AAP: Justin Cassel

[NorthSideSox72]

 

Justin J. Cassel, RHP

Born 9/25/1984 in Los Angeles, CA

6’2”, 215 pounds

Throws: R

Bats: R

 

OVERVIEW

Justin Cassel is a starting pitcher with strong command and 4 pitches he can throw for strikes, though he is not overpowering and doesn’t strike out many hitters. No specific word on his velocity, but, he definitely profiles as a pitch-to-contact guy. His core numbers in B-Ham this year are very solid (7-4, 3.06 ERA, 1.33 WHIP), and his peripherals show some good indicators (1.51 GO/AO, 38 BB in 123.1 IP) and some mediocre ones (5.25 K/9). He missed a good chunk of 2007 due to a shoulder strain, so, this is really his first full minor league season. He’s shown the ability to get outs and induce groundballs, despite not having any plus pitches.

 

 

PERSONAL/PRE-COLLEGE NOTES

Justin played for Chatsworth High School, in Los Angeles. He set numerous school season records, including strikeouts (119, in 99 IP), appearances (17), shutouts (8) and ERA (1.13), all in his senior year, while posting a 15-0 record. He allowed just 22 walks and 57 hits in those 99 innings. He received numerous awards that season, including first team all-state and all-league, city and west valley player of the year, LA Times and Daily News Player of the Year, and a spot in the Area Code games. He was also on the 2nd team all-league in his sophomore and junior years. Justin helped his team capture 2 city titles, and a number 1 ranking in three national polls. Baseball America labeled him as the 39th best prospect in the 2003 class (high school).

 

Justin is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Matt Cassel, and current minor league player Jack. Jack and Jon Garland are apparently close friends, as well.

 

 

COLLEGE

Cassel pitched three seasons at Cal-Irvine, 2004 through 2006. His numbers during those three seasons were pretty consistent to slightly improved, as his innings increased. He didn’t strike a ton of guys out, but he did show excellent command of the strike zone. Here are his lines…

 

Year Team Lg Age Org Level W L ERA G GS CG SH GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WP BK H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP GB%

2004 Cal-Irvine BigWest 19 NCAA 4 3 3.93 19 12 0 0 0 66.1 70 34 29 7 22 56 5 9.50 0.95 2.99 7.60 1.39 --

2005 Cal-Irvine BigWest 20 NCAA 9 4 3.54 18 18 2 0 0 117.0 128 52 46 5 21 86 8 2 9.85 0.38 1.62 6.62 1.27 --

2006 Cal-Irvine BigWest 21 NCAA 7 9 3.43 18 18 4 1 0 134.0 136 61 51 6 25 99 12 1 9.13 0.40 1.68 6.65 1.20 --

 

In 2004, Justin was 24th in the Big West with that 3.93 ERA.

 

In 2005, he led the team in wins (9), and second on the team in strikeouts (86). He was 4th in the Big West in innings pitched (117), 8th in strikeouts (86), and 10th in ERA (3.54). He was tied for 2nd in the conference in pickoffs with four (nice to see from a righty).

 

In 2006, he was Big West Player of the Week twice, and Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week once.

 

Justin approached multiple UC-Irvine career records, including: 4th in games started (48) and strikeouts (241), 5th innings pitched (317.1), and 9th in wins (20) and ERA (3.57).

 

 

SIGN/DRAFT

Justin was selected by the White Sox in the 7th round (225th overall) of the 2006 Amateur Draft (bonus: $88,000). He had also been previously drafted in 2003 by the Oakland Athletics (30th round, 902nd overall), out of high school, but elected to go to college.

 

 

MINORS

Cassel missed much of 2007 (May 20 – August 23) with a right shoulder strain, which is why he has somewhat slim numbers from that season. This hasn’t stopped him from moving up fairly quickly though, as he played rookie (Great Falls) and High A (Winston-Salem) ball in his 2006 rookie year, High A W-S again in 2007 (plus 4 rehab starts in Bristol), and is now at AA B-Ham in his third season (but his first full one)…

 

2006-2007 Stats…

Year Team Lg Age Org Level W L ERA G GS CG SH GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WP BK H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP GB%

2006 great flls Pio 21 Chw Rk 3 2 2.97 13 4 0 0 0 0 39.1 38 17 13 1 10 37 5 0 8.70 0.23 2.29 8.47 1.22 --

Winst-Salm Caro 21 Chw A+ 1 1 5.59 4 4 0 0 0 0 19.1 28 15 12 2 4 8 3 0 13.04 0.93 1.86 3.72 1.66 --

2007 Bristol App 22 Chw Rk 0 0 6.77 2 2 0 0 0 0 2.2 5 2 2 0 0 3 1 0 16.92 0.00 0.00 10.15 1.88 --

Winst-Salm Caro 22 Chw A+ 4 2 2.27 10 6 0 0 1 0 39.2 31 13 10 1 17 31 3 0 7.03 0.23 3.86 7.03 1.21 --

 

 

This Season (2008) so far…

Team League W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG

BIR SOU 7 4 3.06 21 21 0 0 0 123.1 126 54 42 5 38 72 1.51 .269

 

 

Awards…

5/5/08 – Southern League Pitcher of the Week

7/14/08 – Southern League Mid-Season All Star

 

 

SCOUTING INFO

SSS said about Justin after the 2006 draft: “He’s got 4 average pitches”, and labeled him as an innings-eater. BA said this: “Cassel, whose older brother Matt is a backup quarterback for the NFL's New England Patriots, grades out nearly average across the board with his fastball, curveball, changeup and control.” (link). Here is a link to his scouting video from the draft (link.). I can’t find any info on his velocity, or if his pitches are similarly rated after a couple years in the minors.

 

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL

In the summer of 2004, Justin pitched for the Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod League, posting a 3.16 ERA and striking out 37 batters in as many innings.

 

 

REFERENCE

 

Baseball Cube Page

 

MiLB.com Page

 

UC Irvine Player Profile

 

Nice article from May of this year, about Justin’s ascent, in the Birmingham News

[BearSox]

He had a great start yesterday, lowering his ERA under 3. I don't think he will ever be anything special, but I think he can turn into a solid, back end of the rotation type of guy. Plus, his brother plays QB for the Patriots (and his other brother is a AAAA player for the Astros).

Edited August 6, 2008 by BearSox

[NorthSideSox72]

END OF 2008 SEASON UPDATE...

 

Justin had a very good year at B-Ham, and looks to be a legitimate SP prospect. He was only drafted in 2006, a year in which he didn't play. This was only his second season of minor league ball, and he put up strong numbers in AA - no small feat. Here are his finals for the season...

 

G: 28

IP: 165.0

W-L: 10-4

ERA: 3.11

WHIP: 1.38

GO/AO: 1.47

BB: 57

K: 104

HR: 7

 

Pretty impressive for a 23 year old in AA and a year's experience going in.

 

What does 2009 hold for Justin? I think we have to assume he's in the Charlotte rotation in 2009, where he's just a step away from the big club. This guy is pretty well under the radar - you don't hear his name mentioned much. But I think that will change soon, especially if he does well in AAA next season. its even possible, depending on how the 2009 Sox rotation shakes out, that Cassel may get a long look in ST for the big club.

 

[BearSox]

I remember I saw him in ST and I was impressed with him. He has a pretty decent fastball (low 90's) with some good movement. I don't think he will ever be a top of the rotation starter, but I think he could be a very solid no. 4 or 5 guy. He could very well be the best one out of his family. His one brother is a AAAA pitcher for the Astros, and his other is the backup for the Patriots.

[maggsmaggs]

I remember I saw him in ST and I was impressed with him. He has a pretty decent fastball (low 90's) with some good movement. I don't think he will ever be a top of the rotation starter, but I think he could be a very solid no. 4 or 5 guy. He could very well be the best one out of his family. His one brother is a AAAA pitcher for the Astros, and his other is the backup for the Patriots.

His brother Matt could be the Pats starter pending on Brady's injury.

[scenario]

Cassel Earns Southern League ERA Title

[BearSox]

His brother Matt could be the Pats starter pending on Brady's injury.

It's official...

[NorthSideSox72]

Justin made a couple appearances in ST this year. 2 games, 2.2 IP, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 4.

 

Likely he'll be in the rotation in Charlotte this year, after putting up a very good season in B-Ham last year.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Surprisingly, Cassel is NOT on the Charlotte roster, despite apparently having nothing left to prove at AA. Regardless, he will apparently start the season in Birmingham at the top of their rotation.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Update: Cassel is not in B-Ham, he is with Charlotte as originally expected. BUT, he is on the DL - no idea why yet, but Chisoxfn is looking into it.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Cassel comes off the DL and is activated at Charlotte (takes Egbert's slot, who was promoted to Chicago, with the DFA of MacDougal). Made his first appearance last night, in relief: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Justin came off the DL and pitched only 3 games in April for Charlotte (1 start). He got pretty beat up in his start, and his numbers so far leave something to be desired:

 

3 games (1 start), 8.1 IP

0-1

6.48 ERA

2.04 WHIP

1.00 GO/AO

.286 AvgA

7 BB

3 K

 

Those walks are a concern - this was a guy who walked about 3 per 9 innings the last couple years, and he's nearly one an inning so far this year. One would hope that is an artifact of his late start, but, we'll have to see how he shakes out. After starting for another month, we'll know more.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

After a DL stint and a rough April, Justin has started to get rolling in May and is getting closer to the form that was expected of him. In his last three starts, he has a 1.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, walked 5 and struck out 17 in 18 innings. For the month of May:

 

6 games (all starts), 30.1 IP

1-4

3.56 ERA

1.25 WHIP

10 BB / 22 K

0.89 GO/AO

.241 AvgA

 

Which puts his season totals at:

 

9 games (7 starts), 38.2 IP

1-4

4.19 ERA

1.42 WHIP

17 BB / 25 K

0.91 GO/AO

.252 AvgA

2 HR

 

As long as he keeps pitching as he has the past few games, he'll be in good shape. One concern with Cassel though, even when he is on, is that his GO/AO is well below what you'd want to see for a guy looking to pitch at The Cell. Flyball pitchers are not a good combination with the Sox home park. Hopefully he can improve this as his AAA season goes on.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Per FutureSox.com, Cassel has been demoted back to AA Birmingham after struggling in Charlotte. Lucas Harrell was promoted to take his place.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Cassel made one start in B-Ham to finish his disappointing June. It was a reasonably decent one - 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. His time in Charlotte in June was not pretty, and his final numbers overall in Charlotte looked like this:

 

14 Games (12 starts)

63.1 IP

72 H

37 ER

8 HR

25 BB

42 K

 

5.26 ERA

1.53 WHIP

1.09 GO/AO

.280 AvgA

 

Hopefully Justin can put it back together and put together a July in B-Ham that is along the lines of what he did there last year, because it looks like he's been skipped over by a couple guys on the big board now.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Cassel's July in B-Ham wasn't great. This is the league where he won the ERA title last year. Not sure if they have him working on something specific since he was demoted, but his numbers so far in AA aren't too great...

 

6 Games (all starts)

3-2 W-L

 

4.50 ERA

1.58 WHIP

.314 AvgA

 

38 IP

43 H

19 ER

2 HR

17 BB

13 K

 

Note that he is walking more than he is striking out, which isn't a good sign. Hopefully Justin regains his 2008 form and gets back on track.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Justin was re-promoted to AAA Charlotte, and is now pitching out of the bullpen. His numbers from his AA stint were not very good, though they were improving a bit as time went on. So far in 2 relief appearances for Charlotte, he has picthed 7.1 innings, given up 6 hits and 1 earned run, walked 2 and struck out 5.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Time for his end of (regular) season update.

 

Justin started the year in Charlotte, was demoted to B-Ham after struggling, spent a little time on the DL, went back up to Charlotte for a few weeks in August, then went back down to B-Ham again to finish the regular season there and fill a gap in their rotation.

 

His numbers during this last stint in B-Ham were decent: 3 games, 13.2 IP, 16 hits (not good), but only 3 BB against 13 K (good to see). Here are his final numbers for each level:

 

CHARLOTTE/AAA:

3-9 in 18 Games (12 starts)

74.2 IP

86 H

42 ER

10 HR

27 BB

53 K

5.06 ERA

1.51 WHIP

.281 AvgA

 

BIRMINGHAM/AA:

4-2 in 9 Games (7 starts)

51.2 IP

59 H

23 ER

3 HR

20 BB

26 K

4.01 ERA

1.53 WHIP

.309 AvgA

 

Justin has been assigned to Peoria of the Arizona Fall League - it appears the Sox want to see if Cassel has the talent to make it happen in the bigs. His strong 2008 was followed by a disappointing 2009, and there are questions about his lack of velocity, so this AFL stint could be telling of his future.

 

Hard to say what 2010 will bring, until after the AA playoffs and AFL season have closed.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Cassel was less than spectacular in the AFL. Here are his numbers...

 

7 G, all starts, 18.1 IP

7.85 ERA

1.91 WHIP

.333 AvgA

10 BB

13 K

2 HR

 

Its puzzling that Justin did so well in 2008, leading the Southern League in ERA, only to do far worse in the same league (and in some time in Charlotte) in 2009. He looked downright overmatched in the AFL. Hard to say what 2010 will bring, but he'll probably be in Charlotte, trying to prove he can still contribute to the big club at some point.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Justin is starting the year in Charlotte, in the bullpen. He may get a shot at sliding back into a starter role, depending on how the Charlotte rotation changes through the season.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

After the Red Cubs claimed Santo Luis off waivers, Justin Cassel has been demoted back to AA Birmingham. Again.

 

His numbers in his week-long stint in Charlotte:

 

2 G (both in relief)

3 IP

1 H

1 ER

3 BB

2 K

 

3.00 ERA

1.33 WHIP

 

[NorthSideSox72]

End of April update for Justin...

 

After Cassel was demoted again to B-Ham, he seemed to take the message well in his first start, throwing six scoreless with no walks and 3 K's. Since then though, his other three starts have been less than stellar, giving up 9 ER in 19 innings. Here are his B-Ham numbers so far as a starter again, including all four games through May 3rd:

 

4 G, 19 IP

3.24 ERA

1.12 WHIP

.220 AvgA

1.15 GO/AO

8 BB (3.79 BB/9)

15 K (7.1 K/9)

 

His peripherals just aren't that great, his core numbers are OK. He's 25, turning 26 this season, and has been demoted to AA twice in the past couple years. He has basically fallen off the prospect radar, and needs to put up better numbers than this to get back on track.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Cassel hit the DL in early May, don't know the reason why. No word on his return.

 

[JPN366]

Cassel hit the DL in early May, don't know the reason why. No word on his return.

 

He's likely out for the year. He had some issue with a bone in his shoulder that's been bothering him since last year. Which would account for his struggles. He had exploritory surgery performed on him by James Andrews that discovered the issue. He hasn't been seen in the Barons dugout lately.

[NorthSideSox72]

Justin has been released by the White Sox. Closing and archiving this thread.