Prospect Profile: Tyler Pelland

[camisadelgolf]

Name: Tyler W. Pelland
Date of Birth: October 9, 1983
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 203 lbs.
Bats: right
Throws: left
Position: starting pitcher
Team: Chattanooga Lookouts
Number: 39
Draft: 9th round (#268 overall) by Boston Red Sox in 2002 amateur draft
School: Mount Abraham H.S. (Vermont) (had a scholarship to Clemson but opted to sign with the Red Sox for $240,000)
How Acquired: In 2003, the Reds traded Scott Williamson for Phil Dumatrait, a player to be named later, and cash. It has been rumored that the player to be named later was going to be Tyler Pelland all along, but the two teams had to wait until a full year after Pelland had been in the organization following the draft due to MLB rules. Although it is not yet known for sure, it is popular belief that the trade was a steal for the Red Sox.

Bio: Tyler Pelland is an athletic left-hander with several high school and Vermont accolades. Ty's hobbies include fishing and hunting. Said to have a fierce mound presence, he compares to Kenny Rogers (on the field ). At one point, his fastball would top out in the high-80s, but recently, it has been clocked as high as 96 MPH. Pelland has a very promising curveball, as well, but it's taking time for his changeup to catch up to the rest of his stuff, which has been described as "nasty". If all goes well, he projects to be a number three starter in the bigs, but the big knock on him is his control, making the odds against him.

In 2004, Pelland was a Rookie League All-Star and Pioneer League All-Star while with Billings, but his season quickly turned for the worse after a promotion to A-ball (Dayton). However, it should be noted that he led the Pioneer League in wins, was second in strikeouts, and fourth in innings pitched. Unfortunately, his lack of control showed as he led the league in wild pitches and was fourth in walks. The same year, while with Dayton, he was the youngest player on the team.

2005 saw him rebound a bit as he improved in nearly every facet of the game, and he was still very young for the league. In fact, he was the youngest professional baseball player from Vermont.

So far, in 2006, things are looking good for Pelland. He was recently picked as the #8 prospect in the Reds system by Baseball America. And for the season, here's how his line looks:

Team	             W L ERA   G GS CG SHO SV   IP  H  R  ER HR BB SO
Chattanooga Lookouts 4 2 3.70 15 15  0  0   0 73.0 83 42  30  7 44 52

As you can see, the K-to-BB ratio is alarming, but Tyler Pelland should be an interesting prospect to watch. If control and consistency ever come to him, he should be a very solid starter for the Reds in the future.

[reds44]

Nice. Did you write that bio yourself?

[camisadelgolf]

Yeah.

[Aronchis]

Pelland's stuff has gotten exposed in AA. While his hits and walks may be high because he isn't ready to succeed at that level, his strikeouts shouldn't fall off like that. I bet he is all arm and little else.

[TRF]

He's been playing one level higher than he should be for 2 years now. Here's hoping the Reds allow him to repeat AA next year in the hopes he dominates the level.

[Aronchis]

He's been playing one level higher than he should be for 2 years now. Here's hoping the Reds allow him to repeat AA next year in the hopes he dominates the level.

It doesn't matter, his stuff has been exposed. He can dominate all he wants, he probably won't cut it as a starter in the bigs.

[TRF]

Or maybe he hasn't been allowed to properly develop. Because he hasn't been pitching at appropriate levels he may feel he has to rely on the pitches he knows rather than the ones he needs to develop. confidence is funny that way.

[Aronchis]

Or maybe he hasn't been allowed to properly develop. Because he hasn't been pitching at appropriate levels he may feel he has to rely on the pitches he knows rather than the ones he needs to develop. confidence is funny that way.

Mabye but that the guys krate has dropped signifigently is telling.

[JaxRed]

To you.

[Betterread]

This is the first year Pelland has been treated exclusively as a starter - expected to go at least 5 innings - which he has been successful at (for the most part). His hits/9 innings and K rate are not good, but he has power stuff. I have not seen him pitch for the last two years, but he was a really raw arm when I saw him, so he must have improved to get to AA.

[camisadelgolf]

His 1.74 WHIP is horrendous, but when you see that his ERA is only 3.70, you know he has to be doing something right. For what it's worth, Phil Dumatrait's ERA was 3.62 before he was promoted to Louisville.

[Doc. Scott]

His 1.74 WHIP is horrendous, but when you see that his ERA is only 3.70, you know he has to be doing something right. For what it's worth, Phil Dumatrait's ERA was 3.62 before he was promoted to Louisville.

Well, twelve unearned runs, a phenomenal bullpen that's bailed him out, and some good ol' fashioned luck have helped.

Pelland's had a couple of great games, but he's had more of the 4-8-3-2-3-4 lines this season. I think he'll get better, though.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

He is young. To put it in perspective, had he gone to college out of HS he would have been eligible for last year's (2005) draft. There are only three pitchers from the Reds 2005 draft (LeCure, Avery, and Woody) that are even pitching at the high-A level (Sarasota) and right now and Pelland is in AA. Same with Travis Chick.

Like Chick, I also like the fact that he has averaged a K an inning through his first 3 years of pro ball. Now about that command....


Good write up, camisadelgolf.

[camisadelgolf]

Pelland has committed four errors on his own, so he's to blame for some of the unearned runs. But in his defense (no pun intended), the guys behind him (as to be expected out of A-ball players) hasn't exactly been phenomenal.

[camisadelgolf]

I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but here are some stats on Pelland in comparison to the rest of the league that I found interesting:

1st in games started
27th in innings pitched
2nd in hit batsmen
2nd in walks
7th in runs allowed
21st in earned runs allowed
worst in WHIP (of pitchers who average at least .8 innings per outing)

Granted, they're mostly discouraging stats, but keep in mind, Pelland is only the Lookouts' third-youngest player (with Topcat's Travis Chick being second-youngest and Gallen5862's Homer Bailey being youngest).