September 27, 2012 at 5:45 PM
Scouting Scratch: Notes from Fall Instructs
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-After getting my first look at right-handed pitcher Jamie Callahan, the big thing that jumped out is the cleanup work needed with his delievery. Callahan has a loose arm, but his mechanics are rigid and somewhat stiff. He doesn't have the easiest of time keeping his arm in slot, with there also presently some wasted motion at the end. The fastball sat 90-92 mph. It mostly worked up in the zone where it was straight and flat. I feel with improvement becoming more smooth with his mechanics he can develop better command and squeeze out more velocity. The pitch did show movement when it was down. Callahan also featured a 74-76 mph curveball that tended to roll, but has room for growth. He keeps his hand above the baseball and feels the offering in his fingers. With improvement creating harder snap, the pitch can become deeper. Callahan looks like a likely candidate early in his career to go through some tweaking of his mechanics, with the idea to enhance his stuff in the long-run.
-Blake Swihart's body looks more mature. There's been some physical progression and growth into his frame. Swihart was very lean in the lower body when he signed with the organization, which was an area of concern for me when first scouting the catcher. His defensive skills have made strides over the course of the last year. Swihart moves very fluidily behind the dish due to his athleticsm. He's quick with his reactions, has about average present range, and a plus arm. The receiving skills have also looked firmer. For Swihart to stick, the body needs to be able to handle the rigors of the position. I see the physical gains of the last year as a good first step. He may still move off the position down the line to preserve his athleticsm and take less of a toll on the bat, but should continue to catch in the very least for the near future.
Northeast Scout Ian Cundall took a long look at outfielder Keury De La Cruz and here are his thoughts. Cundall will be scouting Fall Instructs along with me this week, so make sure to follow him on Twitter.
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When his swing is controlled like on the double, he is shorter through the strike zone and has shown the ability to drive the ball to all fields with backspin. De La Cruz swing can get a little long and violent, especially when facing velocity up in the zone. He reverted to these bad habits a few times, most notably in his bat third at-bat when he got a fastball to drive, but instead of going direct to the ball, he came around it. This resulted in him yanking the pitch hard to the second baseman. Similarly, in his fourth at-bat, he again came around a fastball, yanking the ball this time to the first baseman. Improving the consistency of his swing is key for De La Cruz going forward as he needs to control it better and be shorter through the ball.
Photo Credits: Cody Kukuk by William Parmeter; Keury De La Cruz by T.J. Lawrence
Chris Mellen is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisMellen