Draft Notebook Excerpt - Sammy Solis

I'm going to start giving out free excerpts of draft picks starting with the second round today.

First up is Washington Nationals second round pick Sammy Solis from San Diego. Follow the jump for his report.

Sammy Solis   Position: LHP   School: San Diego   State: CA   Year: Jr.   Height: 6’5’’   Weight: 220

Birth Date: 8/10/88   Seiler Rating: 1C4   Last Drafted: 2007 (ARI-18)

*Redshirted

Sammy Solis is a big left-handed starting pitcher from the University of San Diego. Solis came to USD from Agua Fria High School in Litchfield Park, Arizona, a small town about 20 miles west of Phoenix near Luke Air Force Base. He was a solid prospect in high school, offering a big frame with projectability, but he never quite put it together enough to warrant a high draft pick, instead falling to the in-state Diamondbacks in the eighteenth round, where they were unable to sign him. He headed to USD, where he was expected to become the next in a line of excellent pitchers to come from the program. After showing promise as a freshman in a swing role, he was stepping forward with a pair of good performances as a sophomore before he suffered a ruptured disc in his back, which was the result of weightlifting. He missed the rest of the season and received a medical redshirt, and expectations were tempered heading into the spring. However, he’s far exceeded expectations with a great year, and he has the size and pitch mix to be a number three starter at the Major League level. His fastball is a solid-average pitch that usually sits 89-92, touching 93, and he complements it with a plus changeup and above-average curveball. There is some hope that he’ll continue to add strength and velocity as time goes along, but he’s effective with his current pitch mix enough to believe that he can be a solid starter without extra velocity. He should eat innings from the left side, and that alone could slide him into the back end of the first round, though it’s more likely that he goes from the supplemental first round to the early third round, where his sophomore-eligible status shouldn’t cloud his signability.