2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #39 Vinnie Pestano

Vinnie Pestano – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/20/1985 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 205 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Pestano was selected by the Indians in the 20th round of the 2006 Draft out of Cal-State Fullerton. He was one of the top relief prospects in the country going into the 2006 Draft, but a serious elbow injury early in the season sidelined him. The Indians drafted him even they knew he was injured, and after he had Tommy John surgery on July 21, 2006 they eventually signed him on August 17th, 2006 to a professional contract. He finished 2^nd in the organization in saves (17) last year.

Strengths: Pestano used to use a submarine-sidearm style arm slot since college to help add some deception and movement to his pitches, but to help maintain better health and eliminate a lot of the wear and tear on his arm he brought his arm slot up last year to more of a three-quarters arm slot. The change not only helped in the health department, but with his performance and stuff as well. Last year his fastball velocity increased by 2-3 MPH as he was consistently at 91-93 MPH and hit 95 MPH a few times. His fastball showed more life and the arm slot change helped him get more depth and movement on his two-seam fastball with more run and sink, something he always had a problem with before dropping to the sidearm slot.

The arm slot change also allowed Pestano to revamp his slider, which was another big area of improvement for him last season. He had lacked a feel for his slurvy slider since he returned from Tommy John surgery, but the arm slot change allowed him to throw it much sharper and with more velocity compared to the slower, slurvy break it used to have. He changed the grip and angle of it last January, and it resulted in about a 3-4 MPH increase in velocity and had more deception. He picked up a four-seam fastball last year that shows flashes of good cutting action. He did toy around with a changeup when he first turned pro, but because of his bullpen role and his inability to create much deception with it the Indians scrapped the pitch and he now exclusively throws his fastball-slider combination.

Pestano is very experienced pitching in the late innings as he was a closer at Cal State-Fullerton and since becoming a professional he has been the closer at every level of the Indians system. It is a role he has always flourished in because of his excellent makeup, competitiveness, and strong will. When he comes sprinting out to the mound from the bullpen, he comes out with a purpose and focus many relievers lack. He has the eyes to pitch in the late innings because nothing rattles him, and is tenacious on the mound battling every pitch going right after hitters. The true separator for him has never been stuff, but his ability to pitch in high leverage situations, his strong mental approach, and his ability to throw strikes.

Opportunities: Health has been Pestano’s biggest roadblock as a professional. Even after successfully returning from Tommy John surgery in 2007, has had had several setbacks with his right elbow. Looking at his performance last year you would never know that he was very close to possibly seeing his career come to an end. He had a breakthrough season in Akron during the 2009 season with 24 saves by the All Star break before he had to be shutdown because of elbow problems in early July. He did not pitch again that season until the fall when he went out to the Arizona Fall League and made a few appearances, but then the elbow problems came back and there were serious concerns with his elbow. But after some extreme hard work in the offseason he came back healthy by spring training last year.

Pestano lacks a pitch to effectively attack left-handers with, so he is similar to Joe Smith in that he could get exposed to major league left handed hitters. He pitches to contact and relies on groundballs, so commanding his pitches to both sides of the plate is paramount to his success. While he is a good strike thrower, he needs to become more consistent pitching to both sides of the plate as his command on the edges of the plate comes and goes. He has a tendency to fall off to third base during his delivery, so he needs to continue working on finishing out front and through his delivery so the balance with his landing is better.

Outlook: Pestano has come a long way with his health as he was only up to 87 MPH his first pro season in 2007 at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley. He may not have the electric stuff that most people become so infatuated with when looking at closers, but he knows how to pitch and is a warrior on the mound, which are arguably the two most important traits for a late inning reliever than stuff alone. He will be 26-years old before the season starts, and his questionable health hurts his ranking, but with his return to health last season, performance, and development he has made himself an immediate bullpen option for the big league team going forward. He should open the 2011 season in the Triple-A Columbus bullpen, but should get an opportunity in Cleveland at some point in the year when a need for relief help arises.

Year	Age	Team	Level	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	22	Mahoning Valley	A-	1	1	3.57	21	6	22.2	17	9	5	7	27	0.2	2.8	10.7	1.06
2008	23	Lake County	A	1	1	1.55	29	15	29	25	5	1	13	23	0.23	4.0	7.1	1.31
2008	23	Kinston	A+	1	2	4.00	25	9	27	23	12	1	11	27	0.22	3.7	9.0	1.26
2009	24	Akron	AA	2	3	2.86	34	24	34.2	30	11	2	13	31	0.23	3.4	8.0	1.24
2010	25	Akron	AA	1	1	2.70	14	3	13.1	12	4	1	2	18	0.24	1.4	12.2	1.05
2010	25	Columbus	AAA	1	2	1.55	43	14	46.1	35	8	1	14	59	0.2	2.7	11.5	1.06
2010	25	Cleveland	ML	0	0	3.60	5	1	5	4	2	0	5	8	0.22	9.0	14.4	1.80
		MiLB Totals		7	10	2.55	166	71	173	142	49	11	60	185	0.22	3.1	9.6	1.17
		MLB Totals		0	0	3.60	5	1	5	4	2	0	5	8	0.22	9.0	14.4	1.80

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