December 9, 2009 - 2009 Draftee Report Card, Part Four Pitchers Allen-Hale (Co-Written w/ Zephon)

The Diamondbacks entered the 2009 draft with 4 extra draft picks in the first round and the 1/2 sandwich round, and came out of the draft with 37 out of 55 picks signed. Keith Law ranked the D-backs as having the best draft in 2009, and other reviews of the Diamondbacks' draft have been positive as well. With so many quality players signed, this draft certainly has the potential to be best draft the Diamondbacks have had in their short history, and the team had a nice balance of high-upside high school talent and safer college picks at each stage of the draft. In this series of articles, we're going to take a look at each signed draftee's debut season, and see how they performed. If a scouting report on a player is available, we'll also take a look at that.

For this, the fourth part of the piece, we'll begin to look at the arms added to the system, eighteen in all. How to break up these picks was perhaps the biggest dilemma for this week's piece. It's impossible to know which guys will end up as starters and which will end up as relievers, so that distinction was a no-go. Lefty vs. righty would have resulted in two really lopsided articles, with the Snakes picking fourteen righties to just four lefties. So we got creative, and first split the article alphabetically, so that the first article will cover A-Hale, and the second article will cover Harvil-Z. Then, within each article, the prospects are organized from highest to lowest draft position. It's not a perfect organization, but it works well enough, especially when given the alternative options.

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The grades we used in this article are relative to the league average statistics and the average age of the players in the league that the player was in. In addition, each player's draft position and personal strengths and weaknesses are taken into account (i.e. how they were supposed to do). It's best to remember that the draft is generally a crap-shoot - you can never know which guys will make it and which won't. Some players' careers may be lost to injuries, others just may never be able to make the adjustments to the more advanced levels of hitting or pitching. If two or three players out of a draft become solid major leaguers, the draft is generally thought a success. It's not that uncommon for a team to have a draft where none of the players drafted have any significant impact on the major league club (just ask Pittsburgh). It happens. It's why the draft is 50 rounds long and teams have 25 players on their big-league rosters. If one major league player out of this draft became an all-star and a handful of them became regular big-league players, the organization got a good haul. So when you see these grades, imagine that they're in a perfect world, where there's no injuries, and players don't regress. These are absolute best-case scenarios. We can't predict the future.

Baseball is one of those rare sports where the ultimate team mentality is directly clashing with one person's determination to dominate a contest on his own. No one offensive player, or even no pair of offensive players, can win game after game single-handedly, as Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton so aptly demonstrated last season. Offense is a team collaboration in baseball, and requires a stringing-together of multiple successful at-bats in order to effectively produce runs. Pitching, on the other hand, is completely opposite of this. Sure, a good defense can help a pitcher out, but the defense cannot affect the pitches being thrown. Even the best offenses can be effectively shut down by a dominant pitcher, and an amazing start can mesmerize a crowd. And, for Arizona, that has been a point well-made by some of the dominant starters to grace the mound for the Snakes.

The first four that will be, and should be, mentioned are the two duos, co-World Series MVP's Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling from the marvellous 2001 season, and two guys on the roster today who, when at their best, are bona fide Cy Young contenders, Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. However, what deserves to be noted about these two pairs of aces is how they were attained by the organization. Johnson was signed as a free agent after a late-season trade to the Astros, and Schilling was acquired from Philadelphia for three young but mostly big-league ready players (Travis Lee, Vincente Padilla, and Nelson Figueroa) and Omar Daal. On the other hand, Webb was developed as a prospect after being an absolutely astounding find in the eighth round of the 2000 draft (which leaves us to wonder why we don't now take a pitcher every year in the eighth round out of moral obligation), and Haren was acquired in 2007 along with fringe-average reliever Connor Robertson (later traded for Scott Schoeneweis) from Oakland in exchange for six prospects (Dana Eveland, Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, and Chris Carter) who are just now starting to seep into the major leagues.

Sifting below the cream, you can also find a number of quality #3/#4 types who have hit the rubber for Arizona, including Brian Anderson, who is third on Arizona's innings-pitched list behind Johnson and Webb, Miguel Batista, fifth on that list after Schilling, Doug Davis at #6, Daal at #7, and Andy Benes at #8. As for relievers, we've had great luck with young, inexpensive back-of-the-pen options Byung-Hyun Kim, Jose Valverde, Brandon Lyon, Tony Pena, Chad Qualls, Mike Koplove, and Juan Cruz. Any way you slice it, pitching has typically been a position of strength for Arizona.

Next season, however, may be a different story. The rotation has one big hole at the #4 slot, one big question in whether or not Brandon Webb will be able to return close to his #1 form as our #2 starter, and one big competition amongst Billy Buckner, Kevin Mulvey, Bryan Augenstein, and Cesar Valdez for the #5 slot. The discussion has been rampant on the 'Pit as to who the team will sign for that #4 slot, with Randy Wolf, Jarrod Washburn, Ben Sheets, Brad Penny, Justin Duchscherer, Rich Harden, Jason Marquis, Pedro Martinez, Jon Garland, Joel Pineiro, Eric Bedard, and even Chris Capuano's scattered ashes all being tossed out (no pun intended... okay, yes it was) as signing possibilities. Perhaps the only certainty about this situation is that we will sign a guy, probably later on in the bidding process when some of the market has diminished and the guys who are left are scrambling to try to find a roster that needs them.

Further, the system has no real impact guys close to major-league ready now that star prospect Jarrod Parker is going to be shelved for all of 2010 recovering from TJ surgery, although the organization does have a fair number of #4/#5 potential arms in the upper ranks. In the upper levels of the system aside from the aforementioned foursome, amongst whom only Augenstein probably has the potential to be anything above a #4 guy (and even that will require some serious work on his secondary offerings), Tony Barnette could be ready to be a #5 guy in 2011, Matt Torra could see a rotation in 2011 or 2012, and while Barry Enright's ERA dropped across the hardest jump in the minors, his metrics need a major rebound year to get him back to being a top prospect as he was a year ago (K:BB fell from over 4:1 to 2.8:1). Tom Layne pitched well in the AFL and can be either a starter or reliever. Wes Roemer proved his dominance over the California League before having a solid season at Mobile. Further down in the system there is some promise, with both Trevor Harden and Pat McAnaney ending the season with decent numbers at Visalia. Bryan Shaw's metrics at Visalia indicate he was the victim of some serious bad luck, and he still had some moderate success as a starter. Wade Miley had a solid season at South Bend, and will start at Visalia next season.

Relief arms are also aplenty, and even after trading away Dan Schlereth, they still have a few lefties stashed away with Leyson Septimo and Jordan Norberto having.... interesting.... years in the minors, and Clay Zavada's big debut season solidifying the left-handed relief contingent to the point where the organization felt comfortable in trading away LOOGY-in-the-making Scott Maine in the Aaron Heilman trade. Roque Mercedes looks like another great piece added from the Felipe Lopez trade, and Bryan Henry had a good year at Visalia. Reid Mahon lost the ground-ball-inducing ability on his sinker, and needs to find it quickly if he's going to rebound and have major-league value. 40-man roster men Daniel Stange and Kyler Newby each have a lot of work to do in not a lot of time if they're going to reach the majors, in both cases involving the finding of lost K-rates. Bryan Woodall had a good season in South Bend, striking out ten per nine innings. Josh Ellis was lights out in Mobile, but while the wheels fell off in Reno, the lack of any metric spikes leads me to believe foul luck was a factor. Finally, Billy Spottiswood had a peculiar (and luck-filled) season, being promoted from Hi-A to AAA to provide rest for Reno's arms, and despite metric spikes and dips all over (K-rate drop, BB-rate spike, HR-rate spike), his WHIP fell, as did his ERA.

Yet, in drafting arms, there really isn't much of a pattern that can be adhered to. Teams look for a few things - projectionability (a tall body with wide shoulders that indicate the potential to add extra bulk and hence extra velocity on a pitcher's fastball - also an indicator of a pitcher's ability to resist injury), smooth pitching mechanics (typically an indicator of a pitcher's ability to resist injury, although I've heard recent studies say mechanics have little indication on a pitcher's risk of injury), and, of course, what a pitcher already has - the stuff he posesses, his command, poise, feel for pitching, and production in high school and/or college. Even more difficult is knowing what role a pitcher will end up in. For an example that has already been covered to a slight extent, a guy who begins his minor-league career as a potential left-handed ace (Scott Maine) can wind up with LOOGY-upside by the time he reaches AAA (hence why we dealt him in the aforementioned Aaron Heilman trade). You just never know, as so much can go wrong with a pitching prospect, even the best of them (see - aforementioned Jarrod Parker).

Really, the only thing a team can do is try to mix a combination of college arms with polish and shorter paths to the majors with higher-upside high school arms who have a bigger risk of injuries due to the need for a longer development time in the minors. However, the D-Backs' philosophy in the early rounds tends to lean towards college arms, with past arms such as Daniel Schlereth (University of Arizona - 1st round, 2008), Wade Miley (Southeastern Louisiana University - 1st round, 2008), Wes Roemer (Cal State Fullerton - 1st round, 2007), Max Scherzer (University of Missouri - 1st round, 2006), Brooks Brown (University of Georgia - 1st round, 2006), and Matt Torra (University of Massachusetts - 1st round, 2005) all being high picks from colleges. Not to say that the team will refuse to select a high school arm early, but typically if they're going to do so, they look for some polish in the player they're drafting, as was the case with Jarrod Parker (Norwell HS in Ossian, Indiana - 1st round, 2007), whose minor-league pitching career began in Mid-A South Bend, and who had made it to AA Mobile before elbow injuries ended his season in '09. This philosophy stems from the team's budget consciousness, as they look for safer bets to spend their money on in the early rounds of the draft so as to not have a complete disaster cost them a multi-million dollar signing bonus without any return. And, indeed, this philosophy remained intact for the '09 class, as the first four arms taken, Mike Belfiore, Eric Smith, Bradin Hagens, and Chase Anderson, were all from the college ranks. So, without further ado:

1/2 Sandwich Round, Pick 45 - Michael Belfiore
Born: October 3, 1988 in Commack, New York School: Boston College Height: 6'3'' Weight: 200 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Left
Rookie-level Missoula: W-L: 2-2 IP: 58.0 ERA: 2.17 FIP: 2.48 BABIP: .344 WHIP: 1.24 K:BB: 55:13 GO:AO: 1.85:1

Zephon: Michael Belfiore is a hard throwing left handed pitcher who'll hopefully rise through the system quickly, and looking at his excellent debut season, it looks he might just do that. Baseball America ranked Belfiore as our number seven prospect. Looking at his numbers, there's not a single thing that I don't like. He's got an excellent 2.17 ERA to go along with a mighty fine 1.24 WHIP. In addition, he's got an excellent almost 5:1 strike out to walk ratio. An excellent debut season all around. look for him in High A Visalia next season, or possibly AA Mobile by season's end. In my opinion, Belfiore is a top 10 prospect, and one of the top 5 pitching prospects in the Diamondbacks farm system. Grade A (Short term: A Long term: A+)

IHSB: Mike Belfiore cemented his status as one of the top-10, prospects in the D-Backs system with his absolutely ridiculous debut season in Missoula. There's so much to like. The first-half-Haren-esque ERA. The 1.24 WHIP. The K:BB. How often he induces ground ball outs with his heavy fastball despite definitely being a strikeout pitcher. Even the fact that he throwed left-handed, which seems to add an extra couple million dollars on a free-agent pricetag. The only things counting against Belfiore are that we expected a good season from a guy who was the 45th pick, was 20 years old after some time in college ball, and was in rookie-ball with a bunch of high school kids, but by all accounts Belfiore destroyed any expectations the team may have had for him, and was absolutely a man amongst boys. Consider this deeper look into the numbers: the team's plan involved Belfiore starting with a few relief outings before going into the rotation. In three relief appearances, he accumulated a 7.36 ERA. However, knowing his season ERA, you know where this is headed. In his 11 starts following the bullpen disaster, Belfiore absolutely dominated in the role he's more accustomed to, and will be in for his career, posting a 1.82 ERA. Expect him to certainly skip Low-A, and earn himself a promotion to Hi-A by mid-season if he lights up the Midwest League the way he lit up the Pioneer League. Or, perhaps the Jarrod Parker promotion track could be applied to Belfiore (second season begins in Hi-A, quick promotion to AA if performance merits it). As a side note, he also played first base in college and has drawn Micah Owings comparisons because of his ability to win more games than his ERA would merit due to helping himself with his bat, another tool that will keep him in a rotation. Grade: A (Short-term: A-, Long-term: A)

Round 6, Pick 186 - Bradin Hagens
Born: May 12, 1989 in Denair, California School: Merced JC (California) Height: 6'1'' Weight: 175 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Rookie-level Missoula: W-L: 1-1 IP: 23.2 ERA: 3.42 FIP: 2.99 BABIP: .350 WHIP: 1.48 K:BB: 13:6 GO:AO: 2.56:1

Zephon: Although I can't find a scouting report on Hagens, I do know that the Diamondbacks like his arm and the sink he gets on his fastball. Hagens is a groundball pitcher.The club saw him throw up to 94 mph and will hope he can develop his secondary stuff. 23.2 innings pitched doesn't give you that much of a sample size to work with, but I'll try my hand at grading this guy anyway. 3.42 ERA is below league average, the whip is a little high, and the strike out to walk ratio is decent, not great. He's got a nice GO/AO ratio as well. He does get extra points for being young, however. This is a guy I need to see pitch for a full season. Grade: B (Short term B, Long term B)

IHSB: Well, there are certainly two types of really successful pitchers: the first type is like Belfiore, where stuff leads to strikeouts, which leads to BABIP not resulting in a pitcher's demise. The second type is represented by Hagens - ground ball pitchers who rely on the fact that BABIP on a lazy ground ball to the shortstop is pretty close to zero to get outs. Hagens had a decent GO:AO ratio last season from the sink he gets on his fastball, and despite a pretty scary WHIP, a guy getting that many groundouts isn't going to have that high of a BABIP, leading me to believe that some bad luck bit at Hagens last year and that the scary WHIP will go down a little. His frame is a bit small for a pitcher, but if you're going to try to do it at 6'1'', relying on sink rather than overpowering stuff is probably the way to go unless you want to blow out an elbow (see: Jarrod Parker). He's got a few things working for him going into next season, likely at Yakima. Grade: B- (Short-term: C+ Long-term: B-)

Round 9, Pick 276 - Chase Anderson
Born: November 30, 1987 in Wichita Falls, Texas School: University of Oklahoma Height: 6'1'' Weight: 175 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Rookie-level Missoula: W-L: 3-1 IP: 45.1 ERA: 2.38 FIP: 2.43 BABIP: .299 WHIP: 1.06 K:BB: 48:13 GO:AO: 1.43:1

Zephon: This is what I know about Chase Anderson outside of his stats: He doesn't have the biggest frame at 6'1'' and 175 pounds, but the Diamondbacks like the toughness and athleticism he brings to the table. He gets up to 92-93 mph and has three solid pitches. Personally I'd like to have seen him start off in Low-A Yakima, not rookie ball, as he's a little old for the level. Hopefully the Diamondbacks have him start out in Middle A South Bend next season. Looking at Anderson's actual debut season, he did very well. Anderson dominated the Pioneer League, holding opponents to a 2.38 ERA and an impressive 1.06 WHIP. His K:BB ratio was a very solid (almost) 4:1 and he has a slight groundball tendency. Overall, a very nice debut season, with room for growth. Normally, I'd knock down a grade for the potential for injury risk as in the case for Anderson, but technically that applies to every pitcher. Pitchers are fragile, and that's where the phrase TINSTAAPP (there is no such thing as a pitching prospect) comes from. Grade: A (Short term A, Long term B+)

IHSB: The small frame and lack of ability to collect ground-balls scares me with Anderson, as reaching back and pulling 93 mph out of a 6'1'' body can't be easy on the arm. However, if the injuries manage to stay away, the numbers on Anderson look good. He doesn't walk a whole lot of guys, and K's over one per inning. He's a guy the organization is going to have to handle well, but is a high-risk, high-reward potential. Grade: B+ (Short-term: A, Long-term: B)

Round 11, Pick 336 - Scott Allen
Born: July 3, 1991 in Lyman, California School: Lyman HS Height: 6'1'' Weight: 165 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Rookie-level Missoula: W-L: 1-0 IP: 17.2 ERA: 0.51 FIP: 2.58 BABIP: .210 WHIP: 0.91 K:BB: 16:7 GO:AO: 0.89:1

Zephon: One of the two high school arms taken by the Diamondbacks in the draft, Scott Allen dominated in his brief stint with Missoula, holding his opponent to a 0.51 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. I don't think any one can maintain that kind of performance over any length of time, and his 2.58 FIP, suggests that he's clearly due for some regression next year. But he does have a nice 2-1 K:BB ratio, and he's got a 8.15 K/9. I think once we see him pitch in a full seasons worth of games, we can get a more accurate judgement of his potential. He did have nice little run in Missoula. Grade: B+ (Short Term A, Long term: B)

IHSB: The BABIP is definitely going to regress against Allen, but a 0.51 ERA is always something nice and flashy to look at. If these seventeen innings are any indication, Allen is a strikeout guy, as his GO:AO suggests that reliance on his ability to induce ground balls is foolhardy. He'll need to reduce his walk rate, but given that he's an eighteen-year-old high school kid, Allen definitely has time to develop his command of the zone. A flashy and solid, but not great, year, with a bright future if he can cut back on his walks and continue to develop his stuff. One other concern, which drops his grade down a bit, is the 6'1'' frame, as it leads to questions as to just how much projectionability and velocity he can add to his fastball over the course of his development. Grade: B (Short-term: B-, Long-term: B+)

Round 12, Pick 366 - Charles Brewer
Born: April 7, 1988 in Paradise Valley, California School: UCLA Height: 6'4'' Weight: 205 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Rookie-level Missoula: 7-2, 54.2IP ERA: 2.47 FIP: 2.96 BABIP: .295 WHIP: 1.06, K:BB: 61:15 GO:AO: 1.62:1

Zephon: Brewer is a big right handed pitcher who can pitch 90-94 MPH. There was some talk that he didn't really "fit in" at UCLA, and they made changes to his arm slot and delivery from his days pitching in high school. Brewer had a very nice debut season, with a dominant 2.47 ERA, and a first half Dan Haren-esque WHIP. His strike out to walk ratio is a very impressive 4:1, and he has a slight groundball tendency. Brewer is a possible sleeper candidate going into next year, especially if he finds the right groove in his arm slot and delivery. Grade: B+ (Short term: A Long Term: B)

IHSB: Zephon covered all of the questions revolving his days at UCLA, so all that's left is to deal with the great season the kid had. He worked as both a starter and reliever, although with much better raw results out of the 'pen (1.59 ERA in 10 appearances) than in the rotation (3.09 ERA in 7 starts). Nonetheless, the kid is big at 6'4'', has a great K:BB rate of 4:1, gets a little bit of help from ground balls, and actually walked batters at a less frequent rate as a starter (just 4 in 32 innings) than as a reliever (11 in 22.2 innings) with just a slight dip in strikeouts per inning (33/32 as a starter, 28/22.2 as a reliever), so my bet is that they'll try to keep sending him out there every fifth day due to the value of a starter being greater than that of a reliever. Great start for a 12th round pick. Grade: A- (Short-term: A-, Long-term: B+)

Round 24, Pick 726 - Brad Gemberling
Born: 12/09/1986 in Swarthmore, PA School: Princeton University Height: 6'1'' Weight: 205 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Low-A Yakima: W-L: 0-1 IP: 42.0 ERA: 6.43 FIP: 3.53 BABIP: .416 WHIP: 1.81 K:BB 44:20 GO/AO 1.71

Zephon: Another victim of bad luck and bad defense, Gemberling did not pitch nearly as bad as his 6.43 ERA suggests. Yeah, his BB/9 was a pretty high 4.29, but his K/9 is a pretty darn good at 9.43. His FIP is a full 3 runs lower than his ERA, and his BABIP is an outrageously high .416. I would expect in the long term for the BABIP to drop and his ERA to follow suit. Expect this guy to improve next season. Grade: I can't really give this guy a grade. If I absolutely had to, it would be a C- overall.

IHSB: The strikeouts are sure nice, as is the case anytime you strike out more than one guy per inning, and the GO:AO also helps a little, but the walks have to come down. 2.2:1 isn't a great K:BB ratio for a relief arm, especially one who racks up as many K's as Gemberling did, and while bad luck certainly hurt Gemberling last year, you're asking for bad luck whenever you walk that many guys. But, of course, the BABIP will likely drop by at least 100 points, and the rest of his numbers will adjust accordingly. Next year will be the year where we really get a good feel for Gemberling and what he can really do, both in terms of luck and in terms of what he can do about reducing those walks. Also, given his propensity for K's and short frame, injuries always loom as a question. It's crazy to say this about someone who threw 42 innings this season, but... Grade: Incomplete

Round 27, Pick 816 - Jake Hale
Born: 12/11/1985 in Athens, OH School: Ohio State Height: 6'7'' Weight: 200 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Low-A Yakima: W-L: 2-2 IP: 17.0 ERA: 5.29 FIP: 3.09 BABIP: .438 WHIP: 1.47 K:BB 14:6 GO/AO: 1.92
Rookie-level Missoula: W-L: 1-1 IP: 9.0 ERA: 6.00 FIP: 4.32 BABIP: .334 WHIP: 1.67 K:BB 10:2 GO/AO: 1.13

Zephon: All though his numbers at first glance look pretty ugly with the 5.29 ERA in Yakima and the 6.00 ERA in Missoula, once you dig deeper, this guy didn't pitch that bad, and was the victim of some extremely bad luck. His FIPs at both levels are a good 2 runs lower at each level. In addition his .428 BABIP in Yakima is just down right unlucky. His K:BB ratio combined at both levels is a pretty decent 3 to 1. Overall, I'd say this guy is a victim of bad luck, and I would expect his numbers to regress to the mean. Grade: Incomplete (not enough innings)

IHSB: Bad luck bites Hale as Zephon noted, especially at Yakima. The K/BBs are good, and everything else checks out. My buggest question is which of the GO/AO ratios are going to be the one Hale follows for his career. Regardless, though, he has a good frame, good metrics, and appears to be a decent relief arm to have stashed away. Grade: Incomplete

Round 28, Pick 846 - Brian Budrow
Born: 11/12/1986 in Glendale, Arizona School: University Of Utah Height: 6'3'' Weight: 215 Position: Pitcher Bats: Switch Throws: Right
Low-A Yakima: W-L: 3-3 IP: 34.0 ERA: 2.38 FIP: 2.70 BABIP: .306 WHIP: 1.24 K:BB: 28:12 GO/AO: 1.84

Zephon: This is a guy who put up some pretty impressive numbers for a guy who was drafted with the 846th pick. He's got a great ERA and there's not much of discrepency between it and his FIP. His WHIP is excellent, and his GA/AO is pretty nice. The K/BB is a solid 2.33, and would be even better if he could cut down the walks just a shade. He's right on track for age. Grade: B (Short Term: A- Long Term: B-)

IHSB: Some good numbers from Budrow, but my biggest question is what is he? The K-rate, 7.4 per 9 innings, isn't great for a power bullpen arm, while the GO:AO ratio isn't good enough for a sinkerballer bullpen arm. Also, walks too many guys at 3.2 per 9 innings. However, even with the walks, combining those two other numbers produces good results, as noted by Budrow's good season. It's just a matter of him being able to keep up his hybrid act, and if he can't, what he is going to be. Grade: B (Short-term: A-, Long-term: B-)

Round 31, Pick 936 - Keith Cantwell
Born: 09/09/1987 in Tinton Falls, New Jersey School: Seton Hall University Height: 6'5'' Weight: 215 Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right
Rookie-Level Missoula: W-L: 4-0 IP: 35.0 ERA: 4.11 FIP: 1.74 BABIP: .390 WHIP: 1.17 K:BB 44:5

Zephon: Although Keith Cantwell is a late round pick who's a little old for Rookie Level ball, This is a guy who has an 11.31 K/9, 1.29 BB/9, and an almost 9:1 strike out to walk ratio. Oh and his HR/9? It's 0.26. Those are some serious video game numbers, yet somehow this guy has a 4.11 ERA. Once you look up his 1.74 FIP and .390 BABIP, it's clear this guy was the victim of some terrible bad luck. And to top it off, dude was drafted with the 936th pick of the draft. The only real knock is his age, which at 22 is a bit old for rookie ball. I'd expect him to skip a level and start out at Mid-A South Bend next year. I'm not sure about the long term future of this guy, but i think he could end up being one of the biggest steals of the draft. Grade: A- (Short Term A-, Long Term B+)

IHSB: Cantwell's a guy with some really frightening metrics. A K:BB ratio of 8.8:1 is something I've never seen. It's really a shame that BABIP decided to screw him, because the average fan wouldn't recognize how great of a season Cantwell had because his ERA is so mediocre. But this is a guy who really belongs in either South Bend or Visalia to start 2010, a level more appropriate with both his skill level and his age. Also has a great frame at 6'5'', meaning he could easily continue to develop and be a major-league bullpen piece someday. For where he was drafted, it's impossible not to say that this was an absolute heist. Guys taken in the 31st round aren't supposed to have any chance of a future in the majors, and this guy has a pretty legitimate one, which is all you could hope for. Grade: A (Short-term: A, Long-term: A-)

We'll continue our look at the remaining pitchers taken in the draft with pitchers Harvil-Wilson. No real conclusion on the pitchers this week, for that you'll have to wait until next week. Thanks to IHSB, and everyone involved in the making of these articles. In addition, a special thanks goes out to you, the reader for your comments and constructive criticism.