Ole Miss left-hander Drew Pomeranz was anointed the title of “top college arm” in a draft that was shallow in southpaws, landing him in Cleveland at #5 overall as the second pitcher off the board. Solid and projectable, Pomeranz was seen as a safe choice that could reach the majors quickly, in contrast to the risk/reward of a younger player like Jameson Taillon. In fact, the pre-draft profiles for these two hurlers could not be much more different.

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Drew Pomeranz

LHP, 6’5”, 235 lbs, Ole Miss

Pick #5 overall, Cleveland Indians

The disparity extends to mechanics, as Taillon and Pomeranz are night and day when it comes to how they deliver a baseball. We get some different angles for the scouting video of Pomeranz at mlb.com (found here), with a camera behind the plate and some views from each baseline. There are also a few warm-up pitches to dodge before getting to the good stuff.

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First Movement to Foot Strike

Pomeranz has a motion that starts out polished, with steady balance as he gets into max leg lift. The left-hander also does a great job of directing his linear momentum toward the plate immediately from the setup position, which can be seen with the side view starting at 0:17 into the clip. Everything from first movement to maximum leg lift is mechanically sound.    

The delivery begins to unravel as Pomeranz approaches foot strike. His momentum takes a hit after max leg lift, and the lefty fails to capitalize on the strong elements earlier in the kinetic chain. The result is a stride that is shorter than one would expect from a pitcher with such impressive early momentum. The progression for Pomeranz is the exact opposite of Jameson Taillon, who starts off shaky before gathering balance and momentum as he hits his stride.

Pomeranz does exhibit good tightrope balance with opposite and equal arm angles into foot strike, though his method of finding opposite-and-equal is unique.

I rarely focus on arm action, given an adherence to the concept of, “the arm belongs to the pitcher.” It is also very difficult to assess the throwing arm using standard video, because the arm is moving much too fast for the eyes to catch up. That said, Pomeranz’s arm action is such that it needs to be addressed, with a funky PS arm that looks like something straight out of a George Clinton video.

Pomeranz pronates his throwing arm extremely early in the pitch sequence, beginning when the hands separate after max leg lift. Pronation refers to how the arm rotates or twists. To see for yourself, hold out your arms with palms facing downward, and then rotate the forearms so that the thumbs point toward the ground (like turning a doorknob).

Every pitcher experiences pronation at some point in the delivery. It’s a biomechanical inevitability that a pitcher’s arm will pronate after release point on every pitch, as a safety mechanism. The opposite of pronation is supination (rotate thumbs toward the sky), a karate chop motion that is a key component of most breaking pitches. 

Early pronation is common on changeups, and is necessary for a pitcher that throws a circle change. Pomeranz does have an effective circle change in his arsenal, but nearly every pitch that he throws features early pronation, and the degree of pronation varies based on pitch type.

The unusual technique could be a natural aspect of Pomeranz’s signature, though it is difficult to ascertain from a handful of pitches on 32 fps video, and in the footage it appears that he is manipulating the early pronation beyond signature.

The worry here is with the curveball, which requires supination to be executed properly. The curveball is already a physically demanding pitch, due to the amount of pronation necessary to rotate the arm out of its supinated position after release point. If Pomeranz is beginning with a pronated forearm before supinating the curveball, then the arm is doing a lot of extra work while complicating the pitch sequence.

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Foot Strike to Release Point

Pomeranz uses more of his upper body to generate torque and velocity, creating solid hip-shoulder separation despite a modest hip-turn.

The delivery gets progressively worse as Pomeranz continues down the kinetic chain. The slowed momentum takes away from his ability to track toward the plate after foot strike, and outstanding balance falls apart as Pomeranz tilts his head and spine severely to the glove side.

The posture is of particular concern. The lefty contorts his spine like he’s trying to dodge a bullet in the Matrix, bending like the head of a hockey stick by the time he releases the baseball. Pomeranz has probably been encouraged throughout his career to “get on top of the ball,” and it’s clear that that he is physically altering his natural balance to achieve a higher arm slot.

Many pitching coaches place a heavy emphasis on the angle of an incoming pitch from the point of view of opposing hitters. Pitchers are encouraged to adjust their natural deliveries to create that angle, and the prevailing instruction is to throw over-the-top.

The goal of throwing over-the-top is to generate downhill plane, resulting in more groundballs and minimizing the platoon advantage of off-handed hitters. It’s the corollary to the idea that guys with low arm slots have heavy platoon splits.

Left-handed starters are specifically targeted for downhill plane, due to the preponderance of right-handed hitters they have to face. There are about 65% more right-handed batters in the majors than there are lefties, according to The Book, and opposing managers are notorious for stacking the lineup against left-handed starting pitchers.

In general, breaking balls are tougher on like-sided hitters, while off-speed pitches are more effective when facing bats from the opposite side. The changeup is thus a key pitch for southpaw starters.

There’s not much debate to this concept, but what often gets overlooked is the necessary mechanical tradeoff of creating angle on hitters. Postural stabilization is one of the most critical variables in the mechanical efficiency equation, and sacrificing posture to create angle raises a variety of red flags.

Poor posture is a precursor to injury, which is reason enough to seriously question the balance of pros and cons with an over-the-top delivery. On the mound, an unstable posture typically leads to an inconsistent release point, throwing a wrench into pitch command and control. The inappropriate head movement also costs a pitcher distance on his release point, and spine tilt as extreme as that of Drew Pomeranz can cost the pitcher up to 5 mph of perceived velocity. That’s the brief version, but we go much more in-depth on the issue in “Arm Action” (shameless plug).

The release point distance is restricted due to the combination of poor posture, a moderate stride, and a soft glove. Pomeranz has a funky glove that mimics the throwing arm, pronating the GS arm so that the mitt points toward the ground, rather than swiveling the glove palm-up. Pomeranz stabilizes the glove out in front, though he lets it swing wide compared to an ideal position over the front foot.

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Grades

Balance                                    45

Momentum                               50

Stride                                         50

Hip-Shoulder Separation      55

Posture                                     35                   

Glove Position                         45

Repetition                                 40

GPA: 45.7

The individual grades for Pomeranz reflect a stark contrast from those of Jameson Taillon, despite their similar GPA’s. Pomeranz hovers close to the middle of the bell curve for nearly every measure, whereas Taillon drifts toward the extremes.

Pomeranz does not have anything that grades out as exceptional, and only his hip-shoulder separation appears to be above average. The strongest mechanical points are his balance and momentum during the earliest phase of the delivery, but those grades are tempered due to poor adjustments after max leg lift, resulting in average marks overall.  

The left-hander also struggles with his repetition, with pitch-by-pitch variations in mechanics, timing, and sequencing. For example, the degree of spine tilt differs on every pitch, as does the time that Pomeranz initiates the posture change. In the scouting video, head movement begins prior to foot strike on most of the off-speed pitches, but it doesn’t kick in until after foot strike for the fastballs.

The result is an inconsistent release point, which explains the poor walk rate at Ole Miss this season (4.4 BB/9). The pitch-specific tendencies will also function to tip his pitches against advanced hitters, and Pomeranz will need to improve his timing consistency in order to succeed at the highest level.

Pomeranz has room for improvement across the board, but he lacks the raw components to reach the ceiling of a player like Taillon. Pomeranz is physically more mature, but he has much further to go in order to achieve elite-level mechanics, and will likely never match Taillon’s current grades for hip-shoulder separation or posture. Taillon has a slightly higher mechanics GPA now, and is likely to expand that gap over the next few years.

Taillon is the easier project, from a coach’s standpoint. Improved conditioning and a couple of early mechanical tweaks will shore up his weak links, whereas Pomeranz will need to make more dramatic adjustments to his delivery, even if the arm funk is left untouched. The college product has mechanics that have been hard-wired through experience, and it will be a greater challenge for him to realize improvements.

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The Pomeranz delivery begins as a work of art, but it ends up a dilapidated mess. The arm funk might be the least of his worries, and it’s surprising that his draft stock was not impacted by the odd arm action. Teams typically stray away from anything unorthodox, especially when it comes to pitchers. I am less than optimistic about his chances to quickly climb the minor league ladder, and though he has the potential to make some substantial improvements, there are steep steps to climb before he gets there.

Harper was a lock to go numero uno, but there was some debate as to what the Pirates would do with the 2^nd pick. In the end they went with the ceiling and the price tag, selecting high school pitcher Jameson Taillon, an elite-level talent in the Josh Beckett mold of big Texas right-handers. Like Beckett, Taillon is armed with a deadly combo of smoke and benders, an arsenal that helped put him in the top 2 or 3 on many analysts’ mock draft boards.

Check out the draft coverage at MLB.com, which gives every fan the tools to scout draftees with the click of a mouse (see links for “enhanced scouting report”). We can analyze the draft from a couch, thanks to the short video clips that MLB.com posts each season. The footage provides little more than a snapshot, tracking a single game in a pitcher’s amateur career, but it’s priceless for evaluation of baseline pitching mechanics. Taillon’s scouting video can be found here.

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Jameson Taillon, RHP

6’6”, 225 lbs, The Woodlands HS (TX)

Round 1, Pick #2, Pittsburgh Pirates

The raw components of Taillon’s delivery are solid, especially for a teenager, but he has some mechanical work to do before he is ready to exhibit his talents on the big stage.

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 First Movement to Foot Strike

Taillon’s balance is shaky as he gets into max leg lift, with his head behind the center of mass. Looking at the video, the imbalance is more pronounced on the 2^nd-pitch fastball than the 1^st-pitch curve, with a lean back toward first base when his knee reaches maximum height. Such instability is indicative of a player that needs to improve his functional strength, which is extremely common among tall high school pitchers.

The big righty’s use of a “drop-n-drive” delivery hurts that balance further as he gets into foot strike. The upshot is that Taillon drives with some authority, creating decent momentum after peak leg lift to bring his long-winged release point closer to the plate. He accomplishes this despite poor linear momentum at the start of the delivery.

The benefits are counteracted, however, by a lift leg that hits the ground early, limiting his stride length and release point distance. Taillon’s momentum and stride are inconsistent for the pitches in the video, hurting his overall mechanics GPA. The bright side is that the kid has a lot more in the tank, and the problem can be corrected with relatively minor adjustments.

One potential knock on Taillon is that he follows the Strasburg-Santana-Prior model of “inverted W,” though the jury’s still out on the mechanical impact of hyperabduction. The #2 pick has a more pronounced “inverted W” than any of the pitchers mentioned, which can be seen using a savvy trigger finger on the pause button at 15 ½ seconds into the video.

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Foot Strike to Release Point

Taillon utilizes a big hip turn combined with some scapular load to create excellent hip-shoulder separation, which helps to explain the high 90’s gas that the kid pumps on a regular basis. A large scap load often accompanies the “inverted W,” though in Taillon’s case the torque is more a result of his delayed rotation of the trunk and shoulders as the hips continue to fire.  

Maximum hip-shoulder separation is difficult to see with just a handful of pitches on standard video. It takes a perfectly timed pause-click on just the right pitch to catch a glimpse, and the best spot to freeze Taillon’s delivery occurs on the 3^rd pitch, just before the video reaches 24 seconds.

The angle on the scouting video is less than ideal to see Taillon’s hip-shoulder separation. When evaluating the torque of MLB pitchers, I prefer to use well-timed photos taken from the 3rd base dugout (for right-handers), so that I can see the relative contributions of hips and shoulders. The best angle is actually a bird’s eye view, but those shots are hard to come by without using motion capture.

Poor balance typically has a ripple effect on posture, but Taillon defies the odds and regains much of his balance between foot strike and release point. He finishes with surprisingly good posture, considering the lack of balance earlier in the delivery, as well as the underlying issues of age, size, and functional strength.

Players with strong posture and an upright spine typically have lower arm slots than head-tilting over-the-top types, but again Taillon proves to be an exception. He displays a high arm slot in addition to minimal spine tilt, a combination that pleases coaches and scouts alike. Research at ASMI casts a shadow of doubt, however, based on recent revelations with respect to Brandon Webb.

A weak link in Taillon’s delivery is glove position, which varies from pitch to pitch on the video. He employs a pretty extreme tuck of the mitt into the body, a strategy advocated by some coaches, and the glove-hand flails wildly after release point. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates address the issue.  

Taillon invokes images of K-Rod on his follow-through, falling off to the left side of the mound after release point. This is due in part to balance, which starts to drift to the glove-side just prior to release, but is also the result of kinetic energy generated in the delivery.

Many point to a pitcher falling off to one side as a major red flag, and people have been waiting for K-Rod to break down for years, citing his violent follow-through as evidence. However, we lack solid proof that a pitcher’s follow-through has any significant impact on injury risk, and K-Rod’s mechanical efficiency is actually rather solid up to release point. The bigger risk is probably a line-drive comebacker, from which he is in a bad position to protect himself.  

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Grades

Balance:                                    40

Stride:                                        45

Momentum:                              45

Hip-Shoulder Separation:      70

Posture:                                     60

Glove Position:                         35

Repetition:                                 45

GPA: 48.6

(For an explanation on mechanics grades, click here.)

An accurate assessment of timing consistency requires more than a 5-pitch sample from a single outing, but the early indications are that Taillon has room for improvement in repeating his delivery. This is something that should come naturally during the course of development, yet many pitchers that reach the majors continue to struggle with mechanical repetition.

The average MLB pitcher is not nearly as consistent as one might think, and several have timing problems when pitching from the stretch, which helps to explain why Taillon grades out as high as a 45 on our scale. Improvement in timing and repetition will provide a boost to other mechanical grades across the board, in the same way that command will boost the scores for a pitcher’s stuff. As such, the Pirates would be wise to focus their efforts on timing consistency throughout Taillon’s development.

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The draft is a gamble, the payoffs of which cannot be determined until years into the future. Selecting a pitcher in the first round compounds the risk, given the injury rates among developing arms and the cost of losing a 1^st rounder due to physical breakdown before they ever hit the majors. On the other hand, the high attrition rate of pitchers makes it necessary for a team to stockpile arms in their system, and team-wide philosophies on pitching mechanics and coaching methods can have a huge impact on the overall success of player development.

A pitcher with the raw talent of a Jameson Taillon can have a tremendous impact at the MLB level, but first he must survive the rough journey through the minors while building strength, stamina, and mechanical efficiency. Taillon is still growing into his delivery, and his explosive stuff will be drastically more effective if he can shore up the mechanical weak links. More importantly, the hard work will pay off by keeping him on the mound and off of the trainer’s table.

In an email sent out to the media, Johnson attached his reply to U.K.’s response to his client’s motion for temporary injunction.  This was the formal reply he emailed us about, and that we subsequently reported as in route in this earlier story. 

In the reply, Johnson argues that the University, in passing along N.C.A.A. wishes to interview Paxton alone, violated Paxton’s rights as a student since they did not provide a written notice of any allegations against him.  He further argues that the University’s Code of Student Conduct is in effect a contract with the student and that the University was jeopardizing that contract by submitting to demands of a third party, in this case the N.C.A.A. 

Since U.K. is an N.C.A.A. member, they had to agree to withhold any student-athlete from competition if they (student athletes) violate N.C.A.A. rules.  Johnson says that U.K., in following that agreement, places in importance this separate arrangement over that which they have made with their student.  He goes on to say that the N.C.A.A. even has a provision in its bylaw 14.11.4.2. that calls for schools to work within their own Codes with students when handling N.C.A.A. violations.

All that said, Johnson further argues that since no formal allegations exist against Paxton, he does not have to submit to the interview in the first place.

Therein lies the crux of the argument so far.  The N.C.A.A. wants to talk to Paxton about this article because it implies that the Toronto Blue Jays dealt directly with Scott Boras about a contract offer to Paxton this past summer.  At this point, they do not have proof of a violation, only a mention of the possibility of what could be one in a blog from a Canadian newspaper.  Therefore, there is no formal allegation that U.K. could present to Paxton, even within the manner that Johnson argues the Student Code of Conduct mandates.

The University said as much in their response to the suit. 

But, Johnson feels that even if the article is completely factual, the quote in question (in effect, dealing with Boras and not the family) does not directly indicate that Toronto spoke directly to Boras and could simply mean Paxton was a Boras client.  Getting professional advice concerning the MLB draft is not against N.C.A.A. rules and Johnson feels there is insufficient evidence suggesting Boras operated outside of that rule.  So, the N.C.A.A. has no right to make U.K. ask for the interview. 

Here is what I think he is arguing-

A lawyer advises a kid.  A club is dealing with that kid’s family, but knows the lawyer is advising them.  The club could say that they were ‘dealing’, in effect, with the advisor.  This would not necessarily mean they negotiated directly with the advisor.

Johnson admits that U.K. is operating under fear of penalties they could potentially suffer from the N.C.A.A.  He contends that his client is also operating under fear of impending penalties, which could include a potentially large amount of compensation from a Major League Baseball team if he were banned from college baseball for any amount of time.

Johnson submitted expert testimony in his reply from Richard Karcher, a law professor from Florida Coastal School of Law that has written about an agent’s role within N.C.A.A. rules.  He also testified in the Oliver case (highlighted here in this terrific article) that Johnson basically won because the court ruled the N.C.A.A. rule about legal representation as ‘arbitrary and capricious and against public policy’. 

The N.C.A.A. settled out of court in that decision, but as Jordan Kobritz noted in the article I referenced,

“In a landmark decision widely hailed for its common sense, the presiding judge lambasted the NCAA for depriving student-athletes of rights that are taken for granted by the rest of us, namely, the right to counsel.”

When the N.C.A.A. allows for legal advice (as we are all allowed), but then goes on to say that they can somehow determine how that advice is dispensed, the courts in the Oliver case ruled that a violation.  In closing his article, Kobritz predicted,

“There’s no reason to believe the NCAA won’t continue its unconscionable, heavy-handed, and virtually unregulated abuse of student-athletes.”

Keep in mind he wrote that two months ago.

The two sides in the Paxton case are due on court mid-December.  I still feel that the Oliver case is the bigger issue here, with the N.C.A.A. as the ultimate target.  I also feel that the University of Kentucky is caught in the middle.  They are having to abide by N.C.A.A. rules, but in doing so find themselves up against this larger battle being waged by Paxton’s attorney.  It is a battle that Richard Johnson has taken up with the N.C.A.A. and their seemingly vague and arbitrary rules about amateur status and the MLB draft.

My hope is that the big-picture debate of N.C.A.A. dealings with student-athletes does not jeopardize the both Paxton and the University  in this smaller case.

Beeston was simply explaining to the media why he did not come to terms with the highly-rated Canadian-born pitcher.  In doing so, he identified a familiar villain in MLB negotiations as the reason- Scott Boras.  Evidently the uber-agent that is seen as the Milo Mindbender of the world of Major League Baseball was in some way involved in the Paxton negotiations with Toronto.  Beeston reportedly said at one point, “Because it was Scott, the way that you deal you deal through him”. 

For the NCAA, ever diligent in their search for minutia in regards to college athletes and their amateur status, this represented the reddest of flags.  Amateur baseball players can receive advice from professionals under N.C.A.A. rules, so long as those giving legal advice do not act as an agent and negotiate directly with teams.  Soon after the paper published the article, the NCAA began to inquire with Sandy Bell, compliance officer for U.K.  They asked that she set up an interview with Paxton, presumably to determine if Boras dealt directly with the Blue Jays.

As noted in my previous article, Paxton’s attorneys contend that the student was never informed of a reason for the interview and was told not to contact his parents or a lawyer.  I speculated that if U.K. did tell him that it may have been on orders from the NCAA.  According to an affidavit filed on behalf of Sandy Bell by U.K., there is disagreement between U.K. officials and Paxton on how he was told the N.C.A.A. wanted the interview to transpire, but that the ruling body did in fact request some restrictions.

Paxton’s suit claims U.K. told him not to contact his parents or an attorney, and the affidavit filed by U.K. shows that Bell says she did tell him the N.C.A.A. did not want him to talk to his parents or coach about the interview because they (N.C.A.A.) planned to interview them as well and did not want the parties to go over what they remembered together beforehand.  However, she says she did not tell him he could not speak to an attorney.  Her affidavit shows her statement to that effect, and there is an attached email from Chance Miller of the N.C.A.A. on Sept. 24 telling Bell that Paxton could have an attorney in case he wanted one.

U.K. also claims that the injunction leaves the University vulnerable to N.C.A.A. sanctions because even if a court were to decide there were grounds for stopping a suspension against Paxton by U.K. (or the N.C.A.A. for that matter), games Paxton may compete in could still be forfeited by the N.C.A.A. if they found reason to do so.

U.K. also addresses the student’s agreement with the University in which Paxton’s suit claims the University’s alleged request to keep an attorney out and failure to notify him in writing the subject of the interview violated his rights as a student.  However, the University’s agreement with their students in regards to testimony appears to only apply to University mandated interviews and this one, ordered by N.C.A.A., would evidently not fall under that rule. 

Most importantly, the University says that at no time was Paxton’s scholarship at stake since there were no allegations against him to be suspended for.  This assertion probably represents the most contentious point in the proceedings so far.

Once U.K.’s response reached Paxton’s legal team, they sent an e-mail to the media.  In it, Ohio attorney Richard Johnson maintains that the University is spinning their response and that the athletic department said Paxton would be “withheld from (intercollegiate athletics)”  until he submitted to an interview with the N.C.A.A.  This, Johnson argues, does constitute prohibition from the team and would jeopardize his client’s grant-in-aid.  Johnson plans to file a formal reply early the week of December 7.

I again speculate that Paxton’s family likely used someone (apparently Boras) when mulling over the Toronto offer(s).  I would be surprised if Boras ran afoul of N.C.A.A. rules, though.  First of all, this is not Boras’ first rodeo.  He deals with this situation every year.  He is quoted in an article at Baseball America that discusses the situation as saying, ”We are compliant with the NCAA rules by mandate…We have to go to families and charge them for information that we would otherwise not charge for. And we have to go through the bailiwick of having the parents deal with the teams through our counsel, which is crazy.”  If Boras ruined Paxton’s amateur status, it would be a costly mistake, and he doesn’t seem to make many of those. 

Hopefully the issue can be resolved and Paxton will be able to play for Kentucky in 2010.  In the meantime, I will update as information becomes available.

Names like Josh Willingham, Scott Shields, Todd Jones and Matt Joyce have all come from the Division II ranks, gaining moderate levels of success at the big time. Having played at this level myself and now working in the same realm, the number of cross-checkers and scouts present at games is more noticeable, and that’s no doubt a credit to the names mentioned above along with others who have paved the way.

This year, all the hoopla in the college game surrounds one player, or more specifically one right arm. Stephen Strasburg has been solidified as the top overall selection for about year, since he dominated the collegiate and Olympic game as a 19-year old in 2008. Deserving of all the hype, Strasburg owns a 98-mph fastball and tossed a no-hitter against Air Force just a week ago. Everyone knows that Strasburg is the top overall selection, but is there another arm in the division below putting up similar numbers? Perhaps. Let’s explore.

According to every major poll in Division II, the number one team in the country is Southern Arkansas University. SAU, located in Magnolia, Ark., is 49-9 overall and will host the NCAA South Regional this weekend. The Muleriders (yes that is their actual mascot) are hitting .335 as a team, but the biggest reason for their success lies in their ace, sophomore hurler Hayden Simpson.

Simpson’s story is very much like many you read about at the smaller levels of collegiate athletics. A two-sport star at Magnolia High School (Ark.), his smaller statute (6-0, 170) kept many of the bigger schools out of the recruiting picture. Simpson was also a star quarterback as a prepster, leading his team to a top ranking and a place in the state playoffs.

Only through a chance meeting did he even consider his hometown university as the place to continue his career. It took the kind words of his next door neighbor to help him make a decision on just where he would attend school. That next door neighbor was SAU head baseball coach Allen Gum, who got Simpson to put his signature on the dotted line during the early signing period, cementing the foundation for what has been a stellar campaign.

First off, Simpson’s stuff is legit. Often times at the Division II level you see pitchers put up impressive numbers without the raw arsenal to justify a professional career. That’s not the case here. Having seen him pitch with my own eyes, his low 90s fastball and hammer curve are enough to be noticed, and puts him into discussion when it comes to pitchers that should be drafted. The numbers, however, speak for themselves.

As a freshman, he was perfect, literally. He went 10-0 in 17 appearances. Despite the fact that he didn’t become a full-time starter until two-thirds of the season was gone, he still led the team in victories (10), earned runs allowed (24) and opponents batting average against (.212). During a seven-game stretch to close out the season, the rookie allowed over two earned runs just once, while striking out 38 and picking up five victories.

In his final start of the year, Simpson threw eight innings of one-run ball against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the NCAA Tournament, striking out seven and walking just two. That performance earned him a unanimous vote of GSC Freshman of the Year, along with All-GSC First Team honors. With all the early success as a freshman, the dreaded sophomore slump seemed inevitable. The perfect record and ERA numbers would be tough to match, and the league would have a second look at him. That didn’t happen though, Simpson got better.

All he did this season was go 11-1, dropping his ERA a full run to 2.39. Simpson is now 21-1 in 23 career starts, and the peripherals were even more dominant in 2009. The righty tossed 101.2 frames, allowing just 27 earned runs. Opponents hit .180 off of him, and he struck 119 batters on the year. He failed to go six innings or more in just three outings, and had 10 or more punch-outs in five games. Simpson threw six complete games (!) and four shutouts, defeating five ranked teams on the year.

Again saving his best for last, he threw a complete game shutout on three days rest to defeat Valdosta State in the GSC Championship. He allowed just three hits in that contest, striking out seven and defeating VSU for the second time in the tournament, earning MVP honors.

This is the same Valdosta State squad that leads the NCAA and set a GSC record for homeruns in a season with 108. VSU had two hitters over .415 on the year, and scored double digits as a team 26 times this year. There bats were silenced by Simpson, who is earning the moniker of “Little Strasburg” around Division II circles.

His career totals are outstanding. 21-1 record, 164.2 innings pitched, 41 earned runs allowed, 2.79 ERA. Simpson has 179 strikeouts to just 75 walks, a 2.38 k/bb ratio. Opponents are hitting under .200 against him, and he has given up only 28 extra base hits in two years. The awards keep coming. Two-time First Team All-GSC, National Pitcher of the Week, GSC Tournament MVP. Simply amazing.

When first trying to explain his mechanics and delivery to a friend, another slight body with a powerful arm jumped to mind. Tim Lincecum, who is generously listed at 5-11 and 170 pounds, fits the physical comparison to SAU’s Simpson. Their body structure is similar, and Simpson even contorts his body to some degree in the same manner as Lincecum.

While he doesn’t have the pure stuff of the reigning Cy Young Award winner, the comparison is valid in part due to the similarities listed above. As I witnessed, there were scouts in attendance for his starts at the GSC Tournament, so Simpson in on the radar.

How high could he go? I have no idea, but with one more year in Magnolia, Ark., and another round of stellar numbers he could continue to climb up the charts. The highest ever draft selection in GSC history was Valdosta State’s Jason Bulger, who went 22^nd to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.

I think that record is safe, but who knows? Maybe Simpson’s named will be called earlier than we all think. The numbers say that it should.

Not only does a top coach join this week’s broadcast, but two of the biggest talents in the collegiate game do as well.

San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg steps in studio, as the Preseason Player of the Year and the possible top overall selection in this year’s MLB Draft sits in for an interview. Strasburg was the lone collegiate baseball player selected to participate in the 2008 Olympics, and he shares his thoughts about Beijing and dealing with the draft hype surrounding his upcoming junior year.

After talking with the best junior in the country, arguably the best freshman in all the land joins us at the half hour mark. Kentucky’s Alex Meyer, who was Indiana’s Gatorade High School Player of the Year, joins us to share how he has adjusted to college life so far. The freshman phenom also explains why he chose to become a Wildcat, and how the Boston Red Sox pushed hard for his services at the draft deadline.

To round out the star-studded guest lineup we close out the show with Baseball America’s college guru, Aaron Fitt. Fitt sheds some light on BA’s Preseason Top 25, and the names and programs to watch as action kicks off next month.

Your calls and emails (sansanradio@hotmail.com) are always welcome, as BDD Live turns its attention to the metal bats in this week’s show. To join in on the debate, dial 646-716-7728.

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The top-ranked position player out of high school by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, Vitters was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for California in 2007. In his senior season, Vitters batted .390 with nine homers and 29 RBI in 24 games with Cypress, boasting an .890 slugging percentage.

Among all draft-eligible high school players, Baseball America selected Vitters as the best pure hitter in the 2007 Draft and also rated him as the second-best power hitter and owner of the second-best strike-zone judgment. Among all high school pitchers and position players nationwide, Baseball America listed Vitters as the player closest to playing in the major leagues.

As a junior in 2006, Vitters batted .352 with nine homers and 32 RBI, and was a 2006 Aflac All-American and a First-Team All-State selection.  Last summer, Vitters was named the Most Valuable Player of the Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic held in Wareham, Mass. 

“We are excited to add another quality prospect to our system,” said Josh Byrnes, Diamondbacks’ Senior Vice President and General Manager.  “Our area scout Mike Daughtry did a fantastic job scouting Jarrod and developing a relationship with the family. We look forward to introducing Jarrod sometime next week.”

Parker, 6-2, 175 pounds, was named the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year, and is a finalist for Gatorade National Player of the Year.  He finished the season 12-0 with a 0.10 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 70.0 innings, leading Norwell High School to a 35-0 record and the Indiana Class 3A state championship title.  Parker pitched 6.0 shutout innings in the championship game, striking out 6.  He also went 2-for-2 with a 2-run home run.  Parker didn’t allow a run this season until his sixth start, and didn’t allow an earned run until his seventh.

No. 1 overall pick David Price has officially come to terms with the Devil Rays. Price will receive a $5.6 million bonus as part of a six-year major league contract worth a guaranteed $8.5 million and possibly as much as $11.25 million.

Price’s bonus is the second-largest in draft history, behind only the $6.1 million Justin Upton got from the Diamondbacks as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. The guaranteed value of Price’s contract is the third-highest in draft annals, trailing only Mark Prior ($10.5 million, Cubs) and Mark Teixeira ($9.5 million, Rangers) from the 2001 draft.