2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #11 T.J. House

T.J. House – Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 09/29/1989 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 215 – Bats: Right – Throws: Left

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: House was selected by the Indians in the 16th round of the 2008 Draft out of Picayune High School (MS). He was projected to go in the fop five rounds of the draft, but a commitment to Tulane University and a $1.5 million bonus demand scared teams away. The Indians took a flier on him, and when the coach at Tulane that recruited him stepped down and took another job, he decided to sign with the Indians for $750,000. He pitched out of the bullpen in qualifier action for Team USA in the summer of 2007, pitching only three innings while posting six strikeouts and a .214 opponent batting average. In high school, he stayed in great shape during the offseason by participating on the swim team and helped them win a state championship in 2006. Last year he finished 6^th in the Carolina League in losses (10), 8^th in ERA (3.91), 3^rd in games started (26), 5^th in innings pitched (135.2), and 7^th in strikeouts (106).

Strengths: House is a physically, mentally advanced left hander that has a three pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and changeup. His heavy fastball is a plus pitch that sits at 91-94 MPH and has touched 95 MPH, and has good tailing action. He did not show any velocity gains last season, but he has good arm strength where as he matures he is expected to see an uptick in his average velocity. His excellent slider is another plus pitch that sits in the mid 80s and is a nasty weapon, and shows good depth and late break. His 80-81 MPH changeup has plus potential and has rapidly developed into a quality pitch for him. He gets good separation with his changeup from his fastball and made big strides with his confidence in throwing it last season.

House also started working on a curveball midseason in order to give him another weapon to throw in the strike zone that has some depth to it and also complement his changeup so it is not overused. It is something to add to his arsenal to give hitters a different view with a slower speed and a little bit more break and a downward plane. He did not throw it in a game, and instead worked on it in bullpen sessions to make sure he was getting good rotation on it before unveiling it in a real game setting, which may happen sometime this season. He also made some big strides with his conditioning and endurance last year. In his first season at Low-A Lake County in 2009 he hit a plateau and struggled toward the end of the season as he got really tired and fatigued. Last year his body and arm did not wear down and he finished much stronger thanks to a commitment in the offseason to work on his conditioning to better prepare himself to handle the physical toll of starting 26-27 games and pitching 150 innings over a full season. He also did a lot of work on his shoulder to keep him from falling off in the second half.

Even though House has only made steady progress to date, he has all the tools to develop rapidly going forward. He has a smooth delivery and mixes up his speeds and pitches well and has good command of the zone at an early age. Even on nights when he just does not have it, he shows an ability to battle and maintain his composure to still take his team deep into a game. He has a maturity level that is off the charts and is a very skilled pitcher with a high baseball IQ who pitches beyond his years. He has a drive to succeed as even when he is not pitching he is always tuned into the game watching hitters to pick up weaknesses and also watching other pitchers to pick up something new. He is very coachable and very open to ideas for improvement. He is often compared to major league left-handers Scott Kazmir and Mike Hampton because of his athleticism, strong build, competitiveness, and power to his stuff.

Opportunities: Most of House’s issues last year stemmed from him not finishing his pitches. Sometimes he does not open his hips enough so he can get a good drive because he cuts across his body by stopping short with his front foot and not exploding through the zone. When a pitcher does not finish his pitches they lose that leg drive and the ball does not jump out of their hand like it should. As a result, a lot of his pitches were staying up and on the same plane, his velocity was down a little, his fastball was flat, and his breaking ball was not as sharp as it normally would be. High-A Kinston pitching coach Tony Arnold worked with him over the course of the season to make sure he stays out front and drive through the zone, and he will need to continue to be cognizant of this going forward. He also needs to be more consistent pitch to pitch and for his entire outing. He has a tendency to get a little flat, and when that happens hitters start to put the ball in the air, so the Indians have challenged him to better repeat his delivery, stay focused pitch to pitch, and keep the ball down in the strike zone.

House’s fastball command and velocity were off some last year, which resulted in some inconsistency handling the strike zone and more walks, so he needs to continue to work on the command and location of all of his pitches and also better establish the lower part of the plate. His slider and changeup need more consistency, and the addition of his curveball would be a big boost to his stuff if he can develop it. He needs to better control a running game and maintain his focus when runners are on base.

Outlook: House has made slow and steady progress in his first two-plus years in the organization, and had an unspectacular, but solid season last year. His command was inconsistent all season, but even though he often labored through many of his innings and starts he found a way to keep his team in games. For a 20-year old in the Carolina League last year he held his own and has proven to be a durable, reliable starter. He projects to be a middle of the rotation big league starter with the potential to be more if he learns to better command the zone and develop his changeup and curveball. Due to depth in the upper levels he may open the 2011 season at Kinston, but should pitch a majority of the season at Double-A Akron, which is where his prospect mettle will truly be tested.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2009	19	Lake County	A	6	11	3.15	26	26	134.1	127	47	8	49	109	.250	3.3	7.3	1.31
2010	20	Kinston	A+	6	10	3.91	27	26	135.2	135	59	7	61	106	.264	4.0	7.0	1.45
		MiLB Totals		12	21	3.53	53	52	270.0	262	106	15	110	215	.257	3.7	7.2	1.38

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

Posted in: T.J. House