Prospect of the Day: Alex Cobb, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
by John Sickels on May 3, 2011 8:00 AM EDT
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Prospect of the Day: Alex Cobb, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
When the Tampa Bay Rays needed someone to make a spot start on Sunday (May 1st), they turned to rookie right-hander Alex Cobb. He didn't have a great debut, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks, fanning three, and was sent back to Triple-A Durham after the game. How soon will he return to the majors?
Other pitchers in the prospect-rich Rays system, such as Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, and Jake McGee, sucked up most of the pre-season attention, but in some farm systems Cobb would rank as a top ten prospect. Originally a fourth-round pick in 2006 from high school in Vero Beach, Florida, Cobb has moved steadily through the Rays system with good success, including a 2.71 ERA with a 128/35 K/BB in 120 innings last year for Double-A Montgomery. This year he was 3-0, 2.05 in four starts for Triple-A Durham, with a 29/6 K/BB in 22 innings, numbers very much in line with his past performance.
Cobb works with an 88-93 MPH fastball, a strong curveball, average slider, and a very good changeup with splitter-like action. Although he walked four in his first start, his command and control were excellent most of the time in the minors and should be strong assets once he adjusts to major league conditions. Scouts project him as a number four starter, a guy who will eat innings and win if he has a decent team behind him, but if he fully maximizes his fastball command, he could exceed expectations. He'll definitely get more chances.
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I haven't seen him throw a slider at all this season
His fastball command has tended to come and go. When he’s on he can pitch effectively on both sides of the plate, but he’s been inconsistent with that. His curveball is more of a loopy, drop it in for a strike pitch than a hammer swing-and-miss offering. His split-change generates a ton of whiffs, but if it loses it action, it doesn’t have enough of a velo difference to be effective and is basically a BP fastball (which is what happened on the one Hank Conger crushed)
Vroom vroom party starter
www.raysprospects.com
+1
On the control part.
If he had very good control, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a 2/3 type. I really think that fastball command will hold him back.
He threw a handfull of sliders in his MLB start (5 or 6 IIRC) according to gameday
I think they were in the 82-83 range, so I don’t think it was any of his other pitches. I don’t know how he did with them, its only 6 pitches, but it was more than a negligible amount given his pitch count on the day.
I also heard
that he was tipping his pitches when he was on the mound.
Did anyone actually watch the game and possibly see this happening?
Doesn't Tampa always claim this when their pitcher's get rocked?
I seem to remember quite a few times when they claimed a guy was tipping his pitches.
Big Sexy
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by King Billy Royal on May 3, 2011 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
They apparently showed him video in between innings.
That could have led to the quick meltdown.
I assume it is fixable.
Scott from busleaguesbaseball.com actually pointed it out to me during the game
You guys know that sort of glove-flap that Matt Garza and Dan Wheeler do while getting their grip on a pitch? Cobb was doing that with his fastball but not his off-speed. It wasn’t 100% accurate but it was happening.
Vroom vroom party starter
www.raysprospects.com
by Imperialism32 on May 3, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I watched the game
He only gave up one run through four, and I believe only two walks, too.
When he went back out in the fifth, he wasn’t getting the calls on the corners with either his fastball or off speed stuff. This clearly frustrated him. Pitching coach went out to cool him down and by then, it was just deer in the headlights.
If I’m not mistaken, the reliever who came in allowed all inherited runners to score.
www.appealtoemulsion.com
All of this is true. I forget who it was, the first batter he walked in the inning,
he threw 5 strikes right on the borders and ended up walking him, then it was downhill from there. Sonny did him no favors by coming in and letting everyone in either, leaving 82 MPH cutters up in the zone for everyone to spray around as they wished.
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