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Rule 5 Target - Nestor Cortes - LHP

Luke-OH

By Luke-OH
in Orioles Talk

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Luke-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Luke-OH

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5th entry in this series.  

Ok, so after targeting 3 RHPs, some have pointed out the Orioles need for a lefty, especially in the rotation.  The problem is, their wasn't an abundance of interesting lefties who were rule 5 eligible.

After some thought and watching a bunch of video I decided on Nestor Cortes.

 

Physical

Cortes is undersized, under 6 ft, filled out but not thick or muscular.  Not a flashy athlete, but good body control and balance.

Stuff

Cortes throws a fastball that usually sits in the upper 80s, but it can touch 90-91 at times.  It's pretty flat, but he commands it well and he changes speeds well which helps it play up.  That's not even getting into the deception which I'll touch on later.  He throws a curveball that is average at best, but again, deception and manipulation of speed (I saw 59-76 mph) allows it to miss a ton of bats and serve as an out pitch.  He also has a change-up without much movement but good arm speed.  

Delivery

So if you've read this far, you've probably wondered how this guy was dominant in AAA as a 22 year old this year and also why I selected him.  Well, it's the delivery.  He has multiple deliveries. Yes, not just a windup and a stretch delivery, he has a sidearm delivery, a 3/4 delivery, and a more over the top delivery.  It addition to the multiple deliveries, he varies the pace of each of the deliveries. He does the Cueto thing at times where he freezes mid-delivery with his leg in the air before coming to the plate, other times he's lightning quick toward the plate, and he also does everything in the middle.  He also steps toward first base sometimes in order to throw across his body.  The amazing thing is that he does all this and still has at least above average command.

Why he wasn't protected

He's got poor stuff, even for a crafty lefty.  He never had any pedigree, he's undersized.  His success is at least partially tied to a gimmick which I'm sure some people aren't sure if it would work in the majors.

Why the O's should select him

He’s a pitch efficient lefty who is young with a great track record of success.  He’ll probably give up more hard hit balls at the highest level due to lack of stuff, but I think he has enough command and trickery to be a decent back end guy or middle reliever.  Think Aquino with better command and more deception.

 

 

 

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Luke-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Luke-OH

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12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Entertainment quotient = 100.    Sign me up to watch this guy.   

Yeah, he’s extremely entertaining to watch.

He’s basically what you’d get if Alex Wells instead of gaining velocity and stuff, lost velocity and stuff as he progressed and decided to try and make up for it by doing a ton of crazy stuff with his pace, arm slot, and delivery.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

For 50K (the cost of drafting and returning), why not?

Let's just go Rule 5 crazy this year and see what sticks.   Let's break the record for rule 5 picks.    I am not being sarcastic.

Aren’t there only two rounds?

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