2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #4 Drew Pomeranz

Drew Pomeranz – Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 11/22/1988 – Height: 6’5” – Weight: 230 – Bats: Right – Throws: Left

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: Pomeranz was selected by the Indians in the 1^st round of the 2010 Draft out of the University of Mississippi. It was the second time he was drafted as he was originally drafted out of high school in the 12^th round of the 2007 Draft by the Texas Rangers. His 139 strikeouts ranked 3^rd in all of NCAA Division-I baseball, he was named a first team all Southeastern Conference (SEC) player, and he was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year. He has a lot of pedigree in the game as his older brother Stuart was a 2^nd round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003, his father Mike was a 13^th round pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1988, and his uncle Pat was an 18^th round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1983. The area scout Chuck Bartlett that signed him ($2.65 million) played with his father at Ole Miss.

Strengths: Pomeranz is a big, physical, strong, durable starter with a power three pitch mix of a fastball, curveball, and changeup. His fastball sits comfortably at 91-94 MPH and touches 95 MPH, and shows good swing and miss ability. His fastball is explosive through the zone and he is aggressive with it going right after hitters, especially on the hands of right-handers. Hitters often have a hard time tracking his fastball because it gets in on them quicker due to some good deception in his delivery, late life, and movement. He shows solid average command of his fastball and works it well to both sides of the plate.

Pomeranz’s plus-plus 12-6 knuckle curveball may be his best pitch as it has good, sharp downward bite and was considered one of the best secondary offerings in all of the 2010 Draft. It is another swing and miss type pitch in his arsenal, and he holds it with the same grip that left-hander Cliff Lee does. He rarely threw his changeup in college since he was mostly a fastball-curveball guy so it is a below average pitch for him at the moment, but he shows a good feel for it and it has the potential to at least be an average pitch if not more.

Pomeranz has a loose, low effort delivery and gets a good downward plane on his pitches. He gets a lot of swing and misses with his pitches, and uses his fastball to overpower hitters and mixes in his curveball well to keep them off balance. He is a workhorse, and his velocity and stuff holds up well late in games. He is a fierce competitor on the mound who is mature, controls his emotions well, and is very focused. He has an intimidating presence on the mound, and is unwavered even in the tightest spots and does not let the game speed up on him when things are not going well. Because of his ability to keep cool and collected along with some great performances in big games in the past he has established a reputation as being a big game pitcher.

Opportunities: The two main areas of focus for Pomeranz as he transitions to the pro game will be the development of his changeup and his pitching mechanics. His fastball and curveball are no doubt plus major league quality pitches, but to remain a starter and be effective at the pro level he needs to develop his changeup as an effective third pitch. Also, his delivery is not clean and his mechanics fall apart at times which results in inconsistent velocity and command. By refining his mechanics and developing a better rhythm in his delivery it should help improve the command of all of his pitches. He had no arm issues in college, but did have a pectoral injury that he suffered at the end of March which affected his performance and caused his fastball velocity to slide to the high 80s, but was 100% by the end of May.

Outlook: The Indians scouted Pomeranz since he was in high school and saw him pitch a lot in high school, college and even for Team USA in 2009. With his pitches, power, frame and stamina he has the ability to be an electric All Star top of the rotation workhorse who hauls a lot of innings. He is in the same situation that 2009 1^st rounder Alex White was in at this time last year where he signed late and did not pitch in his draft year. He should follow the same path White did last year by starting the 2011 season in the rotation at High-A Kinston and if he stays healthy and pitches well he should spend half the season at Double-A Akron.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2008	19	Mississippi	C	4	3	4.16	17	11	71.1	76	33	10	30	81	.270	3.8	10.2	1.49
2009	20	Mississippi	C	8	4	3.40	16	16	95.1	85	36	7	37	124	.237	3.5	11.7	1.28
2010	21	Mississippi	C	9	2	2.24	16	16	100.2	71	25	7	49	139	.195	4.4	12.4	1.19

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