2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #12 Bryce Stowell

Bryce Stowell – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 09/23/1986 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 205 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Stowell was the Indians 22nd round pick in the 2008 Draft out of UC-Irvine. He was draft eligible because he was a redshirt sophomore and 21 years old, so he had the option of returning to college for another year or two, but the Indians pried him out of college with a $725,000 bonus. He pitched in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2008 before signing with the Indians and in 9 games (6 starts) he went 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA (45.2 IP, 32 H, 4 HR, 9 BB, 58 K).

Strengths: Stowell throws a fastball that sits at 94-96 MPH and has touched 100 MPH, and he complements it with a slider and circle changeup. His fastball is a swing and miss pitch at the big league level that has some built in deception and saw some big gains in velocity last year. His bread and butter secondary offering is a slider which he has made good strides in developing since he was drafted and is considered a major league swing and miss pitch he can put hitters away with. His fastball and slider combination are weapons which lead to lots of strikeouts as he is very aggressive with both pitches and goes after hitters and does not run away from contact. His changeup is still developing and is a pitch he showed a lot more confidence in last year. It gives a different look to hitters and adds another wrinkle to his power arsenal to keep hitters off balance and guessing a little more.

Stowell struggled with his health and mechanics in 2009 which affected his performance that year. His delivery was often rushed, and he ended up dragging his arm which resulted in him missing high with his fastball. He made a lot of strides at the end of 2009 and in spring training last year with better solidifying his arm slot, repeating his delivery, and making in-game adjustments, which was a big reason for his surge in development and performance last year. The biggest area of improvement was in his velocity as he jumped from sitting at 91-93 MPH and touching 95 MPH in 2009 to sitting at 94-96 MPH and touching 100 MPH last year. The velocity spike was the result of all the hard work at the end of 2009 and in spring training last year, and was a huge key to his success last season with throwing strikes more consistently and piling up the strikeouts.

The move to the bullpen full time also helped Stowell tremendously last year as he really took off in the role. From the day the Indians drafted him they viewed him as an impact caliber big league bullpen arm, but like they do with a lot of their high profile relief pitching prospects they had him pitch in the starting rotation early on to help facilitate the development of his pitches and routine as well as expose him to as many game situations as possible. He is a fierce competitor with excellent leadership abilities and is tough on right-handers, which combined with his stuff the Indians feel he has a chance to be a late-inning reliever who can strike a lot of guys out and get outs on his own.

Opportunities: Stowell has now been bothered with arm issues in both of his pro seasons. He had bicep tendonitis in spring training in 2009 which set him back and forced him to open that year in extended spring training, and then last year he left his last appearance on August 21st with some discomfort in his right elbow that was later diagnosed as a mild right elbow strain, and the injury prematurely ended his season. While he is reportedly recovering well from the elbow scare, it remains to be seen just how healthy he is until he gets out there this spring. The arm issues in each of the last two seasons are a concern to monitor going forward.

Aside from his health, Stowell’s biggest area of struggle has been the walks and is something that showed itself a lot more after joining Triple-A Columbus late last season. Since he is a power pitcher a higher walk rate is expected and teams can live with it, but he needs to show more command of all three of his pitches. Refining his command should be the primary focus for him this season. He also needs to finish off the development of his slider and changeup. He did not use them a lot last year at High-A Kinston and Double-A Akron because he really only had to pitch with his fastball, but after joining Columbus he began to see he needs to develop his secondary pitches in order to consistently get out hitters at the higher levels. To improve his command and secondary offerings he needs to continue to refine his delivery and arm slot.

Outlook: Coming off a poor 2009 season where he struggled with health and inconsistency, Stowell really bounced back well last year with an incredible showing across the three highest levels in the minors. He had a dominating year in every facet of scouting last season, be it objectively through any measureable traditional or sabermetric stat or subjectively by what was seen on the field. He is a legitimate late inning major league bullpen prospect and has a good shot to get his chance in Cleveland at some point his coming season. He is Rule 5 eligible at the end of the season and will have to be rostered in the offseason anyway, so there will be no roster reasons to keep him off the roster this year unless the Indians want to manage his service time. The one thing really working against him is all the bullpen depth above him which may result in the Indians leaving him in Triple-A all year to finish him off and be ready for an opportunity in 2012. He is not expected to have any lingering effects from the elbow injury last August and should be 100% for the start of spring training, and will open the 2011 season in the Columbus bullpen.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2009	22	Lake County	A	0	0	1.00	3	0	9.0	4	1	1	3	15	.133	3.0	15.0	0.78
2009	22	Kinston	A+	4	6	5.31	19	0	61.0	64	36	6	34	62	.270	5.0	9.1	1.61
2010	23	Kinston	A+	1	0	1.42	11	0	25.1	16	4	2	8	41	.186	2.8	14.6	0.95
2010	23	Akron	AA	1	0	0.00	14	7	22.1	15	0	0	11	33	.192	4.4	13.3	1.16
2010	23	Columbus	AAA	1	1	5.49	17	0	19.2	11	12	2	17	28	.167	7.8	12.8	1.42
		MiLB Totals		7	7	3.47	64	7	137.1	110	53	11	73	179	.221	4.8	11.7	1.33

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