Cueto, others turning heads with eye-popping springs
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: March 21, 2008
SARASOTA, Fla. -- How can you tell when a pitcher has inspired a scout to awaken from his somnambulant spring-training state?
When he bolts to attention as his radar gun begins to rattle. And, especially, when he then feels the need to start texting the gun numbers to his disbelieving friends.
"94-mph 2-seam ... 96 4-seam ... 96, 95, 94, 95, 94 ... 95 fb, 88 sli (slider), 87 sli, 96, 88 sli, 86 (change)."
The vignette we just described is true. Those text-message excerpts? Also 100 percent true. The scout will remain nameless. The pitcher who provoked this text-a-thon? He will not remain nameless.
Johnny Cueto could begin the regular season in the Reds' starting rotation.
That name, for future reference: Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto. Remember it. We'll help you remember it, in fact, by naming him the 21-year-old captain of our 2008 Spring Training All-Eye-Popper Team.
So what did a guy need to do this spring to qualify for this team? It wasn't too complicated:
Just have himself a spring training that blew up the stat sheet, woke up every scout in the ballpark and even caused a fan or three to stop leaning against the tiki bar.
So let's start at the top -- with the buzz-master champion of the entire state of Florida:
Johnny Cueto, RHP, Reds
SPRING STAT LINE: 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 13 IP, 8 H, 12 K
Cueto and fellow Reds phenom Edinson Volquez (more on him later) have turned into more than mere March curiosities this spring. They've moved their new veteran teammates to start actively lobbying -- loudly -- for both of them to make the team.
"I don't know where they're going to start the season," said Adam Dunn this week. "But I would be pushing for them to start the season with us."
Well, thanks for the advice. The Reds aren't tipping their hand on that front. But they might have a mutiny on their hands if one, or both of those two, don't open the season in the rotation.
Cueto has been putting on a show from day one, blowing mid-90s fastballs past good hitters, freezing them with his dive-bombing slider, throwing invisible changeups on any count and doing it all with a presence and command that makes it tough to believe he's still only 21.
"His stuff speaks for itself," said catcher Paul Bako. "But for me, what's even more impressive is just where he is as a pitcher at a young age, and the way he commands the ball. He's got three 'plus' pitches, and the way he can pitch with those pitches has impressed me much more than his stuff."
"You see so many guys this time of year throwing [their fastballs] in the high 80s and low 90s," said one scout, "that when a guy comes along who throws it 94-97, to both sides of the plate, down in the zone, and complements that with a hard upper-80s slider and a changeup that goes straight down -- all for strikes -- let's just say it catches your attention."
Well, he's got our attention, anyway. All he has left to catch at this point is a spot on the Reds' roster.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by George Anderson
