2010 Indians 4th Round Pick: RHP Kyle Blair

In the 4th round of the 2010 Draft, the Indians select RHP Kyle Blair out of the University of San Diego.

Height: 6'3" Weight: 205 DOB: 09/27/1988 Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ranks:
PGCrosschecker: 109
Baseball America: 84

Quick hit: Baseball America tweet right after the pick: "Indians get major value, for me, in RHP Kyle Blair, USD ace in the 4th round with big-time slide piece. Middle reliever at worst; I like it."

Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Grant's Take: "We have known Kyle since high school and he has always been a premium starter. He had three very successful years at San Diego and comes with a four pitch mix and is a very big durable starter. He has an average fastball, plus slider, and plus changeup. He is a strike thrower who has had success everywhere he has gone."

AL Scout's Take: “I think he's a nice value pick where you got him. I saw his one-hit, 15 K game vs. Portland. He showed a feel to pitch and changed speeds. His curve ball was better than the slider for me, and he located the pitch to both sides of the plate and was his out pitch. The slider didn't impress me. He’s a big durable kid who needs to stay on top of his body conditioning. His control and command were solid for me.”

Jeff Ellis: Klye Blair is a safe middle to back of the rotation starter who should have a quick rise to the majors. Coming out of high school, Blair was a 5th round pick of the Dodgers. Blair is a player who had two reasons he was still around in the 4th round. There were some injuries which hurt his development and he does have problem commanding his fastball. Blair’s best pitch are a potential plus plus slider, which might have been the best off speed pitch in the Cape. His change up graded out average. His fastball would be a solid pitch if he could command it, but the issues lead to Blair walking a lot of players. Blair was thought to be a possible first rounder at one point, so if the Indians can develop him and work on his command this could be a steal. Even if the command issues stay, he should still make the majors as a reliever. Blair is a pitcher whose movement in the minors should mirror that of first round pick Drew Pomeranz and both could be looking at a rotation spot by some point in 2012.

Andrew Zajac: Standing at 6'3", 205lbs., Kyle Blair has a big frame with a three pitch repertoire. He's been somewhat plagued by injuries, but has the ability to perform well. The keyword in that sentence being ability because often times, Blair is inconsistent. He has average velocity and below average command and his walk total is concerning. When he's on, he can have some unhittable stuff, but command is truly a problem. He was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Dodgers in the 2007 draft.

Blair by no means is considered a flame thrower and relies on location and deception. His fastball sits around 89-93 mph with very little movement. He shows a true plus curve, not here's where some of the inconsistency comes in. It's a swing and miss type pitch, though, and it has the chance to be a consistent plus pitch if it can be worked on. His changeup leaves somewhat to be desired and he relies on location and deception with his change, rather than sink and some run to it. Blair's stuff isn't going to wow you and he has a limited ceiling, but he projects as a middle-to-back end of the rotation guy, who, at worst, can be a middle reliever.

He keeps his emotions in check, but is a competitive guy. It won't take him long to reach the majors, but I consider him a safe college pick. I'm not crazy about the selection, but it's a solid choice.

Charlie Adams: All the scouting reports on Kyle Blair seem to focus on his limitations, predominantly those of his fastball. But, the more I look into his stats and watch his great off-speed offerings; I can’t help but be impressed. Sure, he’s almost 22, but he was pitching in one of the better conferences in college baseball in the WCC and racked up an amazing 11.53 K/9 in 2010. Even more impressive, he is throwing those off-speed pitches for strikes because he sports a 4.5:1 K:BB ratio. Just for a point of reference of how tough the WCC is and how difficult the teams Blair faced were, his schedule-adjusted stats have him at a K/9 over 12 and K:BB ratio of better than 5.1.

The consensus blurb about Blair seems to be that he has a low-ceiling, but what doesn’t seem to get as much press is his very high floor. On top of his impressive strikeout and walk numbers, this kid is a workhorse; he averaged more than 6.5 innings per start. Barring the ever-present injury possibility, he will likely move through the system quickly and be able to contribute to the big league club in a hurry in the form of a middle-reliever and possibly as a mid-to-back end starter if he can turn the change-up into a useful pitch.

Article: The Los Gatos Observer did a piece on his near no-hitter a month back.  Also the Sporting News did a piece on him recently.

Video:

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