O's Agree To Terms w/Davies

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/08/ba-report-orioles-comes-to-terms-with-26th-round-pick.html

I figured Davies was the other guy they wanted to get inked. Solid overslot high school arm. Not a lot of projection, slightly undersized, but advanced feel of a pretty deep repertoire for a HS P. Didn't expect 575K, but still a solid get.

He sits 84-88 with his FB right now, and probably weighs in around 150-155 pounds. He touches 90 and I suppose he could end up 88-90 but he probably won't surpass that range. Solid curve and potential average change.

I figured Davies was the other guy they wanted to get inked. Solid overslot high school arm. Not a lot of projection, slightly undersized, but advanced feel of a pretty deep repertoire for a HS P. Didn't expect 575K, but still a solid get.

He sits 84-88 with his FB right now, and probably weighs in around 150-155 pounds. He touches 90 and I suppose he could end up 88-90 but he probably won't surpass that range. Solid curve and potential average change.

I have to ask this, why even draft a guy who throws 84-88? In a best case scenario his fastball sits at 90. Why not take the risk on power arms and hope they pan out? They say you can teach a kid how to pitch, but you can't teach velocity. If I am going to take a kid with that little heat than he had better have a second offering that is ML plus and a third offering that is ML average. I would think that kids throwing 84-88 mph are a dime a dozen. I was throwing at the low end of that range when I turned 15.

I have to ask this, why even draft a guy who throws 84-88? In a best case scenario his fastball sits at 90. Why not take the risk on power arms and hope they pan out? They say you can teach a kid how to pitch, but you can't teach velocity. If I am going to take a kid with that little heat than he had better have a second offering that is ML plus and a third offering that is ML average. I would think that kids throwing 84-88 mph are a dime a dozen. I was throwing at the low end of that range when I turned 15.

Seems to me that it's pretty obvious bigtime power arms aren't hanging around in the 43rd round. If he turns into a major league middle reliever, it's worth the draft pick and money.

Edit: I was wrong, it was the 26th round, but the point remains the same.

Five mph improvement from highschool to MLB is not unheard of.

Baseball America's scouting report on Davies

"Another Arizona State commit is righthander Zach Davies, who got multiple Mike Leake comparisons from scouts and college recruiters. Like Leake, Davies has a medium build at 6 feet and 165 pounds and shows good athleticism. When he's not pitching, he plays shortstop. Davies doesn't have huge stuff but knows how to pitch and has four pitches that should be at least average: fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. He doesn't have Leake's fastball movement, but the similarities with his athleticism and feel for pitching are obvious."

I have to ask this, why even draft a guy who throws 84-88? In a best case scenario his fastball sits at 90. Why not take the risk on power arms and hope they pan out? They say you can teach a kid how to pitch, but you can't teach velocity. If I am going to take a kid with that little heat than he had better have a second offering that is ML plus and a third offering that is ML average. I would think that kids throwing 84-88 mph are a dime a dozen. I was throwing at the low end of that range when I turned 15.

Potential above average command of 4 average or better pitches = solid #3 starter ceiling. Not every guy fits the protype of the 6-4 225 flame thrower. Sometimes other builds or profiles get the job done. Height and velo were the reasons he fell so far. If he went to ASU, got the FB consistently up to 90 and flashed plus with the breaking ball and change he could end up a first rounder in 2014. Instead he takes 2nd round money now to get started. I think the bonus was a bit rich for his profile (and interestingly more than twice as much as what was offered to Coats) but he's certainly an arm I'd take a flier on.

575K seems like they Way overpaid for this kid. Jordan better hope he pans out.

2nd round money for him seems a bit steep to get him to bypass ASU.

Time will tell.

Was hoping the additional prospect would be Ryan Meyer.

Was hoping the additional prospect would be Ryan Meyer.

Who's to say there aren't more? I know what's been reported, but that doesn't mean that a couple of other guys don't come back and say they want to sign.

Probably doubtful, unfortunately.

575K seems like they Way overpaid for this kid. Jordan better hope he pans out.

2nd round money for him seems a bit steep to get him to bypass ASU.

Time will tell.

Yawn.... O's don't spend enough signing prospects.. Now they spend to much. 575 is a drop in the bucket to use on a flier. Joe Jordan won't get fired if this kid doesnt pan out.

And he sits in the UPPER 80's touching the low 90s at probably 145-150 lbs. That is a lot like some of the skinny dominican pitchers who get in the proper weight program and dietary program and all of a sudden they are a mid 90s guy. Not saying this will happen but he has the room in his frame to add 20-25 lbs and pick up alot on his fastball.

and did you blow your arm out when you were 15? why didnt you start hitting 90 on the gun and get drafted? you were obviously a better talent than this kid, who was AZ's representative in the area code games and was a prized recruit at ASU.

So much fail in this thread per the usual when grown men talk about 17 and 18 year old kids in a negative fashion.

Are you sure that velocity can't be taught? That's an arm strength thing, isn't it? Seems like something that a conditioning program could develop, and even better if the kid has more than two pitches already. I'm just speculating.

Yawn.... O's don't spend enough signing prospects.. Now they spend to much. 575 is a drop in the bucket to use on a flier. Joe Jordan won't get fired if this kid doesnt pan out.

And he sits in the UPPER 80's touching the low 90s at probably 145-150 lbs. That is a lot like some of the skinny dominican pitchers who get in the proper weight program and dietary program and all of a sudden they are a mid 90s guy. Not saying this will happen but he has the room in his frame to add 20-25 lbs and pick up alot on his fastball.

and did you blow your arm out when you were 15? why didnt you start hitting 90 on the gun and get drafted? you were obviously a better talent than this kid, who was AZ's representative in the area code games and was a prized recruit at ASU.

So much fail in this thread per the usual when grown men talk about 17 and 18 year old kids in a negative fashion.

You are right Jordan has the O's minor leagues stocked with talent due to his draft prowess so he is without question! With several years of high draft position Orioles fans should expect to have more talent within the system, so if there is any negativity it comes from this fact.

I hope that the kid is projectable and will add some muscle to his frame. However based on Jordan' track record time will tell. If 575K is a drop in the bucket to the Orioles then we should see a lot more talent within the organization soon.

I will admit that the Orioles have been spending $ on their drafts recently (24.8M for 2008-2010) and going over slot in many cases which is great but this has yet to translate into ML talent. This is a good strategy and should have been adopted earlier as not many Type A free agenets are willing to take the Orioles offers.

The next strategy should be beefing up international scouting but AM has said that isn't going to happen even though approximately 1/3 of the current ML's are international.

This board is for opinions and if you have to resort to personal attacks if someone disagrees with you then its time for you to find something else to do with your spare time. Grow up and accept the fact that others don't always agree with your opinions.

Yawn.... O's don't spend enough signing prospects.. Now they spend to much. 575 is a drop in the bucket to use on a flier. Joe Jordan won't get fired if this kid doesnt pan out.

And he sits in the UPPER 80's touching the low 90s at probably 145-150 lbs. That is a lot like some of the skinny dominican pitchers who get in the proper weight program and dietary program and all of a sudden they are a mid 90s guy. Not saying this will happen but he has the room in his frame to add 20-25 lbs and pick up alot on his fastball.

and did you blow your arm out when you were 15? why didnt you start hitting 90 on the gun and get drafted? you were obviously a better talent than this kid, who was AZ's representative in the area code games and was a prized recruit at ASU.

So much fail in this thread per the usual when grown men talk about 17 and 18 year old kids in a negative fashion.

I agree. Why complain if they finally go overslot for someone. That BA actually has scouting report on a 26th rounder, makes it sound like he is legitimate prospect and is a good pick to sign. No complain here from my side.

Are you sure that velocity can't be taught? That's an arm strength thing, isn't it? Seems like something that a conditioning program could develop, and even better if the kid has more than two pitches already. I'm just speculating.

Good question and the jury is out on that! With conditioning and growth there is always the chance that a player can increase velocity. The same goes for strength. I lot of teams draft internationally and project that with a better diet some of these "skinny" kids from Lation American will develop physically and become better. Most of this is probably the result of physically maturing. There have not been a lot of documented cases where a 30 year old drastically increases velocity due to improved conditioning but it could happen.

A lot of players that undergo TJ surgery end up throwing with more velocity than they did previously if they follow the rehab program properly and continue to include this in their year-round conditioning program. This is attributed to improved overall conditioning, improved mechanics, better throwing regimin etc. So the answer is still "who knows".

For me, great college get but don't see the pro appeal at this point. Nice chunk of change to drop, so someone in the org really likes him.