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2008 A nice below-the-radar pickup by Dave Dombrowski, Bazardo was acquired last spring in exchange for Jeff Frazier, a toolsy outfield prospect who failed to hit at Double-A at age 24. Bazardo uses a low-90s fastball and average curve and change to get groundballs, but he lacks an out pitch, which limits both his strikeouts and his projectability. The exodus of prospects from this system bodes well for Bazardo. 2007 Bazardo`s a hard thrower whose fastball is as straight as a rail. His strikeout rate is in free-fall, his control is good, but not great, and he doesn`t compensate by getting a lot of ground balls. He`s only 22, though, and he`s got a great name, so life could be worse. Bazardo was used as a reliever in winter ball; that might be a role to which he`s better suited. 2006 Bazardo fell off a bit in Double-A after taking advantage of the pitcher-friendly Florida State League in `04, but made it to the bigs for a cup of coffee with the Marlins. His velocity has come down in the last few years, from as high as 97 at Greensboro in 2003 to the low 90s last season, although his strikeout rates have ticked upwards along the way. That may be a function of Bazardo getting smarter and no longer gunning his fastball down the middle of the plate. Regardless, retaining a veteran swingman like Ron Villone was a luxury the last-place Mariners didn`t need; getting Bazardo for him just after his 21st birthday was a minor coup. 2005 The convention of using a July 1 cutoff to determine player age mislabels Bazardo, who's an "old" 20. Scouts love him for his mid-90s fastball and slider. The low strikeout rate is a definite concern, although it's mitigated by the great control and insanely low home-run rate. The real concern is his arm; Bazardo has by no means been abused, but the attrition rate for guys this young this advanced is high.
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