time have proven that they are unable to lift the ball against him as he does not allow very many home runs (1 HR in 104.1 career IP). He complements his fastball with two good secondary offerings, a slider and changeup. His slider is a plus offering that shows a lot of depth and tilt, and is an out pitch that he dominates and puts left-handers away with. The changeup is an average pitch and a work in progress, but has shown much improvement where it gets nice downward movement.
Hagadone's intangibles are off the charts, which are a nice bonus to a guy who throws 99 MPH, is left-handed, and strikes guys out regularly. He sets the benchmark very high when it comes to work ethic, discipline, and the passion to play the game of baseball. He is a very mature player who is extremely intelligent and is a student of the game. When he is on the mound he oozes confidence and is always sure of himself. He is an intense competitor who is tenacious and goes right after hitters. He is just a really impressive arm who has a presence about him, which can be very intimidating for opposing hitters. He projects as a frontline starter, and the Indians will give him every chance to come back strong and healthy from his Tommy John surgery and live up to that projection. Worst case, he ends up as a dominant late innings reliever or possible top shelf closer.
When the Indians acquired Hagadone last year from the Red Sox, he was in the middle of a rehab program in his return from Tommy John surgery so they kept him on his restricted 50 pitch count or three inning limit (whichever came first) for every outing for the remainder of the season. Even in limited duty in each outing he showed what made him so highly sought by the Indians as while he was still rusty and working his way back from surgery his velocity was about all the way back and he was for the most part dominating. He was 23-years old, so given his advanced pitching ability and age he probably feasted some on Low-A hitters, but the important thing was he had no setbacks and his outstanding stuff returned. After the season he participated in the Indians strength and conditioning camp in the Instructional League program out in Goodyear, AZ. He was shut down from doing any throwing until just before spring training and was out there just to complete his rehab and strengthen his arm. The Indians wanted him at or as close to 100% to start the upcoming season and to ensure his arm is strong enough to handle the rigors of a full season without any (or very limited) restrictions.
Hagadone showed last year he still had the overpowering stuff to dominate hitters and that his velocity was back, but his command was still not all the way back or anywhere close to the rate he had prior to his injury. This is to be expected as with any pitcher who undergoes Tommy John surgery usually command is the last thing to return. He is expected to be moved quickly through the system this year because of his age and pending roster status, but before he has any visions of making that quick ascent up the Indians' minor league ladder next season he not only needs to prove he is healthy, but he also needs some improvement with his pitches and mechanics. His delivery is something that will be worked on to get him to maintain a more consistent rhythm because when his tempo is good his command is a lot better. He will also need to refine and tighten up his slider, and work on getting an even better feel for his changeup. He was a closer in college, but the Red sox made him a starter after they signed him, so it remains to be seen if he can continue to be a starter. He has the pitches to start but lacks starting experience, and in addition it will take some time to stretch his arm out so he can handle a full season's workload in the rotation.
Outlook: Hagadone has star potential written all over him, the question is whether he will come back 100% or not from his surgery and the answer to that should be found out very soon this upcoming season. Because he is now 24 years old and should pitch with little restrictions this year, he could move extremely fast in the system in 2010. If not for the specific throwing plan he was on last year he would have spent a good deal of time in High-A and maybe even Double-A in order to be challenged by better hitters, but the focus last year was on his health and not challenging his development as a pitcher. That's not the case anymore. He is up for roster protection at the end of the season, and while he is pretty much a slam dunk to be rostered regardless of what happens this season, it is a big year for him to make up for lost time and get to the level he needs to be at in order to be a potential factor for the big league staff sometime in 2011. He likely will open the season in the High-A Kinston starting rotation, but should move to Double-A Akron very quickly if his arm is sound and he performs well. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he could shoot all the way up to Triple-A Columbus by the end of the season, and could convert to a bullpen role at some point this season to help expedite his movement.
Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria
Nick Hagadone MinorLeagueBaseball.com page
Nick Hagadone Baseball-Reference page
Nick Hagadone MinorLeagueSplits.com page
Nick Hagadone Pitching:
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