Ozzie Ball Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Schuster stretches the boundaries of conventional scouting because nothing about him is conventional. He has a stiff upright delivery with little drive coming from his lower-half. He doesn’t stay back. He throws a little secondary kick with his front foot before landing. He doesn’t follow through, and on some pitches finishes his delivery well across his body. It doesn’t look pretty and if you watched him in the bullpen playing catch, you might not think of Schuster as a pro prospect. The game is a different story. If I have to win one high school game, right now, I’d pick Patrick Schuster over anyone else I’ve seen around the country. His command of both his 87-91 MPH fastball and his 74-77 MPH breaking ball (which I’m calling a slider) is major league caliber right now. He was given an oversized strike zone by the umpire and Schuster had the out-of-strike zone command to take advantage of it. It was an unfair matchup as no balls were hit with any authority off of Schuster. Of the 21 outs, 16 came on strikeouts. There were three groundouts and two flyouts. The three baserunners were on a walk, a hit-batsmen, and a dropped third strike (he had 17 strikeouts total). The biggest concern I have with a pitcher who finishes their delivery so hard is that they usually can’t throw low strikes consistently. I’m not sure how, but Schuster throws low strikes better than any high school pitcher I’ve seen. He can pound it all day down there with both pitches. Schuster can also command the black and throw off the corners to get hitters to chase. His fastball has plus running movement and plus deception out of a low three-quarter slot. His 88 jumped on hitters better than a lot of 94s. For pure movement, I’d grade his big slider at a present 45, future 55. For command, I grade it as a present 55, future 70. Some will call it a curveball based on its velocity, but because he gets under it, it’s mostly a lateral-plane breaker. He got a lot of his 17 strikeouts with the slider and his ability to paint with it is precocious for a prep pitcher. There will be questions on durability because his delivery is so arm-oriented; the big leg and core muscles don’t get exploited. I give him more chance because he’s not a hard thrower. Though he touched 92 MPH a few times, his game is getting people out by location and changing speeds. I don’t think he’ll extend himself often for those extra miles because he “pitches”. That puts less strain on his shoulder and elbow. http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/Articles/Dis...spx?article=791 I'd tone down most of what was written here as this guy seems to be drinking massive amounts of the Schuster Kool-Aid, not that I can blame him, he did just watch a 17k no-hitter after all in which just about everything Schuster did must have looked great. I just worry about taking command oriented prospects early because if they lose that command (which seems to happen a lot more frequently than power pitching prospects losing their strikeout ability), then they're all of a sudden just a fringy pitching prospect, see Broadway, Lance. The unconventional delivery also causes me some concern, and not because I think it'll result in him being injury prone (which it might), but because most inexperienced prep hitters won't have seen anything like him before and as he rises up the levels the hitters are a lot less likely to be fooled by his delivery and that's when his stuff comes into question, is it going to be good enough? I have some doubts. However he is a very intriguing prospect that I would have to consider in the late 3rd round range but ultimately I think I'd pass on Patrick Schuster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Most places have him going anywhere from round 2 to 5 (based on talent) and I must admit, its hard to knock the results. He had what, 3 consecutive no hitters (or was it 4?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) I wouldn't mind taking a chance at him in round 3, 4, or 5. We are starting to get really good at developing pitchers, and if we can fix his mechanics, we might have something with him. I'd like to see a video of him. Just saw some video, he's got some good movement on his fastball, but needs work on his mechanics. And he's a lefty. I wouldn't mind taking a risk on him. Edited May 16, 2009 by BearSox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderBolt Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I love the kid's track record and stuff, but am concerned about the level of competition he was facing. Anyone have any info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Sounds like Ted Lilly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Florida probably has the most HS talent this year, and I read Schuster really impressed at the Florida HS all-star weekend. I really like the idea of drafting him in the middle rounds, and trying to refine his mechanics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderBolt Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Schuster is a guy we shouldn't pass up on if he's still there in the 3rd or 4th round. He has too much upside. Edited June 3, 2009 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaseballNick Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Anyone know if he's supposed to be a tough sign? Obviously, that would have to factor into drafting him as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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