Some additional book excerpts for your perusal. Remember that in the book, all players have stats going back at least two years.
Will Inman, RHP,
Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-1 WT: 210 DOB: February 6, 1987
Scouting report after watching Will Inman pitch in April for
Fastball was better than I had been led to expect: his first 12 fastballs were, in order, 88-89-88-90-89-88-87-91-92-90-89-87. The fastball also had more movement than anticipated, it was not the straight pitch that I have read about in Baseball
Inman’s season in the Texas League resulted in very good K/IP and H/IP ratios, reflecting the quality of his stuff. His walk rate was too high, and scouts report that he had trouble with his fastball command as the season progressed, though he battled through it. His delivery is funky but deceptive. I’ve liked Inman a lot in the past and still think he is underrated by scouts, but the slippage in his control, as well as an excessive fly ball tendency that could result in too many homers, lower his rating to Grade B- Many scouts would say that is still too high. Perhaps I’m just stubborn about this one, but I still like the K/IP and H/IP.
Michael Inoa, RHP,
Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-7 WT: 205 DOB: September 24, 1991
Talk about a tough player to rate. Inoa is only 17 years old, signed last year as a 16 year old out of the Dominican. He’s huge, well-coordinated, athletic, already throws 90-94 MPH, should have good command, and shows the potential for a plus curveball and plus changeup. If he had entered the 2009 draft pool, he would have been a certain first round pick and probably a top five selection. But as with all pitchers his age, we really don’t have any idea how this is all going to pan out, and I tend to be skeptical about guys like this until we get some firm data to look at. Understand me here, I don’t doubt his potential at all. If I was running a farm system, I’d love to have him. But baseball history is littered with the corpses of many similar talents (Jose Pett, Ricardo Aramboles) and it is impossible to know exactly what will happen with Inoa. Grade B-, which is the grade I’d give a similar guy coming out of high school at this point.
Cale Iorg, SS,
Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-2 WT: 190 DOB: September 6, 1985
A sixth round pick from the
Eli Iorg, OF,
Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-3 WT: 200 DOB: March 14, 1983
Iorg has excellent tools, but has yet to develop the baseball skills to make those tools work on the field in a consistent way. His strike zone judgment holds him back offensively. He’s got significant problems with breaking stuff and gets pull-happy, weaknesses that Double-A pitchers were able to exploit last year, resulting in a tepid -6 percent OPS. He does run well and play strong outfield defense, but unless he gets the zone under control, he won’t hit enough to be useful in the majors. His tools and baseball bloodlines will get him more chances, but at age 26 entering 2009, time is running out. Grade C.
Travis Ishikawa, 1B,
Bats: L Throws: L HT: 6-3 WT: 190 DOB: September 24, 1983
I gave Travis Ishikawa a pretty negative review last year:
I think it is time for the Giants to admit that Travis Ishikawa is not going to be a lineup anchor and first baseman of the future. He’s got a good glove, and he has some power, but he just doesn’t hit well enough to sustain a regular job as a first baseman. It’s been two years since he’s shown any skill growth, and it is quite possible that he is simply a player who peaked early. My guess is that he’ll get labeled a “disappointing prospect,” settle in as a minor league slugger, then have a really good year in Triple-A at age 27 or 28, earning a second shot somewhere as a Brian Daubach-type platoon player in 2012 or so. Grade C.
He had a much better season than I expected, performed reasonably well for
Craig Italiano, RHP,
Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-4 WT: 210 DOB: July 22, 1986
Here is the scouting report I wrote about Italiano after seeing him pitch in the Midwest League in May:
Italiano had the great first half at
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