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|
| Born: 03/22/1985 (Age: 29) | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Height: 6-6 | Weight: 250 |
| Mechanics |
| Relatively simple; gets to balance point consistently with easy rocker step; lead foot lands in the same spot consistently; arm speed appears diminished from 2013 exposure; arm drags behind body, particularly in stretch; delivery is similar from balance point in windup and kick in stretch; follow through from release is inconsistent and will fall off hard to first-base side at times; varies movement toward plate in stretch from standard kick to shorter slide step; ranged from 1.27-1.56 to plate; delivery needs consistency to allow for improvement in game. |
| Evaluator | Mark Anderson |
| Report Date | 10/27/2014 |
| Arm Angle | |
| Windup | Short; quiet |
| Rubber | 1st Base |
| Present Role | Years expected to perform at current level |
Future |
| 45; #5 starter or swing man | 1-2 | 50; #4 starter; has raw ingredients to regain some of prior success and eat innings in MLB rotation. |
| Pitch Type | Present Grade | Sitting Velocity | Peak Velocity | Report |
| Fastball | 45 | 88-91 | 94 | Offers traditional four-seam fastball and sinking two-seamer that loses 2-3 mph from four-seam variety; four-seam offering has singular plane to plate because of low arm slot, and can easily be seen by hitters; frequently squared in all outings; backed off four-seam pitch later in year and didn't throw as regularly, relying more heavily on two-seam fastball; good sink to two-seamer with ability to induce weak contact; showed some aptitude for varying velocity from 85-89 mph with two-seam; more effective in 87-88 mph range with a little more sharpness to sink; Overall velo dip from 2013 levels where four-seam sat 92-93 and two-seam sat 90-92; dip in velocity resulted in reduced effectiveness with pitch and must be recovered to regain overall positive impact on game. |
| Slider | 55 | 79-81 | Occasionally sharp with vertical movement; movement doesn't match arm angle and release point, both of which suggest more horizontal movement over vertical movement; break is short but enough to miss the center of the barrel; short break necessitates pitch being started in the zone and typically staying in or very close to the strike zone; lacked dramatic break of two previous seasons but was still only consistent offering that could keep hitters off balance; tried to rely on the pitch too frequently at times and would get barreled more consistently; above-average offering that can compliment fastball very well if velocity returns to allow fastball to stand on its own. | |
| Changeup | 40 | 84-86 | Threw at greater frequency in 2014 versus 2013; quality of pitch was still decidedly below average; consistently slowed arm when throwing of changeup; gave pitch away and slower arm appeared to decrease overall effectiveness of pitch; when thrown with conviction and arm speed, pitch will feature good rotation and some sink; increased frequency did not appear to result in improved quality over the course of the season; showed some feel for mixing pitch to his advantage to help induce weak contact, but infrequent quality did not support sequencing of pitch; clearly below average and in need of additional work if usage patterns are to continue. |
| Pitch Usage* | ||||||||||
| vs LHH | vs RHH | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SI | FA | SL | CH | SI | SL | FA | CH | |||
| Usage | 47.75% | 40.02% | 11.98% | 0.25% | 58.14% | 25.00% | 16.67% | 0.19% | ||
| Strike | 61.21% | 61.57% | 58.87% | 0.00% | 63.36% | 56.44% | 65.91% | 100.00% | ||
| Swing / Miss | 8.54% | 4.88% | 13.48% | 0.00% | 11.73% | 18.18% | 5.11% | 0.00% | ||
* Only showing top 5 pitches by pitch count. Stats are for the 2014 season
| Approach |
|
Attacks the zone with two primary pitches—fastball and slider; has shown ability to throw consistent strikes with all pitches in the past (51.4% in 2013), but regressed in this regard in 2014 (47.7%); worked slowly between pitches and rarely seemed truly comfortable on the mound this year; still attempted to attack the strike zone but could not always execute; lacked attempts at challenging inside with pitches and was rarely successful when he tried to move the fastball to the inner third; needs to regain strike-throwing ability that should enable him to be more aggressive in all parts of the strike zone, as well as out of the strike zone. |
| Makeup |
|
Confident on the mound; carries himself with professionalism one would expect of a seven-year veteran; shows some frustration on the bump, mostly with himself, but controls aggravation well and regains composure quickly; displays quality makeup on field. |
| Strengths |
|
Slider is still a high-quality offering; calm, cool and collected on the mound; big, durable frame with good strength; track record of durability and chewing up quality innings; movement on fastball can be occasional strength but was not consistent in 2014. |
| Weaknesses |
|
Fastball velocity backed up in 2014 and was not the type of pitch that could consistently beat MLB hitters; changeup remains below average; command and control regressed and was a weakness in 2014; arm speed and ability to keep arm with rest of body throughout delivery must improve/return going forward. |
| Means of Exploitation |
|
Assuming minimal improvement in ability to command fastball, hitters can remain patient and wait for fringy fastball to come into prime hitting zone, or wait for a walk; have to lay off slider as the pitch represents his only reliable offering; hitters should attack changeup if identified and left up in the strike zone; pitches above mid-thigh can be lifted and driven with authority consistently due to lack of movement in 2014 sample. |
| Overall |
|
Will pitch entire 2015 season at 30-years old; potential bargain on the free agent market; experienced somewhat mysterious drop in velocity in 2014 and if only temporary could result in a strong resurgence during the coming season; worthwhile gamble for any team looking for options at the back of the rotation, and may have even greater likelihood of success if tasked with navigating National League lineups; for relatively minimal cost and likely short-term contract, Masterson represents a low-risk, high-reward signing. |
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In a way I still am.