2009 Pitcher/Catcher Indoor Showcase
The Pitcher/Catcher Indoor showcase at the Perfect Game headquarters in Cedar Rapids is an annual oasis of baseball in the middle of the Upper Midwest Winter.
It’s a chance to see real baseball for two days and see some very good players. The area scouts are welcome for the opportunity to see top players and often interact with them in a relaxed atmosphere and get a better feel for the young men.
One of the ironies of this year’s early February event is that the wind chill is predicted to be about 90-100 degrees WARMER (think about that for a minute, Florida residents) than it was last year on the same weekend. In 2008, wind chills in Cedar Rapids were a brutal 40-50 below 0, so cold that I stayed an extra night in Cedar Rapids rather than drive home Sunday night and risk being stranded on I-80. This year the temperature is supposed to be a much more moderate 45-50 above zero and sunny.
The two highlights of the 2008 showcase for me were watching Jake Odorizzi and Jacob Turner pitch.
One thing that watching a pitcher in the closed confines of the hitting tunnel at the PG facility does is maximize the movement that a pitcher gets on his pitches. Odorizzi threw from an extended mid ¾’s release point and his 90-93 mph fastball had serious hard diving action. His slider from the same release point was big and sharp. Odorizzi ended up as the 32nd overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Turner is now a well known Aflac All-American but last February was the first time that he’d pitched in front of Perfect Game scouts. His heavy 92 mph fastball was very impressive and he didn’t work hard to throw it. What was most impressive was comparing that Turner with the one that came to the PG National 5 months later; he’d lost about 15 lbs since the winter and hardened up his body and even further sharpened his stuff. You like to see that sort of dedication and awareness in a young prospect.
2009 Themes
There are three themes that I’m looking at for this coming weekend after looking at the player list.
a) Boy, are these guys big! Some of the top pitchers we’ll be seeing include 6-8 Andy Flett, 6-6/240 Michael Bibas, 6-5 Jon Keller, 6-5, Jon Carlson, 6-4, Michael Foltynewiez, 6-3/215 Vincent Spiker…..the list goes on. Some of them will be caught by 6-5/240 Ryan Huck. I hope Betty Ford has laid on some extra food for the annual spread she puts out in the building lobby.
b) Last year there were eight pitchers who hit or topped 90 mph, led by Odorizzi’s 93 mph. The all-time record for the event, by the way, is 94 mph, shared by big league infielder Matt Macri (2001), LHP Casey Crosby and RHP Cody Scarpetta (both 2007). I wouldn’t be surprised if that mark isn’t topped in 2009, the list of pitchers, especially from Illinois, is very impressive.
c) The host state of Iowa doesn’t have a high profile pitching prospect such as a Jeremy Hellickson or B.J. Hermsen, but there will be a number of hard throwing Iowan’s in attendance. RHP Matt Koch (2009) hasn’t been seen much but threw 91 mph at the PG National last summer and has signed with Louisville. RHP Jon Keller (2010) is from nearby Xavier HS and has really come on strong in the last half year, pitched very well in Jupiter and could be the next star Iowa pitching prospect. 5-10 RHP Dean McArdle (2009) has a 33 ACT and is going to Stanford, but his 92 mph fastball and nasty curveball are top prospect offerings.
Check back on the PGCrosschecker.com Blog for highlights from the weekend!