(Photo Courtesy of Four-Seam Images)
#24 RHSP Robert Whalen (LR: NR)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 200 lb
Age: 20
Acquired: 2012 Rule 4 Amateur Draft, 12th round, Haines City HS (Davenport, FL)
2013: (R) 3-2, 1.87 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.926 WHIP
This is pretty much the same exact story as Chris Flexen except Whalen was selected in the 12th round of the draft rather than the 14th. But unlike "Flex", Whalen was an at slot signing to commit straight out of high school and forgo his commitment to Florida Atlantic. In addition, Whalen was not as widely regarded as his counterpart. His repertoire has the same 90-92 MPH fastball, that can be cranked up to 94, but not much else after that. His 3/4 arm slot makes it extremely tough to add additional pitches outside of a slider.
Whalen basically EARNED his way onto this list by throwing lights out in Kingsport.17 BB's and 76 K's in 71.2 Inning pitched will get you noticed anywhere. He also only gave up only 1 HR the entire season and had a ground ball rate of 63% of Balls in Play. He at least seems like he has the tools to be an effective reliever but as long as he's pitching well as a starter there's no reason to move him off.
Anticipated Assignment: (SS-A) Brooklyn Cyclones piggyback starting rotation.
Ceiling: High Leverage Late inning reliever
Floor: Complete Bust
5 comments:
The important thing to realize is the level of talent at the 24th and 25th prospect level. These are potentially two middle-rotational pitchers.
It's exciting to see the depth of the talent pool.
Greg B -
Yes they did. Matt Eddy told me personally that he thought it was the best in baseball in 2013
Christopher,
I am sorry I am late to the discussion, but just read your analysis about his 3/4 arm slot is only good for a slider, but Matt Eddy over at Baseball America rated his curveball as the best in the system.
Just confused, thanks for the clairification.
@Derek
Morning Derek,
To my knowledge Whalen does not have a true curveball.
The 3/4 arm slot makes it difficult to stay on top of breaking pitches that requires wrist action due to your hands already being lower.
Coming out of high school he was seen as a 1 pitch guy with the ability to throw a slurve.
Slurves are generally frown upon amongst talent evaluators due to the fact that "it lacks the sharp darting action of the slider or the big break and depth of the overhand curveball. The pitch can be a function of a lack of velocity, lack of spin, arm angle, or some combination of the three."
I personally have not seen Whalen but with his anticipated assignment to Brooklyn I should be able to catch at least 1 start this season.
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