In today’s featured match up you will see two young southpaws battling with Tyler Skaggs vs. Clayton Kershaw. I apologize, you will not see that particular pitching match up today, nor tomorrow; however, look for this match up coming as early as this July or August. Yes, Skaggs is my Southern League Top prospect. This gem was sent to Arizona along with a hand full of other prospects and SP Joe Saunders, who was sought for being the main piece; for, hard flame-throwing righty Dan Haren. Both MLB clubs grew with this deal as well as their parent clubs who received depth at many different levels of the system.
Being drafted in the first round of the 09’ draft was the first step to success for this young man. Tyler has the poise to be one of the next biggest pitching stars to hit in today’s game. I myself found a diamond in the rough last year when I drafted Tyler with the last pick of the 3rd round(Note: this was not a total draft, I had 6 slots to fill to get my 20 man roster, if you want to say Tyler was drafted in the 17th round.) Skaggs mechanically is touted to be a tall, lengthy Randy Johnson. His delivery is considered wicked, at times it looks as if he is placing a lot of stress on the left shoulder of his. His stride to the plate looks long, at sometimes makes him lose his command and ability to hit the strike zone.
Skaggs has two great pitches, therefore, will need to develop a 3rd pitch to become the effective MLB pitcher Arizona traded for. His 12-6 curveball is phenomenal, again although can get a little wild with his long stride. His fastball is next which steadily reaches 90-91 MPH. His 3rd pitch, however, not proud of it is his change-up which he merely throws to the opposing hitters. He started out strong in 2010 playing for both Cedar Rapids (LAA), and South Bend (ARI), totaling a record of 9-5 with a 3.29 ERA. His K/9 ratio that particular year in both leagues was 9.1.
Skaggs continued his domination of hitters in 2011 with a record of 9-6 with a 2.96 ERA. He rose is K/9 ratio from 2010 of 9.1 to an average of 11.3. Usually you see the K/9 ratio decrease a tad when getting promoted, not in Skaggs case. In 27 total games he pitched 158 innings, only walking 49 leaving his WHIP to a 1.105. Skaggs will be taken off dynasty boards in the first round pending number of teams. MLB Prediction: Make starting rotation out of Spring Training or Call up in June.
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