Prospect Rumblings for 8-6-10

August 6, 2010 BY Alex Eisenberg 4 Comments

This is a new feature I’m adding in an effort to give more value to my Premium members.

Basically, I’m offering smaller scouting reports on players I’ve recently seen and giving my thoughts on prospects whose performances have jumped out at me recently. My hope to publish this feature at least two or three times a week if at all possible.

I hope this will be incentive for anybody on the fence of signing up for a Premium account to actually become a Premium member. I’m currently paying $150/month right now on server costs as the site has grown too much to stay on a shared server. I have no other option but to pay that price until I can find a cheaper alternative and then find the time to actually transfer servers. So any support you can muster up would be a tremendous help.

With that out of the way, let’s get on with the article…

Jacob Thompson | RHP | Tampa Bay Rays

Thompson, the Rays second round pick in 2010, used mostly fastballs with excellent results in a start against Aberdeen recently that I happened to catch. He goes right after hitters, not only pounding the strike zone, but also throwing quality strikes to both sides of the plate. Thompson’s fastball was clocked in the low – mid 90′s during this outing. I didn’t get a good sense of his secondary pitches simply because he hardly threw them. I’m sure his fastball-heavy approach contributed to his lack of strikeouts. While I liked what I saw, we’ll get a better sense of what Thompson is made of against more advanced level hitters.

Shawn Tolleson | RHP | Los Angeles Dodgers

Primarily a starter while at Baylor, the Dodgers have shifted Tolleson — the team’s 30th round pick in this year’s draft — to the bullpen and he’s excelled in that role. In 18.1 innings, Tolleson has a 41.2 K% and of the balls put in play, 68% of them have been on the ground. Tolleson’s biggest bugaboo in college was his control. Right now, his BB% stands at a solid 5.9%.

On the other hand, Tolleson is 22 and playing Rookie ball. Time for the Dodgers to challenge him with more advanced level hitters.

Continue on to read reports on Clint Robinson (Kansas City Royals), Justin Marks (Oakland Athletics), Michael Main (San Francisco Giants), and Jeff Locke (Pittsburgh Pirates)…

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4 Comments »

David S said:

Do you have a scouting report on Tolleson?

# 25 August 2010 at 12:03 AM

Alex Eisenberg (author) said:

Low 90′s fastball with some sink…heard from some that he’s developed a cutter this year, but I can’t confirm. I have a video from him during the 2009 season and he showed a really nice, late breaking slider that induced many swings and misses, though command of the pitch was inconsistent. Fastball command also inconsistent, but that improved this year. Has an average change-up that he probably won’t use much out of the bullpen.

# 25 August 2010 at 10:04 PM

steve cline said:

disagree about clint robinson ..i have a keen eye when it comes to young power hitting prospects and i have seen clint many times this year not just once or twice and he would make an good dh for the royals.i see much more then a platoon player..

# 1 September 2010 at 4:26 AM

Alex Eisenberg (author) said:

He could be an everyday DH since he’s actually performed well against lefties, but he’s more likely to be a role player at the MLB level. If he played up the middle, or third base, or a corner outfield spot, it would be a different story and he’d be more highly regarded.

# 1 September 2010 at 11:44 PM