2010 Draft Preview: Pitchers

It was a little less than two weeks ago where I wrote a column all about possible position player targets for the Indians in the upcoming draft. That article was rather long as it focused on seven hitters. Back then there was less consensus on who the Indians could possibly target in the draft, but now with the draft less than a week away, the possible choices for the Tribe seem fewer and fewer. For this piece I will focus on the arms that could possibly go to the Tribe with their first pick.

At this point there seem to be two main arms and one extreme long shot for the tribe at the 5th pick if they were to draft a pitcher. The two arms that seem the most likely to be selected by the Tribe are Mississippi lefty Drew Pomeranz and Florida Gulf Coast lefty Chris Sale. The long shot would be Texas prep flame thrower James Taillon.  As I did in the position player piece, I write the round-ups in the order of least to most likely selected by the Tribe.

The least likely candidate to be a member of the Tribe on draft day is James Taillon, a power throwing righty from Texas. This is such a long shot because Taillon is a huge talent and is viewed by most everyone as the number two player in this draft. If he were to fall it would be purely thanks to teams taking the college arms or because of concerns about signability. The question would then be would the Tribe take a risk on a huge talent even if he was going to be an extremely hard sign. Mirabelli has made comments this year that make it seem like they would have little issue taking a huge talent no matter the cost and would try their best to sign them. Taillon projects out as a number one pitcher who is large at 6’7” with a fastball in the mid 90’s that has topped out at 98 MPH repeatedly this year. Taillon is a great athlete who has excellent mechanics and has shown the ability to repeat his delivery consistently with little to no trouble. On top of a potential plus plus fastball, Taillon also sports a plus plus curve with velocity in the mid 80’s that also features a sharp break to it. His change is a work in progress and is a pitch he has rarely had to rely on since high school. If Taillon were to fall to the Tribe, he would instantly be the top arm in the Tribe’s system and might even be the number two prospect in the system, even ahead of Chisenhall or White. The odds, though, of Taillon falling to the Tribe would best be described as minuscule, so don’t get your hopes up too much.

The next pitcher of note who may be on the Tribe’s radar is Chris Sale, a lefty from Florida Gulf Coast. Sale is a large lefty, standing at 6’6”, who throws in the low 90’s but has reached 96 MPH. Sale opened a lot of eyes by dominating the Cape Cod league last year, and while there are concerns about the opponents that Sale has faced for Florida Gulf Coast, his dominating performance in the Cape shows that he can stand up against top shelf talent. Sale’s fastball shows great sinking action and generates a lot of groundballs. His best pitch is his change up, which is very deceptive and shows excellent movement and pinpoint control. Sale’s third pitch is a slider that is in the high 70’s and which should be an effective major league pitch. He is a smart pitcher whose delivery allows for excellent deception on all of his pitches. The big concern with Sale is that his delivery is a high three quarters slot, and there is concern that his delivery could lead to injuries down the road. For Indians fans the concern might be the fact they will see a bit of Sowers, in that he is a soft tossing, intelligent lefty, who dominated in college who gets by more by guile than pure stuff. The other issue is that Sale seems to be rising and might actually be gone by the time the Indians pick. Sale is one of the most ready pitchers in this draft, and that has certainly helped his stock.

The pitcher that seems to be the most likely to land with the Tribe is Mississippi lefty Drew Pomeranz (pictured). If Pomeranz had been healthy all year there would be no chance he would be available for the Tribe, but thanks to injuries there is a very real chance he could be there when the Tribe picks fifth overall. Pomeranz is a 6’5” lefty with a legit power arm. While his velocity is not high, he has topped out at 95 and his fastball is considered a power pitch and a real weapon. His second best pitch is a knuckle curve, which sits in the high 70’s. The separation on his pitch velocities really has frozen hitters all year. His third pitch is a change up, but it still needs a lot of development. The big issue with Pomeranz is control issues, and unlike Taillon there has been trouble for Pomeranz in consistently repeating his delivery. This in turn has lead to his control problems, which have been worse this year thanks to his injury and recovery from injury. In the end, though, with Pomeranz you get a lefty with two plus pitches already and a third pitch that is developing. With some tweaking there is no reason he could not be a number two type pitcher.

The draft will be an interesting night for all Indians fans, but at this point most mocks seem to have Sale or Pomeranz headed to the Tribe. Either pitcher would be a solid addition and are the type of near ready arm that the Indians love to draft. When you add in the bonus that both are left handed then it certainly seems to be shaping up for a Sale versus Pomeranz show down for the Tribe's selection.

Posted in: 2010 Draft,Chris Sale,Drew Pomeranz,James Taillon