The Write-Up: Jamie Callahan, Dioscar Romero, Jake Cosart and Kevin Kelleher

Recently, SoxProspects Director of Scouting Ian Cundall and Assistant Director of Scouting Chaz Fiorino traveled to the Fall Instructional League to report on the goings-on in Fort Myers. This is the fourth of six reports from the trip.

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Listed at 6-2, 230 pounds, 20-year-old right-hander Jamie Callahan has an athletic, lean, solid pitcher’s frame with limited projection physically. The former 2012 second-round pick had a short stint on Friday, displaying a fastball, slider, and changeup. The fastball was 91-94 mph, slider 82-84 mph, changeup 86 mph. Most notably Callahan comes out from a high, overhand arm slot in his delivery with long arm action in back. It was an abbreviated look and the overall package was average at best. Callahan made strides forward this year after repeating Greenville in 2014 with an increase in his K/9 from 7.37 to 9.47 and decrease in BB/9 from 5.47 to 3.32. Still only 20 years old, Callahan is very raw at present.

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Listed at 6-3, 250 pounds, 20-year-old Dioscar Romero has a large, thick-bodied frame both in his upper and lower half that will need to be monitored. The right-handed pitcher signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011 for a reported $600,000 signing bonus. Romero comes set with his hands shoulder height and drops to his belt as he goes into his semi-wind-up delivery. The arm action is clean from a three-quarters slot, and he featured a three-pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and changeup on Saturday for two innings. The fastball was an average-grade pitch at 90-93 mph that he commanded pretty well, which has been a struggle for him in the past. The slider was 82-86 mph and is an average-grade offering, and he threw his changeup at 84-86 mph. Romero has the makings of three average grade offerings, but the overall package lacks consistency due to present below-average command and control that will need to improve going forward.

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Listed at 6-2, 180 pounds, Jake Cosart has an athletic, lean frame with some room for added strength. The 21-year-old former 2014 third-rounder came set with his hands at chest height and a no wind-up delivery. The delivery is a bit upper body and arm heavy with a quick arm. Cosart threw three innings on Thursday and threw mostly a combination of fastballs and curveballs. The fastball was 89-92 mph, down a tick from the 91-94 mph I saw earlier this year in Lowell and Spring Training. The curveball was 71-73 mph and continued to show the type of inconsistency of shape and release that has been present every time I have seen Cosart pitch. The curveball lacked bite and he appeared to cast it at times. Cosart also has a changeup and slider in his arsenal that were not really utilized this outing. In general, Cosart is still very raw with a raw four-pitch mix. Still far off developmentally, Cosart is a high-risk prospect with raw tools that have yet to translate due to below average control and inconsistent secondary offerings.

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Listed at 6-3, 240 pounds, 22-year-old Kevin Kelleher was a 12th-round selection out of University of New Orleans in this year’s draft. The right-hander has a thick build, a strong lower half, and is maxed out physically, throwing from a three-quarters arm slot with a quick arm and an arm-heavy delivery. Post-draft reports from various sources referenced a power pitcher who was seen up to 98-100 mph with a wipeout slider. In this brief outing, Kelleher was unimpressive, featuring a fastball at 87-89 mph with below-average command, a slurvy breaking ball at 74 mph that was average at best, and what looked like a below-average changeup at 80 mph. Kelleher worked out of both the rotation and bullpen in college, but is a relief profile all the way going forward. Entering the 2016 season, Kelleher will already be 23 years of age, and he looked like nothing more than a classic organizational filler at this point, unless he can re-discover the arm strength and slider that reportedly existed at one point during his college career.

Photo credit: Jamie Callahan and Jake Cosart by Kelly O'Connor.

Chaz Fiorino is Assistant Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @cbfiorino.

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