#18 RHSP Logan Verrett (LR: #20)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 180 lb
Age: 24
Acquired: 2011 Rule 4 Draft, 3rd Round, Baylor University
2013: (AA) 12-6, 4.25 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 1.144 WHIP
2012: (A/A+) 5-2, 2.70 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, 0.968 WHIP
Sleeper Alert! Verrett is my selection for pitching breakout candidate of 2014. While some traditional fans will scoff at the idea of using advanced sabermetrics to evaluate a player, they do provide some usefulness when analysed properly. We see here that Verrett's K rate was essentially the same and while his BB rate did rise, it was still under 2.0. So why did Verrett's ERA skyrocket? You can thank the abnormally large amount of Home Runs he gave up.
As a flyball pitcher Verrett is more likely to give up HR's. However that doesn't mean batters are getting better swings on him. Line Drive % rate is a better indicator of that and his rate remained unchanged (27% in 2012, 27% in 2013). His HR per FB rate however jumped from 6.7% last year to 8.9 % last year. When you couple that with the fact that games played at NYSEG Stadium produced A) almost a full run more and B) 1 HR more per 2 games than other stadiums in the Eastern League, you have yourself the definition of bad luck.
Tools wise, Verrett is pretty unsexy, albeit effective. He brings to the table a below average fastball that only sits at 90 mph but he has excellent command of it. His breaking pitches include a very nice low 80''s slider that has both horizontal and vertical (2-plane) break, a 2-plane break change-up, and a slow curve that he uses sparingly as a surprise pitch to get ahead of right handers. Overall he has the secondary arsenal to be an effective back-end rotation guy but without a strong fastball he'll need to continue being crafty in widen his usage of all his pitches.
Anticipated Assignment: (AAA) Las Vegas starting rotation
Ceiling: #5 MLB starter
Floor: Low to medium leverage reliever (6th/7th innings)
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