Nick Adenhart

by SoCalSoxFan on Jul 3, 2006 2:07 AM EDT

Nick Adenhart made his debut in Rancho Cucamonga today. His final line wasn't great, but he overcame some early struggles as he was missing up in the zone a little bit. He was pitching around 91 and topped out at 94 with good movement. He also has a nice curveball and a change. He seemed to vary the speed of his curve, and it's speed bottomed out in the mid to hi 70's, and his change was low 80's. After the second inning he really seemed to settle down. His final pitching line was 6 IP 8H 4R 4ER 3 W 4K's

A lot of the hits weren't hit real hard, in fact there were only a few hard hit balls off of him. The three walks seemed kind of uncharacteristic for him, as he has shown impeccable control in Lo A ball.

Here's a few pics from the game

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If I see one more...

of these ridiculous diaries that focus just one game by a prospect...on one guy's excellent first-hand experiences...with useful photographs...great analysis...

I am going to puke.

by limozeen on Jul 3, 2006 2:17 AM EDT reply actions

I agree.

I will puke with glee.

Fantastic analysis and the pics look awesome.

by cronie on Jul 3, 2006 2:44 AM EDT up reply actions

2nd picture

really really like the foundation/mechanics of his hold point. toe pointed down, incorporates lower body significantly= nice effortless release.

by npurcell on Jul 3, 2006 2:21 AM EDT reply actions

Pictures

GREAT pictures. Thanks for posting this

by bigfranco on Jul 3, 2006 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks for the props

I've seen quite a few studs this year in both college and the minors (Arredondo, Greg Smith, Lincecum, Ian Kennedy) and this kid looks very good. Such a smooth delivery and pitches at an easy 92ish. Guys like Lincecum and Arredondo threw harder, but also put a lot more effort into their heat. I fully expect him to have success in the Cal and probably be a top five pitching prospect going in to next year. If Arredondo maintains his success this year, the Angels could have two in the top five, and more on the way. Talk about a loaded system, now they just need to have that translate to the big club.

by SoCalSoxFan on Jul 3, 2006 1:35 PM EDT reply actions

Arredondo

I havn't heard from him in a while. Not even returning my phone calls, lol. Does anyone know whats up?

by pedrophile on Jul 3, 2006 5:40 PM EDT reply actions

Still doing well

Was the starter in the Cal/carolina All star game, and had a rough inning. I don't recall seein him in the dugout yesterday, but he did pitch recently out there.

by SoCalSoxFan on Jul 3, 2006 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks!

that is probably why I have not seen any boxscores from him in a while.

Have you seen him pitch? Can you give me a scouting report of what he throws, what you think of him, anything really. :)))

by pedrophile on Jul 3, 2006 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Jose

I'm sure you can search the diaries for some dialogue on him, probably most by me, but here is my take on him.

He's a converted infielder and has only been pitching for about 2 1/2 years. He throws hard, real hard, I've seen him maybe three or four times and his fastball is consistently SITS in the mid 90's, and he can maintain his heat late into games, on several occassions going at 97 in the 7th and 8th innings.

He's basically a fastball, slider, split (some call it a change) guy, and the splitter is a work in progress, it has more arm side run (in on a righthander) than traditional drop of a split finger.

I was talking with his agent for most of the game when he got pulled in the second or third inning of a start. It was reported from basically four different sources (one being his agent) that 1)he wasn't feeling well, 2) it was a coaches decision (when i called the quakes), 3)discipline issue, and 4) he lacked focus on the mound so the coach yanked him. Whatever the reason, since that start he has been on fire and is currently leading the Cal league in Strikeouts, and his ERA has gone down considerably (around 2)

He's supposed to be a good kid, and the track record for most converted guys is that he will be a reliever, and that was the plan up until a month or so ago. I don't know if the plan has changed, but his success could dictate that he remain a starter. He's not a big guy, maybe 6 feet tall, but he is athletic. He pitches with great arm speed which usually makes up for the fact his arm lags behind his body a bit. He's probably the Angels #2 pitching prospect behind Adenhart, I think he has a higher ceiling than Saunders, but I'm not a huge fan of Saunders.

Here's a few pics that I posted before, but you can get an idea of how his arm lags a bit, this is one of the main issues with his delivery that affects his control, when he's off, he tends to miss up in the zone.