Friday Recap
Sure,
you can look at Vanderbilt junior right-hander Carson Fulmer
and point out that he is a bit undersized and throws with effort. On
the other hand you can watch him throw and realize that he’s still
able to generate downhill plane on his entire arsenal and in regards
to the effort, he maintains his high octane stuff throughout the
outing, never dipping below 92 mph with his fastball in his six
innings last night. On top of that, he’s highly athletic and by far
the most fierce competitor that I’ve seen on a field this spring.
Fulmer
opened the game and was just dominant in his first inning of work,
sitting in the 93-96 mph range with sharp downhill and command of
both sides while bumping 97 a couple of times. Both of his off-speed
pitches flashed plus in the first as he threw his first changeup at
89 mph with late fade to his arm side, and his breaking ball
consistently at 84 mph, almost showing slider shape with hard biting
action.
As
the game progressed onward Fulmer’s curveball began to show true
curveball shape with 12-to-6 life and plenty of depth on the pitch in
the low-80s. He showed a plus feel for the pitch and was able to go
to the pitch whenever he was in trouble to escape a jam, proving to
be a swing and miss offering.
Though
he wasn’t sharp from first pitch to last, occasionally leaving the
ball up or catching too much plate at times, Fulmer’s showed
dominant stuff over his six innings with three pitches that can
simply overpower a hitter. The velocity was there whenever he needed
it, sitting comfortably in the 92-94 mph range, touching 95’s and
even flashed a 96 in the fourth with late arm side run when on top of
the pitch. Even more impressive was his ability to consistently bring
the pitch in on the hands of righthanded hitters, showing a fast arm
from a simple set of mechanics.
There
was one pitch from Fulmer in particular that stood out to me and it
came on a two-strike count with two outs. Facing a righthanded
hitter, Fulmer spotted up an 88 mph changeup beautifully to his glove
side, fading the pitch back over the outside corner for a called
third strike to end the inning.
It’s
easy to see why Fulmer is regarded as one of the top pitching
prospects in the 2015 draft class as he maintains high-level stuff on
the mound and does it with an abundance of confidence.
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