Kensai from memoriesofkevinmalone.com gives us a Great scouting report of Dodger Prospect Chris Withrow.

http://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2010/02/prospect-profiles-2010-chris-withrow.html

Overview-The Dodgers first round pick in 2007, Withrow missed significant time due to an odd collection of injury problems, and had thrown just over 14 innings through his first two seasons. For 2009, Withrow just wanted to get a healthy season under his belt, and he ended up accomplishing that goal and much more, as he ended his season in AA. With last year's huge step forward behind him, Withrow proved he is both resilient and talented enough to warrant his lofty draft status, and he will look to tackle advanced hitters in 2010.

Stuff-If you're looking for a power arm, Withrow is your man. Two years ago, he used to sit in the 89-92 mph range, and he would top out at around 94 with rumors of higher velocity. Last year, however, there were no rumors necessary. Withrow easily sat in the 92-95 mph range, and rushing it up there at 97 wasn't uncommon. The fastball has good natural arm side run, especially when he's working down, and it's an explosive swing and miss pitch up in the zone. Scary thing? There's still projection left.

As for his curve, it has an 11-to-5 tilt and ranges between 73-77 mph. Thrown quite hard, it has late bite, and should be another plus pitch. The only problem stems from a rounding of the pitch, which causes it to have a gradual sweeping break rather than a sharp downward movement. This usually occurs when he tries to overthrow.

Withrow's changeup has potential, especially considering that it will be working off a plus-plus fastball. It's thrown between 78-82 mph, and has adequate downward movement, but doesn't have ideal arm side tail. For now, it looks like an average future pitch at best, and it needs work. The development of a third pitch is one of the areas of Withrow's game that needs vast improvement.

Command-Withrow's command of all pitches remains his biggest obstacle, but the good news is that his problems seem workable. Accounting for the fact that this was his first full season, he shows solid ability to be around the strike zone. Fine command is still a large issue though, and it's something he'll have to improve drastically if he plans to beat major league hitters.

When he's on, Withrow will pound the lower regions of the strike zone with his fastball, and elevate it only when he needs a strikeout. However, his command within the strike zone is a work in progress, as he seems to have difficulty working both sides of the plate. When Withrow overthrows, the fastball will elevate in the zone. The command on his curveball is surprisingly good. He knows how to use it to get strikeouts, and he can also use it to get ahead early in the count. Sometimes he'll lose the release point, but i'd say it's quite advanced for his experience level. Withrow's changeup command needs serious work. His feel for it is still in the development stages, and it's the main reason I worry about the progress of the pitch. Worse yet, control of the offering wasn't improving as the season progressed. Strides here will likely make or break his potential as a starter.

Mechanics-Withrow's delivery is simple and repeatable. He uses his lower half well and has great arm action. There is a noticeable improvement in his tempo when comparing his mechanics from the time he was drafted to 2009, as he is much more aggressive now and has a much greater intent to throw hard.

Unfortunately, his front side mechanics are not good, as he lets his glove just hang by his hip instead of tucking it into his chest. This can affect his command in a significant way, as he frequently loses his release point due to his left shoulder opening prematurely. In addition, it can also put increased strain on the throwing shoulder, which increases his risk for injury. Another concern is that in roughly half of his pitches, Withrow's arm is not in the throwing position at footstrike. Again, this is something that can affect arm health.

Overall, Withrow has a very solid base to work off, but his flaws need to be fixed yesterday. The combination of plus-plus arm strength and increased shoulder stress has the potential to end in disaster.

Mental-The Dodgers selected him for his plus makeup, good work ethic, and high baseball intelligence. Withrow is willing to make adjustments, and always appears calm and collected on the mound.

Health-In the 2008 off-season, Withrow gashed his throwing hand when he tried to throw a snorkel mask. While that probably doesn't speak too highly of his intelligence, it's not anything to worry about long term. However, it is worth noting that the sore elbow that followed shut him down for the majority of the season. Whether the two events were connected is up for debate, but Withrow did come back fully healthy in 2009.

Performance-Withrow started his first full season in the California League at the age of 20, which is a difficult environment for pitchers. On the surface, Withrow wasn't great, as he posted just a 4.69 ERA in 86.1 high-A innings. However, his FIP was 2.96, and he struck out 10.95 batters per nine, so the dominance was certainly present. A big part of his mediocre surface statistics were rooted in the high run scoring environment of the league and an unlucky .357 BABIP against. The one legitimate criticism of Withrow was his walk rate, which ended up at 4.69 free passes per nine.

Despite poor surface numbers, the Dodgers recognized his domination of Class A hitters and promoted him to AA. Withrow had a solid but unremarkable 27.1 IP there, as his FIP increased (3.68), the strikeouts dropped (8.56 K/9), and his control improved (3.95 BB/9). Withrow did establish a good base of experience for 2010 though, and proved he can handle himself against advanced hitters.

Other-A good athlete that may still have projection left.

Projection-With the potential for two plus pitches, plus makeup, and a solid command, Withrow's ceiling is as a borderline #1 starter. However, his changeup must develop into a solid pitch, and his command must start to show signs of improvement for his ceiling to become a realistic goal.

Right now, the most prudent prediction would be to peg him as a #2-#3 type pitcher, mainly due to inexperience and multiple question marks, but with enough plus stuff to get him by most obstacles. The worst case scenario for a healthy Withrow is being a power arm at the back of the bullpen, but I believe there's even an increased risk for a career derailment due to arm injuries if he doesn't take steps to correct flaws.

The Dodgers will likely start Withrow in AA, and I believe he should be given a full season there, hopefully accumulating 130-140 innings. If he does well, I suppose he could get a cup of coffee late in 2010, but I would prefer if that didn't happen.

Here are some other scouting reports on the site, including Ethan Martin, Dee Gordon, Garrett Gould, Andrew Lambo and Aaron Miller:  Click on players name for scouting report

http://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/search/label/Prospect%20Profiles