2009 Pitcher/Catcher Indoor Showcase
The Pitcher/Catcher Indoor showcase at the Perfect Game headquarters in Cedar Rapids is an annual oasis of baseball in the middle of the Upper Midwest Winter.
It’s a chance to see real baseball for two days and see some very good players. The area scouts are welcome for the opportunity to see top players and often interact with them in a relaxed atmosphere and get a better feel for the young men.
One of the ironies of this year’s early February event is that the wind chill is predicted to be about 90-100 degrees WARMER (think about that for a minute, Florida residents) than it was last year on the same weekend. In 2008, wind chills in Cedar Rapids were a brutal 40-50 below 0, so cold that I stayed an extra night in Cedar Rapids rather than drive home Sunday night and risk being stranded on I-80. This year the temperature is supposed to be a much more moderate 45-50 above zero and sunny.
The two highlights of the 2008 showcase for me were watching Jake Odorizzi and Jacob Turner pitch.
One thing that watching a pitcher in the closed confines of the hitting tunnel at the PG facility does is maximize the movement that a pitcher gets on his pitches. Odorizzi threw from an extended mid ¾’s release point and his 90-93 mph fastball had serious hard diving action. His slider from the same release point was big and sharp. Odorizzi ended up as the 32nd overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Turner is now a well known Aflac All-American but last February was the first time that he’d pitched in front of Perfect Game scouts. His heavy 92 mph fastball was very impressive and he didn’t work hard to throw it. What was most impressive was comparing that Turner with the one that came to the PG National 5 months later; he’d lost about 15 lbs since the winter and hardened up his body and even further sharpened his stuff. You like to see that sort of dedication and awareness in a young prospect.
2009 Themes
There are three themes that I’m looking at for this coming weekend after looking at the player list.
a) Boy, are these guys big! Some of the top pitchers we’ll be seeing include 6-8 Andy Flett, 6-6/240 Michael Bibas, 6-5 Jon Keller, 6-5, Jon Carlson, 6-4, Michael Foltynewiez, 6-3/215 Vincent Spiker…..the list goes on. Some of them will be caught by 6-5/240 Ryan Huck. I hope Betty Ford has laid on some extra food for the annual spread she puts out in the building lobby.
b) Last year there were eight pitchers who hit or topped 90 mph, led by Odorizzi’s 93 mph. The all-time record for the event, by the way, is 94 mph, shared by big league infielder Matt Macri (2001), LHP Casey Crosby and RHP Cody Scarpetta (both 2007). I wouldn’t be surprised if that mark isn’t topped in 2009, the list of pitchers, especially from Illinois, is very impressive.
c) The host state of Iowa doesn’t have a high profile pitching prospect such as a Jeremy Hellickson or B.J. Hermsen, but there will be a number of hard throwing Iowan’s in attendance. RHP Matt Koch (2009) hasn’t been seen much but threw 91 mph at the PG National last summer and has signed with Louisville. RHP Jon Keller (2010) is from nearby Xavier HS and has really come on strong in the last half year, pitched very well in Jupiter and could be the next star Iowa pitching prospect. 5-10 RHP Dean McArdle (2009) has a 33 ACT and is going to Stanford, but his 92 mph fastball and nasty curveball are top prospect offerings.
Check back on the PGCrosschecker.com Blog for highlights from the weekend!
Pitcher/Catcher Showcase
Highlights from Day One of the Pitcher/Catcher Indoor Showcase:
-- Two Iowa pitchers showed top level arm strength, although most of the high velocity arms aren’t scheduled to pitch until Sunday. RHP Dean McArdle (Sioux City North HS) showed the same stuff that he has at just about every event he’s ever been observed at, throwing 89-92 mph with a sharp 75 mph curveball and a hard diving low 80’s change up. McArdle’s small 5-10 frame and his scholarship to Stanford will discourage pro interest for the time being, but he should be an immediate success in the Pac 10 in 2010.
No one knew what to expect from fellow 2009 RHP Matt Koch (Washington HS, Cherokee, IA), as he’s been struggling lately with a sore hip flexor. It didn’t seem to hurt the Louisville signee, though, as Koch was steady at 88-89 mph from a loose mid ¾’s release point with excellent boring life. There’s plenty more velocity in his arm as his slender 6-3 frame fills out.
Iowa’s Jon Keller will be pitching on Sunday.
-- RHP Zach Beringer (2010/Harrisburg HS, MO) showed an 88 mph fastball and a good downer curveball, along with a strong 6-4, 220 lb frame. A scout said that Beringer was 92-93 mph a couple of weeks ago at another indoor event.
-- OF/RHP Seth Schwindenhammer (2009/Limestone HS, Bartonville, IL) is neither a catcher or primary pitcher (although he did throw 84-86 mph) but was at the showcase to show off his skills as one of the top hitting prospects in Illinois. The 6-2, 210 left handed hitter goes to the same high school that Jim Thome did and his father was a teammate of the White Sox slugger. Schwindenhammer has the raw tools to potentially join Thome as a big league alum of Limestone HS, as he has very good bat speed and obvious power potential. It’s worth noting that should the Illinois signee reach the Majors, he would have the longest last name in ML history, supplanting Jarod Saltalamacchia by one letter, 15-14.
-- Another left handed hitting outfielder who had an interesting day was Garrett Schlecht (2011/Belleville West Township HS, Millstadt, IL). Schlecht has a very projectable 6-2, 185 lb build and a crisp line drive swing with good bat speed. Schlect hit with the first group of hitters starting at 9 am, took his turn pitching (78-80 mph), took an open spot in a mid-day hitting group, then hit with the last hitting group. He said afterwards that he hit off 13 different pitchers and I had him figured for at least 50-60 at bats. That’s a day’s work. I joked with one of the scout’s sitting behind the cage, “We should put in our notes that his bat speed drops off a bit after he’s been hitting for a few hours.”
--Remember the name Tyler King, a 2010 LHP from Republic, Missouri. The 5-11 southpaw is a clone of another LHP, Buddy Baumann, at the same age. Baumann came to the Indoor Showcase four years ago as a mid 80’s left with an excellent curveball and nice change up, now he’s a potential Top 5 round pick at Missouri State. King has the same type of package and his curveball was the best breaking ball at the event.
-- Another southpaw to remember is Ryan Bollinger. Bollinger is 6-6, 190 lbs with very athletic actions. He was very steady at 86-87 mph, including from the stretch, and his 71 mph curveball had nice shape and spin. Bollinger is from the unlikely hometown of Minot, North Dakota and will give the scouts a good reason for a trip north late this spring. He’s signed with JC powerhouse Iowa Western.