Travis Wood: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 9 K's in exhibition game vs Beloit

[Doc. Scott]

Originally Posted by Aronchis

Doc, if you use Woods numbers up to this point AND consider that he doesn't have a quality curveball yet, he has to be throwing some heat to have had the success at this point in his career. Yeah, his changeup is more advanced, but topping out at 90 with a good change doesn't do it.

Great control and a plus-plus changeup? Absolutely he could put up those small-sample size numbers against GCL and Rookie competition.

Young pitchers' speed tends to vary more because they are still finding their comfort zone in terms of "working velocity". I have no doubt Wood has thrown 94 in the past. But I do not believe he commonly works at that speed. Besides, these were reports from spring training. They could be holding him back a little.

Don't take what I said as some indictment of Wood's potential. But scouting reports can exaggerate or overemphasize the high-end.

[cincyinco]

Originally Posted by Doc. Scott

I heard it from someone who has seen gun readings very recently. As in this spring.

Look, if the kid averaged a 93-94 fastball as a teenaged lefthander he would have been a much higher overall draft pick. How many teenagers in organized baseball can average that speed on a fastball? Felix Hernandez is the only one of significance that comes to my mind. The others are people like Mark Rogers and Colt Griffin. All righthanders.

The same source also claimed Tyler Pelland's velocity is down into the high eighties. Reason: unknown.

I think a lot of people thought Wood was OVER drafted by the Reds!! I think there was a consensus at the time that Wood had a great arm and fastball, but not much else. He was better than advertised...

[Redmachine2003]

Originally Posted by Doc. Scott

I heard it from someone who has seen gun readings very recently. As in this spring.

Look, if the kid averaged a 93-94 fastball as a teenaged lefthander he would have been a much higher overall draft pick. How many teenagers in organized baseball can average that speed on a fastball? Felix Hernandez is the only one of significance that comes to my mind. The others are people like Mark Rogers and Colt Griffin. All righthanders.

The same source also claimed Tyler Pelland's velocity is down into the high eighties. Reason: unknown.

The next question is when was the last time the gun was check? If the gun is off by 3 mph then his fast ball is still in that 93-95 range and Pelland is still in the 90's

[IslandRed]

Someone wrote on this recently on BP, saying scouts had to quantify velocity two ways -- "sits at" and "touches." If Wood's fastball sits at 90 and can touch 94, that's plenty good enough for a lefty his age, if the other aspects (command and movement) are there. Developmentally, you wouldn't want to see a kid that young maxing out on every fastball anyway.

[Doc. Scott]

Originally Posted by cincyinco

I think a lot of people thought Wood was OVER drafted by the Reds!! I think there was a consensus at the time that Wood had a great arm and fastball, but not much else. He was better than advertised...

And, if you read the press and how it changed from draft time to now, you'll see growing mentions of how Wood was a "surprise" and different from his scouting report.

He was billed as a flamethrower in advance of draft day, and turned out to have decent --> good velocity with a great changeup and control.

IslandRed is spot on. And if a scout sees a pitcher touch 95, of course he's going to note it just because it becomes a plausible thing that happened and therefore can be repeated at some point. That's far more exciting to report back than "threw 94 twice and averaged 89." Besides, often a kid knows a bunch of scouts are in attendance, so he throws extra hard.

[Doc. Scott]

Originally Posted by Redmachine2003

The next question is when was the last time the gun was check? If the gun is off by 3 mph then his fast ball is still in that 93-95 range and Pelland is still in the 90's

That... I have no idea. Pelland is set to repeat at Sarasota (not listed on published Chattanooga roster), so if it's a broken gun, he's gonna keep pitching on it. Still, the gun is machinery with a warranty and licensed service technicians and stuff. Chances are it's Tyler.

But please don't spout off about how he has an arm injury. I'm not attempting to claim that. Yet.