6/6/12

13th round - #410 - RHP Matthew Bowman

At just 6'1", 175lb, Bowman will have the "short righty" stigma working against him in draft war rooms. He's quite skinny, skinny enough that he could put on weight without his stuff/tools going backwards and maybe even add a little velocity if he gets stronger in the right places (his legs). Bowman's diminutive stature means he needs to incorporate his entire body in his delivery to generate the velocity he'll need to compete in the pros. For the most part he does it, utilizing his lower half (It's clear when you watch Bowman's mechanics that he's doing his best Tim Lincecum impression) to launch himself off the mound . After watching video from 2011 you can tell Bowman has lengthened his stride and continuing that trend while adding muscle in his thighs and ass might yield a bit more heat. He has the athleticism to repeat a delivery of this type. The top half of Bowman's over-the-top delivery is fine. There's no extreme violence that would raise concerns about his ability to throw strikes or indicate a heightened risk of injury.

Bowman's stuff doesn't blow you away but it's nothing to scoff at. His fastball sits 88-89mph touching as high as 91mph. That's average velocity but the pitch plays down a bit due to how straight it is both vertically and horizontally. Bowman is already at a disadvantage due to his height. He's not going to get natural downhill plane on his fastball. At the next level he's going to have to find a way to make the heater wiggle or sink.

Bowman features three secondary offerings; a changeup, curveball and slider. Of the three, he worked most often with a low-70s curve which suited him just fine against Ivy League hitters but likely won't garner swings and misses from professionals. It has decent depth but its break isn't sharp. The slider shows much more potential. It was inconsistent but flashed nasty, two-plane movement here and there. Scouts nearby mentioned their desire for him to use it more often. Bowman's most consistent offspeed pitch was his changeup which sat in the upper 70s. It showed promising fade and run but Bowman noticeably decelerates his arm. -
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Adam Rubin -  Paul DePodesta said Princeton RHP Matt Bowman has a Tim Lineceum-type delivery and touched 95 mph at Mets workout.

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