2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #14 Kyle Blair

Kyle Blair – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 08/27/1988 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 230 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: The Indians selected Blair in the 4^th round of the 2010 Draft out of the University of San Diego. As a college junior the Indians were able to pry him away from college for a well overslot bonus of $580,000. The bonus was much less than what he was offered by the Los Angeles Dodgers when they originally drafted him out of high school in the 5^th round of the 2007 Draft.

Strengths: Blair has an average two-seam fastball that sits at 90-92 MPH, but his above average secondary offerings in his curveball and changeup make him a legitimate starting pitching prospect. His plus slider is his best pitch and he has the confidence to throw it in any count. The slider has good late, tight break and can be unhittable at times and projects as a potential swing-and-miss pitch in the big leagues. His changeup is still developing and has plus potential. He also throws an overhand curveball which some scouts believe at times is better than his slider, and he shows good command with it to both sides of the plate.

The Indians have scouted Blair extensively since high school, so they have a very good idea of what kind of pitcher he is. He is a big, durable, aggressive pitcher that can be a rotation workhorse who eats innings. He is a very tough, mature pitcher that won't back down and is not afraid to challenge hitters by pitching inside. He shows a good feel to pitch and changes speeds well with an ability to get good downward action on all of his pitches. His arm action is short which helps create deception in his delivery.

Opportunities: The fastball is the key for Blair to remain a starter. While his fastball command continues to improve, he still lacks good command and location of the pitch which leads to a lot of walks. He has had some nagging injuries in college - most notably biceps tendonitis his sophomore season which resulted in a lot of missed time - which have hurt the development of his fastball. Because of his inconsistent fastball he often relies heavily on his secondary offerings and overuses his slider not only to finish off batters, but early in counts as well when pitchers typically setup batters with their fastball. If his fastball command and confidence improves, his slider should become an even more effective pitch. In addition to the fastball command, due to his size and body he needs to stay on top of his conditioning in order to keep extra weight off. He is also an emotional pitcher and can get caught up in the moment, so he needs to learn to control his emotions better on the mound.

Outlook: There is very little projection involved with Blair because what you see is pretty much what you get. He has little room for growth since he is very advanced coming out of college, but along with his low ceiling comes a high floor as he should move swiftly through the Indians system and is expected to at least make the big leagues as a reliever. He may ultimately just end up as a reliever in the big leagues, but if his changeup comes along and he improves his fastball command it could go a long way at him fulfilling his projection as an innings eating third or fourth starter in the major leagues. He will likely open the 2011 season in the High-A Kinston starting rotation.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2008	19	San Diego	C	8	4	3.86	16	12	74.2	62	32	3	34	99	UNK	4.1	11.9	1.29
2009	20	San Diego	C	3	2	3.13	10	8	54.2	47	19	2	18	62	UNK	3.0	10.2	1.19
2010	21	San Diego	C	8	4	2.84	15	15	98.1	79	31	4	28	126	.218	2.6	11.5	1.09

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: Kyle Blair