The Gamers vs. The Gifted: Rodriguez vs. Peavey

This is the first time where the players are MUCH easier to compare. Both are about the same age. Both are righties. Both pitched in Port St. Lucie. They're both around the same height, but only Armando is a member of the clean plate club.

Full Name: Armando Alberto de Jesus Rodriguez

Born: 01/28/1988

Birthplace: San Cristobal, Dominican Republic

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 250

Bats: R

Throws: R

Rodriguez isn't FAT... Which means he's not David Wells... yet. He's also not thin. Being his age and his size is something a scout would note with a hint of caution. He doesn't throw hard enough to be gifted or to overlook a bit of extra pound-age, but... there's also some good.

One of the things I look for in a Gamer is the WHIP. It demonstrates an ability to keep the opponents off base. Armando's WHIP is very solid at 1.19. I also look at the opponent BA: .218 which is VERY nice but slightly troubling. While keeping opponents down around the Mendoza line is good. His progression through the majors has slowly seen that BA rise. He'll be repeating A+ ball to start the year and NEEDs to improve upon the numbers to hold his value.

Rodriguez's Scouting Report:

The Good: He led the Sally League in strikeouts last year, had the second lowest BAA (.214), and third in ERA (3.08). He's a strike-thrower who keeps the ball down. He isn't afraid to pitch inside, and has natural deception in his delivery. His fastball sits from 89-92 mph, with a 86-88mph cutter.

The Bad: He also throws a slider and a change-up, but neither are effective. In order for him to be effective at the higher levels, he needs to develop a better change-up or off-speed pitch.

Name: Gregory S. Peavey

Born: 07/11/1988

Birthplace: Vancouver, WA

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Peavey started the season by blithely tip-toeing through Savannah. People didn't notice how good he was doing... we were busy fawning over Harvey and Familia. His stuff is on the lower end of the gifted spectrum and the guy needs to develop his secondary offerings in a hurry.

Peavey will repeat Port St. Lucie as well and the comparisons between Rodriguez and Peavey will continue to be easy to make.

Peavey's Scouting Report:

Peavey has effort in his delivery but usually has a fastball around 92 mph, touching 94, to go with a good, hard slider. Peavey has been on radar screens for several years and while scouts like his arm and pitch-ability, he hasn't developed much since his freshman year. The violence in his delivery has some concerned and the lack of a changeup has some thinking he's bound for a bullpen role in the future

For this round I have to give the win to The Gamers. I've followed Rodriguez for a while and I have more faith in him developing along the lines of a Gamer than Peavey emerging beyond mid-level talent.