By Frankie Piliere
University of Kentucky right-handed pitcher, Scott Green, reportedly turn down a high six figure bonus from the Boston Red Sox this summer and it truly appears now that he made the right move.
After an impressive showing in the Cape over the summer and a solid spring thus far, Green is firmly in the first round picture. I became a huge Scott Green believer when I saw him in the Cape. There were pitchers that had better stuff, but I see Green, who stands at 6-foot-8, as a really safe big league bet. Check out his scouting report and video after the jump…
(Scott Green phot credit: University of Kentucky Athletics)
Some Cape video of Green as a reference:
Scott Green, RHP – Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (U. Kentucky)
Present/Future Grades
Fastball – 55/60
Curveball – 55/55
Changeup – 50/50
Command – 60/60
Physical Description – Extra tall frame, not bean pole either. Strong, well built body. Long arms and legs and looks to be a complete athlete. Pretty agile and moves around well. Sloped shoulders, tapered build. Looks young and has room to fill out in his upper body. Strong lower half. Looks like Derek Lowe.
Fastball – Throws a heavy, sinking 90-92 MPH fastball. Touches 93. Shatters bats. Lets natural movement find the corners. Plus, plus fastball movement. Aggressive with fastball and throws majority of the time, and produces grounder after grounder. Never seems to get hit hard. Broken bat hits. Works it consistently down in the zone, on the corners. Easy velocity with almost no effort. Above average fastball command. Should be another tick or so to come as he gains arm strength.
Curveball – Big league average curveball with 11-5, sometimes 10-4 break. Throws it at 76-79 with tight break. Throws it at the shoulder of righties. Not a pure strikeout pitch, uses it as a change of pace. Can throw it for strikes in any count. Does not show ability to/willingness to bounce it as a strikeout pitch. Works it east and west.
Changeup – 81-83 MPH changeup, doesn’t go to this pitch often and can get by easily with other two pitches. Shows a decent feel for it but shows that he has it in his back pocket if needed. Good compliment to sinking fastball, nice fade on outer half against lefty bats. Never going to be a pitch to fool hitters badly because of his lack of arm speed.
Mechanics – Clean delivery, throws from over the top, possibly a high-3/4. No windup, slight back turn in his delivery. Hides the ball very well, ball seems to coming out of the sky for the hitters. Extra-easy motion, looks like he’s playing easy catch. Slow arm, ball just explodes toward the plate. Ball gets on the hitters quick and has deceptive velocity, ala Chien-Ming Wang. Very little injury risk, almost no stress at all in delivery. Loses a couple ticks of velocity from the stretch.
Notes – Superb mound presence, looks like he has a real idea of what he’s doing. Makes pitching look easy, cool/calm demeanor. Short memory, doesn’t let bad pitches bother him. Spots all his pitches and has a plus pitch in his fastball. Not a strikeout pitch, but can command a game with low pitch counts and groundballs. Uses his height well.
Adjusted Overall Future Potential: 57
Present Group: P, Future Group: B
Projected Role: Solid #3 starter
Draft Projection: Between picks 20 and 30
Overall Comparison: Derek Lowe
Help Saber-Scouting Grow: Submit or Comment on this story at BallHype and BTF.
You call him a safe bet. How quickly does that mean you’d expect him to move through the system? (You’re answer is probably going to include the phrase “it depends on whose system”).
His fastball sounds ready post TJ, but it seems like he might need to do some work to get the curve MLB-ready/ add another pitch (I thought he threw a slider?).
ETA 2011?
Some call it a slider. I categorize it more as a short curveball. I think he could move fast in any system. Any pitcher who commands the zone like that with a lively fastball will move fast. I don’t think he’s a same year drafted to the MLB guy but probably a guy who could start right in High A.
Pitch category-
I’m guessing then that you name a pitch by the way it moves, rather than according to the pitcher’s grip? I thought the standard was to go by grip, but it’s a minor point either way.
It’s a matter of preference basically. Some pitchers even call their pitches the wrong thing. To me, Green’s breaking ball does not move like a slider despite what it might be that he’s trying to throw.
And, yeah, all I can really go by is the movement and spin that I see.
He was having all kinds of trouble yesterday against Georgia. He had some bad luck, and some poor defense behind him, but for whatever reason he got lit up for 8ER in two innings. His fastball velocity was 89 to 94, his curve looked good, but he was throwing a 81-83 mph slurve that the hitters really got some good swings at. They were all making good contact, and he was leaving allot of pitches up in the zone. I can understand people getting excited at this guys potential, the stuff is there, I think he just had a bad outing against a good team.