The Perfect Game Pre-Draft Showcase was held Monday in windy Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in front of a strong gathering of about 60-75 scouts, including numerous scouting directors.
The main attraction for the “heat” was Oklahoma high school LHP Chad James and the 6-4, 200 lb southpaw didn’t disappoint. He threw two innings and didn’t throw a fastball under 91 mph on the PG gun, sitting comfortably at 91-93 from a whippy, fast arm action and high ¾’s release point that creates very good downward plane to the plate. It’s not a “smooth” delivery by any means but James repeats it well.
James curveball was 77 mph and was very sharp at times, with a hard two-plane break that frequently left hitters with their bat on their shoulder. He only threw a couple of change ups but that is a very good third pitch for him.
I saw James pitch at least three times last summer, both in showcase and tournament settings and there was no mistaking that he had a different approach to his craft this time out. The James I saw previously was more of a finesse, mix it up type who worked in his change up in equally with his 89-91 mph fastball and curveball. This version of James is more of a power pitcher, with some more effort to his delivery, more velocity on his fastball and a harder spin on his curveball, but less reliance on changing speeds or spotting the ball.
Both are very good prospects and the scouts know that and have talked about James as a potential late first round/comp pick. Based on what he showed yesterday that certainly seems like a reasonable place for him. If he can maintain the FB/CB quality and mix back in the change up and command low in the strike zone at the professional level, he’s going to move quickly.
JAMES VERSION 2.0
The big surprise of the showcase was after Chad James was done with his turn on the mound and the quiet buzz had resumed among the scouts behind home plate, typical of what happens after they’ve been bearing down on a particular pitcher.
Out to the mound stepped what appeared to be Chad James twin brother, wearing the number 18 on his red Perfect Game uniform instead of number 23: Kevin James, 6-4, 190 lb left hander from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
While Chad James is ranked #17 in the Perfect Game Class of 2009 rankings, Kevin James is ranked #408. It was obvious that was going to change on James first warmup, which popped the mitt at 90 mph.
James went on to throw two innings, sitting at 90-92 mph with a very loose arm and an extended ¾’s release point. He has some wrap in back that will concern some scouts but he worked through it early and threw with minimal effort. The rest of James’ stuff was eerily similar to Chad James, hard spinning 77 mph curveball and a flash of a nice 81 mph change up.
As PG Director Jerry Ford remarked in somewhat of an understatement, “I think we have this kid ranked about 350 spots too low.”
To make too much of a differentiation between the two James based on these outings would be really splitting scouting hairs. Chad James has a much longer resume at this prospect level, whereas Kevin James was throwing 84-87 mph last fall with rougher mechanics. But for a little bit more power on Chad James’ fastball and curveball, their stuff was functionally the same and Kevin James threw easier with more projection.
It will be very interesting to see how Kevin James is evaluated based on this outing and over the next three weeks before the draft. Because if Chad James is a 25-40 slot pitcher at the top of the draft, which he certainly could be, Kevin James can’t be that far behind.
OTHER SHOWCASE HIGHLIGHTS
Rarely has there been a showcase that featured so high a percentage of hard throwers as this one. A total of 25 pitchers toed the rubber during the 18 inning game and 20 of those threw 90 mph or above.
6-6, 235 lb RHP Mike Giovenco from North Park College in Chicago threw the hardest, touching 94 mph and sitting consistently at 91-92. Giovenco has some delivery issues to work through and his secondary pitches are still pretty secondary but he throws easily and has an intimidating presence on the mound.
Illinois LHP Ian Krol was an Aflac All-American last summer but was thrown off his high school team this spring for violating team rules, so Monday’s outing was very important to his potential draft future. Krol looked loose and easy, sitting at 89 mph and bumping 90 a couple of times while showing a tight curveball and nice arm speed on his change up.
Chris Handke, the 6-11 basketball player at Division III Cornell College outside of Cedar Rapids was impressive for a pitcher who has only thrown 20 innings in three years of college baseball. Handke was 89-91 with good hard sink at the plate when he kept the ball down and had the makings of a nice change up.
A name to file away for a few years is RHP Sam Wolff of Rapid City, South Dakota. Wolff is a top flight athlete who ran the 60 in 6.45 and threw 90 mph off the mound. He has signed with University of San Diego, where pitchers seem to really blossom. I can see Wolff as a 92-94 mph guy with a plus slider (he threw some nasty cutters Monday) after three years in college.
The best position draft prospect at the showcase, at least in the opinion of the Perfect Game staff, was clearly SS Jamodrick McGruder (Coronado HS, Mesquite, TX). McGruder is a 5-8, 175 lb bundle of quick twitch muscles and athleticism. He ran the 60 in 6.34 (he was 6.45 at the PG National last June) and has easy plus range in the infield. In fact, there is nothing separating McGruder from the top high school defensive shortstops around the country. McGruder has excellent hands and big league level arm strength and made play after play on Monday that appeared easy for him but were big league level plays.
McGruder is a left handed hitter, which is a plus given his speed. He is quick getting the bat head into the hitting zone and has a line drive, spray to all fields type of approach that suits his tools and strength well.
One scout compared McGruder physically to former ML second baseman and current ESPN commentator Eric Young, noting however that McGruder was a vastly superior defensive prospect because of his ability to play shortstop.
The other position prospect who left a strong impression was IF L.J. Mazzilli of The Pendleton School in Florida. Mazzilli is the son of 14 year ML veteran and former Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli. Mazzilli has smooth and polished infield actions and can make the play on the run, although his overall speed and arm strength paint him as a second baseman at the upper levels of the game.
Where Mazzilli stood out, though, was as a hitter. He has a very mature and balanced set up in the box from the right side and plus bat speed. He drove two 90+ mph fastballs off the left centerfield wall at Memorial Stadium with crisp, quick repeatable swings and looked very comfortable doing it. Mazzilli obviously has hitting genes and the ability to use them.