another guy I like- Jesse Hahn

[DocJJ]

Va Tech RHP. 6'5 194 lbs fastball in the mid to upper 90's with good secondary stuff. Some scouts say he projects as a reliever. But I don't know why they say this, he seems to be able to start and go deep into games.

So far 4 starts, 28 IP (averaging 7 innings a start seems good to me) 1 CG. 0.64 ERA 5 BB 27 K's avg .175.

[rhall]

Va Tech RHP. 6'5 194 lbs fastball in the mid to upper 90's with good secondary stuff. Some scouts say he projects as a reliever. But I don't know why they say this, he seems to be able to start and go deep into games.

So far 4 starts, 28 IP (averaging 7 innings a start seems good to me) 1 CG. 0.64 ERA 5 BB 27 K's avg .175.

The knocks on Hahn being a starter are his mechnics/command, and his secondary pitches.

His release point can be inconsistent, which hurts his command. I haven't heard anything bad about his curveball, but it doesn't sound like a selling point either. His changeup is behind, and probably needs to improve if he wants to stay as a reliever.

He's been improving over the last year, and if he continues to progress, he could stick as a starter. If not, his fastball is so good that he could still succeed as a reliever.

I hadn't checked on how he was doing this year. Those numbers look really good, so maybe he's making good on that potential.

[rhall]

Here's a good article (subscriber content) from BA on Hahn and Matt Harvey. They're linked in this article, because, apparently, they were high school teammates.

[QBsILLEST1]

Here's a good article (subscriber content) from BA on Hahn and Matt Harvey. They're linked in this article, because, apparently, they were high school teammates.

Can you post tidbits of what they say on these guys? I am particularly interested in Harvey as a possibility for us at 1:3 if he can keep pitching well. I asked about Harvey the other day, and since Stotle told me that he is on the rise, I have actually been seeing his name mentioned more and more. I would absolutely love to throw another really good arm into the mix of college arms even if he is a Boras guy. If he continues to pitch well for the season and continues to show good stuff, he would most certainly be my favorite college arm, and also one of my top picks for us at 1:3.

Hahn is a an absolutely electric arm, probably a guy who I would have liked a lot more last year, but in the last year, for whatever reason, I have started to like a bit more polish with my pitchers(not over ceiling though). As good of an organization that we have at developing arms, a guy like Hahn may be past the point where we could lend much of a hand in shaping him into a starter. Most of his development has already occured, so I think Hahn is more of a pitcher that scouts dream of what he CAN be(Chapman, Aroldis).

[rhall]

Can you post tidbits of what they say on these guys? I am particularly interested in Harvey as a possibility for us at 1:3 if he can keep pitching well. I asked about Harvey the other day, and since Stotle told me that he is on the rise, I have actually been seeing his name mentioned more and more. I would absolutely love to throw another really good arm into the mix of college arms even if he is a Boras guy. If he continues to pitch well for the season and continues to show good stuff, he would most certainly be my favorite college arm, and also one of my top picks for us at 1:3.

Hahn is a an absolutely electric arm, probably a guy who I would have liked a lot more last year, but in the last year, for whatever reason, I have started to like a bit more polish with my pitchers(not over ceiling though). As good of an organization that we have at developing arms, a guy like Hahn may be past the point where we could lend much of a hand in shaping him into a starter. Most of his development has already occured, so I think Hahn is more of a pitcher that scouts dream of what he CAN be(Chapman, Aroldis).

Sure...

[Hahn's] pitcher's frame (he's up to 6-foot-5, 200 pounds) attracted scouts and the Major League Scouting Bureau slapped a 60 Overall Future Potential grade on him coming into 2010.

Hahn's fastball is his money-maker; it sits in the 92-96 mph range, and he commanded it to all parts of the zone against West Virginia. While he also throws a curveball, slider and changeup, scouts say none of Hahn's secondary pitches is a swing-and-miss offering at this time.

"In my first two years, I always had stuff but didn't put it all together; I just lacked success," Hahn said. "I had a different approach this year... The past two years, I just believed I could let it go and throw my fastball by somebody. Now I realize you have to locate."

Locating his fastball also may determine Harvey's draft fate. It's almost certain that Hahn has passed Harvey on most draft boards, as Harvey struggled with his command in his first two seasons in Chapel Hill.

Harvey was showing signs of improvement, though, and working his way back up draft boards again. In a March 5 start against Michigan, he struck out 11 in eight shutout innings and ran his fastball up to 97 mph. More encouraging was a power slider Harvey threw in the mid-80s with some depth, which one scout called a "major league out pitch." He also spotted his changeup effectively to overmatch the Wolverines.

Coach Mike Fox said Harvey's greatest improvement had come off the field, in terms of his maturity.

Personally, I think 1:3 is still a little too early for Harvey, but if he continues to have dominant outings, I guess there's not telling how early he could go. After all, after his freshman year he was one of the early favorites to go #1 in this draft.

[Sanfran327]

Pass. No way a dude named "Jesse" is a good ball player.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Pass. No way a dude named "Jesse" is a good ball player.

So soon forgotten...

Not to mention two HoFers (Haines, Burkett).

[QBsILLEST1]

Sure...

Personally, I think 1:3 is still a little too early for Harvey, but if he continues to have dominant outings, I guess there's not telling how early he could go. After all, after his freshman year he was one of the early favorites to go #1 in this draft.

Thank you for posting that! I agree, it is too early to consider him a top 5 right this second. We need to see if he has found consistency this year and maintains his stuff through out the season. Every game that he looks like this same pitcher, his draft stock will creep higher...

I had a whole post written up here earlier and lost it, but basically what I said was that I watched him pitch in a game last year and he really didn't look very good. He didn't look lost or anything, I justs didn't see what all the hoopla was about. His fastball was touching 91MPH, he was all over the place, and only hsi changeup was really worth much. So, I did some researching on the guy and read some scouting reports when he was draft eligible as a HS senior. I was shocked to see that he used to be able to touch 95 as a HS senior. And I don't know if his velocity was down like that all of last season, but it could certainly be a possible reason for the poor season. An entire junir season looking like the same pitcher, same power stuff would do wonders for any questions in his durability as well as his consistency....

I am pretty stoked to see a college pitcher with true #1 upside a possibility for us at 1:3.

[rhall]

Thank you for posting that! I agree, it is too early to consider him a top 5 right this second. We need to see if he has found consistency this year and maintains his stuff through out the season. Every game that he looks like this same pitcher, his draft stock will creep higher...

I had a whole post written up here earlier and lost it, but basically what I said was that I watched him pitch in a game last year and he really didn't look very good. He didn't look lost or anything, I justs didn't see what all the hoopla was about. His fastball was touching 91MPH, he was all over the place, and only hsi changeup was really worth much. So, I did some researching on the guy and read some scouting reports when he was draft eligible as a HS senior. I was shocked to see that he used to be able to touch 95 as a HS senior. And I don't know if his velocity was down like that all of last season, but it could certainly be a possible reason for the poor season. An entire junir season looking like the same pitcher, same power stuff would do wonders for any questions in his durability as well as his consistency....

I am pretty stoked to see a college pitcher with true #1 upside a possibility for us at 1:3.

IIRC, Harvey's velo & command suffered most or all of last season. Another scout's comment from this article was that during Harvey's struggles at UNC, his arm action had changed compared to his HS days - it had gotten longer. This was blamed for his command issues and the decline of his curveball.

[QBsILLEST1]

IIRC, Harvey's velo & command suffered most or all of last season. Another scout's comment from this article was that during Harvey's struggles at UNC, his arm action had changed compared to his HS days - it had gotten longer. This was blamed for his command issues and the decline of his curveball.

I just read I guess the same article over at PGcrosscheckers. It referred to it I believe as "1-piece" arm action, which I do not know what that means. But, if he continues to pitch well this season, evidence would suggest that "1-piece" arm action was the culprit of his sophomore slump.

I don't know if in the BA article it mentioned this part or not, but I read that in the Cape last season, his FB velocity ranged anywhere from mid 80's to mid 90's and would be different from game to game. Regardless, this "1-piece" arm action could have not only ruined his prospect status, but could have ruined his ability to throw a ball all together. Glad its fixed and gives us another option to consider...

[rhall]

I just read I guess the same article over at PGcrosscheckers. It referred to it I believe as "1-piece" arm action, which I do not know what that means. But, if he continues to pitch well this season, evidence would suggest that "1-piece" arm action was the culprit of his sophomore slump.

I don't know if in the BA article it mentioned this part or not, but I read that in the Cape last season, his FB velocity ranged anywhere from mid 80's to mid 90's and would be different from game to game. Regardless, this "1-piece" arm action could have not only ruined his prospect status, but could have ruined his ability to throw a ball all together. Glad its fixed and gives us another option to consider...

Added the link for you...

They're not the exact same article, but funny that they both would post articles about the same two players. That PGCC article is free content for anyone who wants to read it.