Pomeranz and McGuire dominant last night

[Stotle]

I know, I saw that recent report calling Covey's curve a slider. If I recall correctly, it was one of the higher regarded analysts who actually wrote that. As for Cole's curve, I wouldn't be too worried about him being able to throw it for strikes. What is very good with Cole is that his delivery is so smooth and fluid, and he gets such a good downward plane on his pitches that he should develop some pretty decent command. The big thing Stotle was pointing out before about Cole's curve is that he doesn't get the same hard spin that the other guys get, and Cole already has VERY good arm speed, so the pitch isn't projected to be as strong as the others.

BUT, I will say that I hope this report from BA is right. If his curve does wind up being a plus pitch(they didn't say it was necessarily) and if he does actually have a good changeup, I will be much more enthusiastic about him and wouldn't be upset if we drafted him. But under my prior beliefs and assumptions of Cole, I would be disappointed if we drafted him. But, he has been said to touch 97 a few times last year, if he can throw strikes and has a good foundation of secondary pitches, he would actually be a great pick up by the O's. He is gonna be someone I will be keeping a very close eye on....

Wow, and your right, I for some reason was under the assumption that since some of the more southern HS leagues have started, all have, but I don't even know if the programs around here have yet in southern VA. But my point with it being a pre-season report is that between the end of last season, nothing has changed as far as we know with most of these guys, so why did Cole's scouting report from BA vary so much from other ones I have read? But, we discussed the answeres to that question already, and all we can do is hope the BA report is right and we have another solid option here at 1:3.....

Careful, you are really mischaracterizing my write-up on Cole -- please try and double-check if you're quoting me since I have this stuff all pretty centrally located. This was the summary section of my write-up on Cole:

Cole is an excellent pitcher right now, but the bulk of my interest is in the projection that's still there in his stuff and in his frame. His motion and arm action are so easy that he is a good candidate to continue to improve both his control and his command, and it's easy to picture his fastball consistently in the 95-97 range and touching even higher when all is said and done. There isn't much to nitpick, but my guess is teams might vary in their valuation at least in part due to how much they like the potential in his curve. It gets excellent spin and hard bite, but the depth isn't there to make it the same monster offering you see with someone like Taillon. Still, it has the potential to be a plus pitch down the line based on the bite and control, which should be more than enough when added to a potential plus-plus fastball and a change-up that could be anywhere from average to plus. His repeatable mechanics, athletic actions and flexibility are all pluses that should aid him in making the small tweaks at the pro level that will move him from "potential" to "production".

[QBsILLEST1]

Careful, you are really mischaracterizing my write-up on Cole -- please try and double-check if you're quoting me since I have this stuff all pretty centrally located. This was the summary section of my write-up on Cole:

Ahhhhhh, wow I thought it was a discussion here from a while back....Let me go edit that so it doesn't get mis-contrued.....

[Stotle]

Ahhhhhh, wow I thought it was a discussion here from a while back....Let me go edit that so it doesn't get mis-contrued.....

No problem -- my write-up is in the link so I think it's fine. Just wanted to make sure my current thoughts on Cole were clear (well, sort of current -- that was from the fall).

[rhall]

Careful, you are really mischaracterizing my write-up on Cole -- please try and double-check if you're quoting me since I have this stuff all pretty centrally located. This was the summary section of my write-up on Cole:

That's one of the better, more information packed reports on Cole that I've read so far. Good job, Stotle.

And I think it just improved my opinion of Cole a little. I think he's back in the lead among the sub-Taillon HS arms.

Looking strictly at the mechancis, among Whitson, Covey & Cole, which do you consider to be the biggest problem or the hardest to fix: Whitson's recoil and stiff plant leg, Covey's head-whack, or Cole's arm wrap/showing the ball early?

[Stotle]

That's one of the better, more information packed reports on Cole that I've read so far. Good job, Stotle.

And I think it just improved my opinion of Cole a little. I think he's back in the lead among the sub-Taillon HS arms.

Looking strictly at the mechancis, among Whitson, Covey & Cole, which do you consider to be the biggest problem or the hardest to fix: Whitson's recoil and stiff plant leg, Covey's head-whack, or Cole's arm wrap/showing the ball early?

Generally speaking, I think an arm wrap is easier to fix. I also think Cole is smoother than Whitson, and I have a little more confidence in his mechanics being tweakable. That said, I think Whitson's shortcomings may affect his command some, but are in no way the type of flags that would make me discount him as a draft-eligible arm. Right now, I'd have Cole and Whitson close to a toss-up (I like Whitson's breaking ball more), but both ahead of Covey.

[QBsILLEST1]

That's one of the better, more information packed reports on Cole that I've read so far. Good job, Stotle.

And I think it just improved my opinion of Cole a little. I think he's back in the lead among the sub-Taillon HS arms.

Looking strictly at the mechancis, among Whitson, Covey & Cole, which do you consider to be the biggest problem or the hardest to fix: Whitson's recoil and stiff plant leg, Covey's head-whack, or Cole's arm wrap/showing the ball early?

Yes, Stotle's writeups IMO are the best and most informative of any of the other writeups that I see around. And the best part is, is that Stotle actually was there and saw this stuff first hand, so you don't have to worry about 2nd hand and 3rd ahnd info getting mis-construed(like I just relayed to you). Its very easy to see why we get reports like the Covey "slider" and also I have seen Taillon's curve called a slider a few times, which he does have, but the writer was basically mixing up Taillon's slider and curve. This is why I reference Stotle's and Greg's site more than any other for this draft info.

And I agree, after going back and reading that writeup on Cole, my confidence for him(Cole) has improved. I don't know where along the lines I got so down on him. I think I was over exaggerating the lack of quality in Cole's secondary offerings.

And to chime in about what is a harder thing to fix between the arm wrap, stiffleg/recoil and the head jerk. IMO the toughest to fix would be the head jerk, but the stiff landing leg could be tough to fix as well. But, at the same time, even with the head jerk, Covey's command is far better than the others based off of reports I have read. But, fixing that would possibly make his command even better, but who knows. The arm wrap, I really am not well versed on, but I would think thats more of a health risk than somethign that really has a big effect on command.