2014 Draft class

[caulfield12]

from thegoodphight.com

 

Kolek is in High School and is already bigger than many Major League Pitchers. He's roughly 6'5" and 250 lbs. He's strong and it's not bad weight. In either of the last 2 drafts a player with Kolek's profile would have been an extremely strong contender for the first overall pick (same can be said of Rodon, Beede, Hoffmann, Aiken and maybe even Jackson). The fact that this draft is so deep makes it possible that one of these guys could easily slide to the Phillies, so it's best to cover them all. Now, Kolek is already capable of hitting triple digits on the radar gun (though he typically works mid-90's), and given his age and the fact that he hasn't gotten professional strength training or coaching it's reasonable to think there might be more to project in terms of velocity.

 

Kolek works on his Parent's ranch and he's very much so country strong (in order to get to travel for tournaments, it seems, his Father makes him earn it by baling extra hay). He has a big build and I've read comps to Joba Chamberlain (in terms of build, not stuff or ceiling). Scouting reports note that while big and with a strong arm, Kolek isn't very athletic. This can be a concern in terms of repeating mechanics. All that said, Kolek went about a month this season before giving up his first hit as a High School Senior. He's still hitting upper 90's and 100 on Radar guns this Spring, though as noted by our excellent sister blog, Crawfish Boxes (article here), Kolek had a few control issues when seen in person last week.

 

As a Pitcher, Kolek relies heavily on his Fastball (as do most HS Pitchers), but he also has a Slider that flashes Plus, a developing Curveball and reports of a Changeup he throws in warm ups, but I haven't seen any game reports of it. For his mechanics, Kolek is a max effort, across the body Pitcher.In the video below (courtesy Steve Fiorindino) I can't help but think he looks like Roger Clemens. He works low in the zone a lot and gets good plane though Control seems a little shakier than I'd like. This may be a case of Kolek trying to get high heat and sacrificing some control. He throws from a 3/4 slot and you can see his stride towards third affecting him as he leaves a lot of Fastballs to that side of the plate and when he does miss, it's to that side. His mechanics do have some consistency issues you'll see him sometimes look very clean and balanced through his delivery and other times he stumbles a bit to the first base side after release (and once on a pitch that gets away from him the other way he stumbles off towards Third Base).

 

 

http://www.thegoodphight.com/2014/4/7/5586...tyler-kolek-rhp

 

 

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/4/4/5482...s-pitcher-tyler

 

I scanned the field for Tyler Kolek, and his 6-foot-5 frame stuck out like a sore thumb. By high level pitching standards he was big, but nothing out of the ordinary.On the field in Shepherd, though, he was nothing short of hulking.

 

He looked collected, calmly stretching and jogging the outfield before pulling on his jersey and warming up. His demeanor was different from the assassin-like intensity that I saw on Kohl Stewart's game tape- when he took the mound he looked like he felt like the only player on the field. I overheard two scouts chatter next to me, making guesses on what his first warm up pitch would come in at.

 

The man sitting directly next to me guessed 96 initially before backing off just before Kolek took the hill and changing his estimate to 93. Kolek nonchalantly went into his rapid-fire windup, and in the blink of an eye the ball popped into the catcher's mitt. I peeked at one of the radar guns that surrounded me on all sides- it read 94. He showed little emotion, even as he rared back and shotgunned fastballs that continued to register in the mid 90s on scouts' guns. Even before the bullets were live in the game between Shepherd and Tarkington, I was thoroughly impressed by the young man who had become the pride of his town with his major league-quality performance on the mound.

 

Right on schedule, the game started officially at 6:30 p.m. After peppering the catcher with pitches in the low-to-mid 90s in warmups, Kolek turned up the heat in the top of the first. My eyes darted back and forth from the mound to the sea of radar guns, and the hype surrounding Kolek was completely validated. The Tarkington hitters stood in tough but could not touch the 6-5 right-hander's heat. The guns were registering pitches at 97 and 98 repeatedly, with one fireball coming in at a round 100 mph.

 

The triple-digit heater led to a chorus of hushed wows and I saw one scout rush to send a text to document the event. The first two hitters for Tarkington went down on strikes, and I began to wonder if anyone would put the ball in play against Kolek as he continued to hang in the high 90s. That question was quickly answered by Tarkington's No. 3 hitter, who managed to smack a routine grounder to second base that was handled with ease to end the inning.

 

In the second and third innings, Kolek continued to look utterly dominant. He rarely strayed from his fastball, and struck out all six batters that came to the plate in the two frames. His mammoth fastball continued to hang between 95 and 97, with few pitches coming in at less than 94 mph. He worked quickly and confidently, pounding the zone relentlessly with heat like an 18-year-old Jonathan Gray.

 

As the game wore on he had some slight command wobbles and ended up hitting three batters, the first drilling a wiry infielder on the arm at a scorching 96 mph. The other two plunks came on offspeed pitches that seemed to get away from Tyler, but he managed smiles as he met with the catcher in attempts to settle down. He did just that, and by the end of his outing he had racked up a ridiculous thirteen punchouts in just five innings, allowing no baserunners outside of the players hit by pitches. Not a single ball left the infield. Tyler had put on an absolute show, and when he left the mound, the scouts funneled out of the ballpark, no doubt thoroughly impressed with the young fireballer's performance- I certainly was.

 

I came in to the game viewing Kolek as the second best prospect in the 2014 class, and I left with that feeling solidified. Though he's just 18 years old, his 6-5 muscle-bound frame is one that most big league pitchers would envy. His fastball is one of the best you will ever see. He hangs in the mid-90s with ease and pounds the zone when he's in a rhythm. His mechanics are quick, but not violent.

 

Though he rarely strayed from his heater against Tarkington, his slider has shown significant promise, and in the low 80s it has the potential to make hitters look silly in contrast to his high-90s fastball. His secondary stuff is raw, but no weaker than Jonathan Gray's was last year, and his frame and delivery appeal more to me than Gray's did.

 

While Gray carried bad weight and relied on lightning fast arm speed, Kolek uses sheer strength and extension to propel his formidable fastball. Though I can't see him surpassing Carlos Rodon on draft boards, he's a hell of a consolation prize for the clubs picking after the Astros, and he could soften the blow to Houston if Rodon blows out his arm. He's just on the same level that Kohl Stewart was last year, and has the potential to be even better if he rounds out his arsenal.

Edited May 9, 2014 by caulfield12

[DirtySox]

Rodon comes back out after an hour-ish rain delay. Can watch the stream on ESPN3.

[DirtySox]

John Manuel ‏@johnmanuelba 3m

FSU ace RHP @DreamWeava7 is straight dealing tonight. FB was 92-95 early, he's thrown 6 scoreless IP, 4 H, 5 SO. 3-0 #mlbdraft

Expan

[caulfield12]

Rodon

 

7IP, 4 H, 1 R (unearned), BB, 9 K's

 

Over 100 pitches...the manager/pitching coach are going to be questioned here again, sending him back out after a long rain delay. You can make credible/legit arguments on either side of that one. I'm sure Rodon asked to go out there.

Edited May 10, 2014 by caulfield12

[Chisoxfn]

I don't like him because throwing hard is the ONLY thing I ever hear about him. I hear about Rodon's sick arsenal of plus pitches, I hear about Aiken's great control and being a lefty, and then I just hear that Kolek throws hard.

I think Kolek has a pretty good curve as well.

[Jake]

Kolek - elite velocity that has been spotted for over 12 months, was still top .1% for age before that. Great body. Good motion, shows some refinement on the mound. Good looking breaker at two speeds. Sparsely used change.

 

Unbelievable upside but middle relief downside.

[caulfield12]

http://meadowparty.com/blog/

 

 

If you want Keith Law's ruminations on foods and beverages, and fine dining/culinary arts, have at him.

 

* The top 25 MLB players under age 25. The comments are a cesspool of no-one-ever-reads-the-intro ignorance, too.

 

He really fancies himself as a renaissance man about town who dabbles in the art of baseball when he's not reading Harry Potter books in different cockamamie accents to his daughter.

Edited May 10, 2014 by caulfield12

[SoxAce]

^ This reinforces the idea to me that it'd be insane for the White Sox to pass on one of the big three arms.

 

Agreed. In a way, I hope for Kolek, just for the fact of his upside and having a top RHP to pair with Sale (and to a lesser extent Quintana) for the foreseeable future gets me giddy.

[DirtySox]

keithlaw ‏@keithlaw 33m

Speaking of pitcher health, multiple sources telling me today UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde will need TJ surgery too

 

Edited May 10, 2014 by DirtySox

[SoxAce]

keithlaw ‏@keithlaw 33m

Speaking of pitcher health, multiple sources telling me today UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde will need TJ surgery too

 

Good god, it's like the Death Row year for pitchers in terms of surgeries. (big leagues and prospects) Gotta feel for the kid.

 

I guess Eminor3rd will be happy hearing this news.

[DirtySox]

Aaron Fitt ‏@aaronfitt 3m

I have confirmed that #UNLV ace RHP Erick Fedde will have Tommy John surgery. Was regarded as a potential top-10 overall #mlbdraft pick.

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[DirtySox]

LSU/Bama can be streamed via ESPN3 in about 15 minutes. Likely top 10 pick Aaron Nola pitching for LSU due to yesterday's rain out. He opposes Spencer Turnbull who is #58 on Kiley's list.

[ron883]

Rodon

 

7IP, 4 H, 1 R (unearned), BB, 9 K's

 

Over 100 pitches...the manager/pitching coach are going to be questioned here again, sending him back out after a long rain delay. You can make credible/legit arguments on either side of that one. I'm sure Rodon asked to go out there.

I feel this gives whichever team that drafts him an upper hand. you don't sign for slot, go back and pitch in college for another year. risk getting injured with those high pitch counts.

[DirtySox]

Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo 4m

Carlos Rodon's 7 4 1 0 1 9 Friday vs. Wake Forest was in front of Jeff Luhnow and Dan Jennings

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[DirtySox]

Nola with 5 K's through 3.0 IP. Fanned 4 in a row. Has the breaking ball working. Haven't seen much of the changeup. Pounds the strike zone. A repeated knock on him is the arm slot. Almost side-arm.

Edited May 10, 2014 by DirtySox

[fathom]

When I've seen him, the secondary offerings were great. Fastball has good sinking movement as most sidearmers fastballs do. He's another guy who can fly through someone's system. Definitely one of my favorite prospects this year. If the Sox go under slot at #3, he'd be at the top of my list.

 

Obviously, reminds a lot of people of Mike Leake. If this was 8 years ago, he would have been the dream pitcher of the Sox scouting department. He's put up the type of dominating numbers that people hoped Beede and Hoffman would.

[DirtySox]

When I've seen him, the secondary offerings were great. Fastball has good sinking movement as most sidearmers fastballs do. He's another guy who can fly through someone's system. Definitely one of my favorite prospects this year. If the Sox go under slot at #3, he'd be at the top of my list.

 

He's more or less turned into the number 2 college pitcher on most draft boards. Solid three pitch mix right now, polished, pitchability type. High floor. Likely to be one of the first starting pitchers in the class to reach the majors. I could see the Twins jumping all over him if he's there at number 5.

[flavum]

Any chance Nola gets in the conversation for the Sox after today? I like the idea of taking somebody closer to the majors.

[DirtySox]

Any chance Nola gets in the conversation for the Sox after today? I like the idea of taking somebody closer to the majors.

 

If as rumored that they aren't that into Kolek, then absolutely. Nola is in that next tier of arms. I'd still very much prefer Aiken/Rodon though.

[flavum]

If as rumored that they aren't that into Kolek, then absolutely. Nola is in that next tier of arms. I'd still very much prefer Aiken/Rodon though.

 

Yeah, I'm with you on that. I'm just assuming the Astros will go with Rodon and the Marlins take Aiken.

 

Kolek scares me for some reason. High school kids that throw 100 just seem to be a recipe for eventual failure. Give me pitchability.

[flavum]

Nola with a complete game shutout. 4 hits, 0 bb, 9 k. 116 pitches, 86 strikes.

 

Dammit, I really didn't want to have an opinion on this.

[DirtySox]

Impressive performance from Nola.

 

Nola's line: 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K

 

[fathom]

He was at 94-95 mph in the 8th and 9th inning.

[DirtySox]

Have yet to see reports on notable GMs/Scouting Directors at his start.

 

 

Kendall Rogers ‏@KendallRogersPG 2m

Several scouts have told me they’d be shocked if he’s not a Top 7/8 guy. RT @Lee_White73: @KendallRogersPG Where does he get drafted?

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[flavum]

Nola speaking post-game...