2013 Draft: - Top 7 LHPs in Draft

1) Bryan Radziewski



2-28-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=388:college-baseball-weekend-02-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  - Player: Bryan Radziewski College: University of Miami Position: Starting Pitcher Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 5'11" / 185 lbs. Camera angle was from behind home plate in the press box, limiting my ability to see vertical plane of pitches Average (at best) height with little projection remaining Simple wind-up; 3/4 arm slot with a bit of effort in the delivery Puts himself in good fielding position after release Fastball hit 90 MPH in the first; 89 in the second (via announcer) Big 11-5 curve ball that he could throw for strikes; 80 in first, 78 in second & third, 77 in fifth (via announcer) Liked to throw change-up inside to right handed batters; 75 in the fifth (via announcer) Arm looked like it slowed down a touch on off-speed pitches Control was OK; lost the zone a couple of times, but generally hit his spots when he needed to make a big pitch Did a good job mixing pitches; kept Appalachian St. hitters off balance Not much hard contact Showed impressive poise for a freshman, battling through some defensive breakdowns



2) Logan Ehlers


5-16-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=423:college-baseball-weekend-13-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  –


Average height with a wide frame and soft upper body


Not much effort in the delivery but did throw across his body a bit; 3/4 arm slot


When throwing his slider, he occasionally dropped down to a low 3/4 arm slot, perhaps by design


Fastball has average velocity with some late arm side run and sink


Soft 11-5 curve ball lacked sharp break but looked like it will have good depth in the future


Slider with 10-4 movement; looked slurvy at times


Slider was inconsistent: sometimes showing good two-plane break, sometimes being very sharp and sometimes completely losing shape


Change has arm side fade and good drop


Change-up seemed to just die as it reached home plate; most consistent offering showing very good action at times but still needs some more refinement


Generally around the strike zone but only average control & command of his pitches; slider was the hardest for him to consistently locate


Mixes off speed pitches in often and doesn't pitch off of his fastball


Works quickly without runners on base


Utilizes slide step and is quick to the plate out of the stretch; varies his timing to the plate very well


Good deceptive pick off move



3) Kevin Ziomek



4-4-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=405:college-baseball-weekend-07-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  - Good height, thin, but not overly projectable Low 3/4 arm slot, nearly side arm Herky-jerky motion, especially out of the stretch, with a bit of a hitch Fastball velocity was average with some good late sink Slider was inconsistent, hanging a few; threw one with very good tilt that dove away from left handed batter Control and command were mediocre



Player: Kevin Ziomek College: Vanderbilt University Position: Relief Pitcher Bats/Throws: R/L Height/Weight: 6'3" / 190 lbs. Good height; wide shoulders that have begun to develop; more projection left High leg kick with weird hitch in his delivery; throws from a slightly below 3/4 arm slot All things considered, the delivery is surprisingly low effort Fastball has average velocity with some arm side run and sink; sat 88-90 for the majority of the outing with a few a tick lower (via TV radar gun) Slider with 10-4 break; pitch has good shape but only at times does it have sharp break; 75-78 MPH (via TV radar gun) Change up has significant drop and arm side fade, screwball type of action; 75-77 MPH (via TV radar gun) Started outing unable to find the zone, but settled down to keep Georgia off the board in 4th inning Command mediocre, missing up and to his arm side often; generally stayed out of vulnerable areas when he missed Unafraid to pitch inside; liked to back door his slider for strikes against LH batters Fastball induced a lot of hard contact, often fly ball, but were playable by the fielders

6-17-11: - http://baseballdraftreport.com/  FR LHP Kevin Ziomek (2013)
9.67 K/9 – 2.82 BB/9 – 3.40 FIP – 44.2 IP - I’m not so bold to say Ziomek is going to follow in the footsteps of previous Vanderbilt lefthanders David Price (1st overall) and Mike Minor (7th overall) and land in the draft’s top ten, but the fact that the thought even crossed my mind in the first place tells you plenty about Ziomek’s upside. Ziomek is predominantly a fastball/changeup pitcher, throwing the former between 91-94 MPH and the latter in the low-80s. His much improved curve and slider run into each other a bit too much velocity-wise now that that his curve has gained some heat, but right now the slider is the better pitch and a potential above-average big league offering. The whole package — good fastball, potential plus change, above-average slider, an interesting curve, and good athleticism — is first round quality.



4) Dylan Overton


3-21-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=398:college-baseball-weekend-05-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  - Player: Dillon Overton College: Oklahoma University Position: Starting Pitcher Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 6'2" / 160 lbs. Tall and lanky; very projectable body Slow windup with high leg kick Fastball had unexceptional movement; 87 MPH in the 2nd (via announcer) Big 11-5 curve ball; relied on heavily; 71 and 68 MPH in the 2nd (via announcer) Straight change had some drop, but relatively unimpressive Command of fastball / curve was solid in the first; started to elevate a bit in the second Really slowed down with runners on base



5) Bobby Wheatley


3-21-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=402:college-baseball-weekend-06-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  - Player: Bobby Wheatley College: University of Southern California Position: Relief Pitcher Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 6'4" / 205 lbs. Good height; slender, athletic build 3/4 arm slot; throws across his body a bit Fastball was a bit straight 10-5 breaking ball with sweeping movement; added and subtracted to the pitch; some were big breaking and others were tight with more slider action Straight change had some drop to it Controlled his fastball, but had issues throwing off-speed pitches consistently for strikes



6) Kent Emanuel



5-23-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=425:college-baseball-weekend-14-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  –


Tall and thin with wide shoulders; lanky with plenty room for projection


Long windup with high leg kick


Very low effort delivery with a 3/4 arm slot; doesn't get great extension on arm on back side.


Repeated his delivery well and low effort nature allowed him to disguise off-speed


Fastball has some late arm side run and delivered on a good downward plane; didn't seem to have much present velocity


Kept the fastball down in the zone well; got swings and misses on those located well but definitely wasn't an overpowering offering


Slow curve ball with 11-5 movement; the pitch had good depth and plenty of steepness that creates a difficult angle to square up


Curve can be inconsistent with some breaking off well and others slipping out of his hand


Used curve ball primarily as a pitch that he would drop into the top half of the strike zone rather than as a chase pitch


Change-up has arm side fade and drop; pitch has good, late action when he finishes it well and batters were ahead of the pitch often


Occasionally looked like he was trying to guide the pitch, leaving well off the plate to his arm side


Slider had some late movement but lacked shape and depth


Showed very good command, especially of his fastball, through the majority of the outing


Threw the fastball to both sides of the plate, hitting his spots often


Command waned in the 6th inning as he approached and eclipsed 90 pitches


Delivery looked a bit less clean when he was tiring; he was low often and not finishing his breaking balls


Deliberately looked to be testing the boundaries of the strike zone, perhaps even to his detriment, running into higher pitch counts than one would expect from the command he displayed


Got ahead of hitters often but lacked a put away pitch, leaving him nibbling on the corners trying to get batter called out or defensively chasing


Pick off move relied on deception rather than efficient quickness


6-14-11: - http://baseballdraftreport.com/  - FR LHP Kent Emanuel (2013)
8.56 K/9 – 2.01 BB/9 – 3.56 FIP – 89.1 IP - Emanuel is another prospect who has far surpassed my expectations as a freshman. One thing I’ve enjoyed about Emanuel’s excellent freshman season has been the answer to the question “What would happen if a Tyler Skaggs/Henry Owens type went to campus instead of turning pro?” Emanuel tacked on over thirty pounds to his 6-4 frame (now up to 205) and upped his sitting fastball a couple ticks (now at 87-89 MPH). His change is already an above-average college offering, and could be plus pro pitch with the way he throws it with fastball arm speed. His best bet at another above-average pro pitch is probably a slider, but that is something to be developed down the line; for now, his cut fastball works as a usable college offering just fine.


6-20-11: - http://sebaseball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1233364  - With their season on the line, North Carolina turned to a freshman. Kent Emanuel got the ball against one of the most storied programs in college athletics. Nine innings later, he collected a complete game, four-hit shutout and kept his Tar Heels alive with a 3-0 victory. The southpaw allowed four hits, all singles, and was never seriously challenged by the Longhorns. Through it all, Emanuel kept a calm presence on a stage that is anything but. -


6-21-11: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/2011/06  - Kent Emanuel pitched a gem of a ball game, limiting the Longhorn bats to just four hits as North Carolina shutout Texas 3-0. Last year Emanuel was drafted in the 19th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He chose to go to North Carolina and hope the future holds better results in the 2013. Judging by today’s performance, he hasn’t hurt his stock. The complete game shutout was the first in a college world series game since 2006 (Robert Woodward/North Carolina) and the first by a freshman since 1993 (Brett Laxton/LSU). It is ironic that Robert Woodward is in his first year as assistant coach for North Carolina. He must have enjoyed the 126 pitch outing by Emanuel. Kent is now 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA in NCAA post season starts.


6-29-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250695/the-all-reese-team#storyjump  - LHS: Kent Emanuel, Freshman from the University of North Carolina


Emanuel was a pleasant surprise. He doesn't have impressive velocity just yet - there is plenty of projection in the frame so it may come in time - rather the fastball command was incredibly impressive for a Freshman. It has good downard plane and some late arm side run and can miss bats when located well. His curve ball is slow but has excellent depth and steep break that hitters had difficulty squaring up. The change-up shows some promise as well when he finishes the pitch, but he does have a tendency to guide it at times. If he should develop a put away pitch, he will become the next premier pitcher in the ACC. Honorable Mention: Josh Osich, Junior from Oregon State University


7-7-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5988  - SP Kent Emanuel School: North Carolina Ht.: 6-4, Wt.: 205 Hometown.: Woodstock, Ga. High school: Woodstock The Tar Heels surprised everyone this season with Emanuel and others leading the charge. Emanuel had a huge season on the mound, going 9-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 104 1/3 innings. He also struck out 89 and walked 23 while opponents hit him at a .246 clip. The left-hander made 16 starts this past season and threw a pair of complete games.



7) John Kilichowski


7-1-11: - http://www.prospectwire.com/pw/article.php?id=268  - LHP, 2013 - Team Tampa (Central FL Team) - Kilichowski has been consistently in the 84-88mph range at a few different events this summer including 84-87mph in his first summer outing at the 2011 Florida State Finals. Kilichowski did bump 90 at the Jr. National Showcase. The low 3/4 slot that he delivers from is just nasty on left handed hitters. The Tampa Jesuit lefty stands about 6'3", but just 185lbs and screams projection down the road.