By Kiley McDaniel
Rick Porcello is really, really good. I’d like to be more specific, but I already wrote an intro for him in the previous full write-up here. He got a bunch of money, people think he’s great and he pitches near where I live.
So, why am I writing about him again, other than to just rack up more hits from Tigers and prospect fans? No reason, just to rack up some hits.
Okay, actually I saw him again and think Porcello is in the class that everyone will want to know what his stuff looks like each time I see him. The guy he squared off against, Phillies LHP Joe Savery, and a guy I saw a few days before, Twins RHP Deolis Guerra (both will full reports coming) are the next two best pitching prospects in this league and won’t be getting this treatment (unless readers demand it).
So, sit back, relax, and enjoy Porcello lovefest, version 2.0, after the jump…
Here’s some Porcello video I took from this outing, live from the best ballpark experience in the state of Florida, home of Phillies spring training and the FSL’s Clearwater Threshers…
I won’t cover everything in full-detail here, just an update. Take a look at the first report on Porcello for the full rundown if that’s what you’re looking for.
Fastball - He sat 90-92 in this outing but had better sink on the pitch and it played almost like a traditional sinker rather than just a live fastball. He was painting corners and looked like a veteran. Updated grade: 60/65
Slider - He still used this in place of a curveball and still only used the slider sparingly, at 78-80. He used it well, back-dooring it to LHH, and away from RHH. The pitch showed more crispness today, but still backed up and floated a few times. Updated grade: 50/55
Changeup - His go-to outpitch again, but relied more on the bowling-ball fastball the majority of the time in this outing. Hung a few, but the deception was good enough to still get swings and misses at this level with bad location. Just falls off the table when it’s down. Updated grade: 55/60
Command - His mechanics still failed him later in the outing (near end of video) as he fought his himself and hung some fastballs and was pulled at the end of the inning. He still hung a few off-speed pitches but about 90% of the time was spot on. Updated grade: 50/60
Summary - Here’s the boxscore. He only got through 4 IP because was hit hard in the 1st inning (pitch count?), there was intermittent rain, and he fought his mechanics late. He still threw only a few breaking balls, all sliders, and only a few curveballs were even worked into warm-up pitches. It’s become clear his go-to hammer in high school is being put on the shelf as he fine-tunes his sinker-change combo, since it would be foolish to scrap the pitch altogether. His mechanics and command are surprisingly consistent for a 19-year-old, particularly a power-pitcher. I think average command and a plus sinker-change combo is better than most back-end starters in the big leagues. But, improving the consistency and working the curve back in, whenever Detroit plans on it, is what will keep him in the minors, and that’s what lets me boost the raw OFP. I’m very tempted to boost the AOFP to 64, probably will when I see the curve; not sure how many minor leaguers have ever gotten that grade.
Adjusted Overall Future Potential: 63
Present Group: C, Future Group: A
Projected Role: #1 starter
ETA: Ready to contribute now, full-time in MLB by All-Star break 2009
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14 responses so far ↓
1 kileymcd // Apr 16, 2008 at 5:17 pm
testing, testing, testing the new comments…
2 RJ // Apr 16, 2008 at 5:19 pm
test
3 dan // Apr 16, 2008 at 5:27 pm
okay I think they work.
4 Tommy // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:29 pm
“live from the best ballpark experience in the state of Florida, home of Phillies spring training and the FSL’s Clearwater Threshers…”
Love those ball girls.
5 jscape2000 // Apr 17, 2008 at 12:24 am
Like the new digs.
If you think he’ll be up by 2009, have you heard what his innings cap will be for this season?
6 kileymcd // Apr 17, 2008 at 1:27 am
Thanks, jscape. Haven’t heard a specific inning cap mentioned, though I’d have to think it’s at most 125 IP, maybe as low as 100 IP, considering he went to high school in New Jersey. A Joba-like bullpen stint might not be great for a 19 year old if he fails; if they were desperate and/or super-fast-tracking him I don’t think he’d be in A-ball. I think next year that’s a distinct possibility to keep him under 150 IP.
7 The Detroit Tiger Weblog » Blog Archive » links for 2008-04-17 // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:39 am
[…] Saber-Scouting Porcello Report 2 Yeah, the kids is that good. Ready to contribute now at the big league level. (tags: rick-porcello) […]
8 ej877 // Apr 17, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Are there any dissenting opinions on Porcello, for instance, anyone who thinks this guy is overrated? I keep hearing about how good he is, seems almost too good to be true.
9 kileymcd // Apr 17, 2008 at 1:15 pm
There have only been so many people that have seen him pitch in pro ball so far, but I think given his age relative to league (at least two years younger than the whole league), even if he put up Samardzija numbers, people would pick but then say he’s just a 19-year-old HS pitcher from NJ after all. So, as far as a dissenting opinion, I don’t think you’ll see one on him this year.
Once he can possibly show a lack of progress (next season), or pitch in AAA/MLB, you might.
10 Dan B // Apr 18, 2008 at 4:07 pm
How do you get such a clear shot when shooting video from behind the plate on the pitcher? Do you have a tripod and clearly focus in on the pitcher? Or do you stick the camera between the net?
11 kileymcd // Apr 19, 2008 at 3:40 am
No fancy setup, Dan B, just a normal picture camera (Kodak brand) with auto-focus and a video setting.
Granted it’s an 8 MP so the picture is nice, but taking video from the stands behind the netting is a pain since the auto-focus picks up the netting and not the players and I can’t fix it. So I’m no pro, and that explains why my other videos are pretty amateurish.
For this one, Clearwater has seats right up to the net, and I was in the 3rd row, so I just slipped down to the 1st row and took it through the netting. One thing to make sure of is to set the camera and watch the action, not the viewfinder, so you can react if the ball comes back at you. You get immune to the ball not being able to hit you if you sit behind the plate, but when you lean forward in the first row, you’re game.
12 News & Notes: FSL Overload | Saber-Scouting // May 13, 2008 at 2:41 am
[…] yet another Rick Porcello start, but try to show some restraint as we’ve already had him in a full scouting report, formal update to the report, the first chat, and in casual mentions in every other article […]
13 This Porcello Kid // Feb 22, 2009 at 7:59 am
[…] PECOTA player cards aren’t available for pitchers yet, but I’d guess that the system doesn’t love Porcello at this point due to the low strike out numbers. But scouts and people who know these things felt that Porcello had pitches that were big league quality at the beginning of last year. […]
14 Analysis: Breaking down today’s roster decisions // Apr 1, 2009 at 10:00 pm
[…] Andrew Miller (who I did contest was rushed), Porcello has multiple pitches that are good enough for the big league level. He fanned fewer than 6 batter per inning, which isn’t good. But he did that as a 19 year old […]
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