Sean Gallagher - The Biggest Return Piece in the Rich Harden Deal

When I solicited your views for the Rich Harden trade, the responses were varied amongst both Cubs and A’s fans. Make no bones about it - the A’s dealt a high-risk but high-impact player in Rich Harden and received a group of mediocre to above-average talent blocked at most positions in the Cubs’ system. However, is this such a bad thing? Remember that Harden hasn’t thrown 200 innings in his professional career ever, and the last two years he has lost significant time to injury. As a result, Rich Harden is no longer throwing a breaking ball, instead becoming a two-pitch (fastball/changeup) pitcher. How he gets it done with just two pitches as a starter is beyond me, but it is a testament to his amazing ability.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the package, and as a bonus, we’ll take a look at Sean Gallagher’s pitching mechanics - pulled straight from his recent start for Oakland, where he led the A’s to victory over division rival Los Angeles of Anaheim, striking out seven in his debut…

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The 98 mph fastball. The knee-buckling curveball. The leap off the mound. The electric arm.

Based on readers’ comments and repeated emails about Lincecum, I don’t need to say much more. Check out the sickest curveball you’ll see this side of Josh Beckett after the break.

But first, a preview

Disgusting. More on that later.

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Before I start the analysis of Justin Duchscherer (hereafter called “The Duke”), I want to confess that The Duke is my favorite pitcher of all time. He gets it done at the major league level without a 90+ mph fastball and throws five pitches for strikes, relying on his pinpoint control and his ability to change speeds and locations at will. He has been a setup man, a closer, and now finally gets his wish and has been converted into a starter (he did win a minor league Cy Young, after all). How does the Duke do it?

Well, the Duke throws the following pitches (source: Fangraphs):

• Fastball: 86 mph (47.1%)
• Slider: 81.3 mph (3.2%)
• Cutter: 81.6 mph (26.0%)
• Curve: 69.8 mph (22.8%)
• Change: 79.9 mph (0.9%)

A soft-tossing righty junkballer that dominates the American League? You bet. More after the break…

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Clayton Kershaw, a 20-year old phenom in the Dodgers organization, is one of the top pitching prospects in the nation. Today (5/25), Kershaw made his MLB debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. Millions of Dodgers fans watched to see the kid touted as the next Sandy Koufax and hoped that the young lefty would live up to the hype.

He didn’t disappoint. Kershaw gave six solid innings of work, striking out seven, walking one, and scattering five hits, giving up just two runs in the process. Unfortunately due to some defensive misplays (Dewitt’s throw home, Loney’s juggling of a pop fly), Kershaw got stuck with an extra run he perhaps didn’t deserve. The Dodgers maligned offense couldn’t give him three runs, so he left the game tied, unable to get a win. However, by any measure, Kershaw’s debut was a success. He showed off excellent command of his 94 mph fastball - dialing it up to 96 on plenty of occasions - and maintained his velocity even as he eclipsed 100 pitches in his start. His 72-76 mph curveball was devastating, as he was liable to throw it in any count to any hitter, burying it in the dirt for swinging strikeouts and simply looping it over the plate for a get-me-over strike.

I saw an outstanding young pitcher with a ton of promise today. Let’s take a look at what Clayton Kershaw has done in the past and let’s look to the future as we analyze his mechanics…

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Ohio’s own (I’m from Cleveland), Andy Sonnanstine hails from Barberton and attended college at Kent State University. Though Sonnanstine posted a 5.85 ERA last year and currently has a 4.53 ERA, his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) stats are 4.26 and 3.89, respectively. That indicates he is the recipient of some poor defense behind him and is simply getting unlucky instead of him being a subpar pitcher.

Sonnanstine throws a ton of different pitches for strikes. Here’s his 2007 Pitch f/x data, courtesy of Josh Kalk’s site:

If that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. Read on!

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[Editor's Note: I've invited Kyle Boddy of Driveline Mechanics  to analyze an Indians pitcher. Here's his statistical and mechanical analysis of Cliff Lee's amazing start to the 2008 season - Ryan]

Phrases that I heard about Cliff Lee over the course of the 2007 season:

• He’s a bum!
• Good riddance - enjoy Double-A, you idiot.
• We should have traded you for Matt Murton while we had the chance!

Phrases that I have heard about Cliff Lee over the course of the 2008 season:

• We love you!
• Never leave!
• Thank God we didn’t trade you for Matt Murton!

Funny how things change, isn’t it?

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Posted over at Driveline Mechanics...

Source: Getty Images

I hate to start this article off all doom-and-gloom style, but I’m already unhappy with where this analysis is going. This still accurately captures the intensity of pitching for the Yankees, but it also indicates two things I am probably going to dislike in Wang’s delivery:

Let’s check out the video…

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From Driveline Mechanics...

Royals’ fan Brian commented on the request post, stating how much he liked the site and if I could do a bit on Joakim Soria:

I’d love to see an analysis on Joakim Soria. The guy doesn’t throw all that hard but gets K’s all the same. I’ve read that batter’s can’t really pick up his release point and that it looks like the ball is coming out of his sleeve. I’d be interested to see if his mechanics might explain this. Thanks, I love the Web site.

Flattery will get you everywhere, my friend! Let that be a lesson to all readers out there.

I’ve gotten a few comments on various forums and blogs that I keep track of using blogstats in WordPress, and almost all of the A’s, Rays, and Royals fans have been very supportive and interested in my work. Yankees fans tend to question my credibility and flame me. Though it is over a small sample size, it sure does reinforce a few stereotypes! Let it be known that I have a bias towards a readership who likes to have civil debate with me, rather than a group who would rather just post irrelevant jabs.

Anyway, moving on to Soria. Royals’ closer Joakim Soria is another Rule 5 draft success story, being stolen out of the Padres organization after they left him exposed. He went on to have a pretty damn good year in 2007, but spent some time on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

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As requested, by readers Mark and Heater, I’ve done some analysis of Joba Chamberlain. Most people are familiar with his body of work statistically, so I’ll skip that for this analysis and focus only on the mechanical side of the top prospect in pinstripes.

Source: pitchingclips.com

Unfortunately for Yankees fans, I don’t really like what I see…

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From drivelinemechanics.com...

I have to admit, Zack Greinke has been one of my favorite pitchers to watch ever since he made it to the big leagues with the Royals. Yes, I’m an Indians fan, but like the folks over at Baseball Prospectus, his stuff is exciting to watch. He throws both of his fastballs at varying speeds and locations, he has a great curveball that he occasionally hangs at 70 mph, and flashes a plus changeup and slider combination to boot.

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Aaron Crow, a Mizzou pitcher, seems to be getting quite a bit of press lately. Both Chris O’Leary and Saber-Scouting have written about him, the former disliking his arm action (showing signs of what Chris calls the Inverted W and Inverted L) while the latter likes his ability to scap load and his elbow picking up the ball.

I don't like his mechanics. Read more after the jump...

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Over at Driveline Mechanics, I did an analysis of James Shields' mechanics...

James (Jamie) Shields, a 16th round draft pick (466th overall) in 2000, hails from Hart HS in Newhall, CA. He lost his 2002 season due to a shoulder injury, but has otherwise been effective at every level of baseball, progressing from low-A ball in 2001 to an MLB debut in 2006, throwing 124 innings for Tampa Bay and posting a 4.38 FIP, 7.4 k/g, 2.7 bb/g, and 1.28 hr/g stat line. He also contributed 6.8 win shares, quite good for a rookie who had limited action in the majors at age 24.

In 2007, Shields broke out – he threw 215 innings with a 4.00 FIP (3.91 xFIP), 8.1 k/g, 1.6 bb/g, 1.24 hr/g – improvement in all his peripheral statistics, and though he still gives up more than his fair share of home runs, his walk rate depresses the value of those home runs. He posted 20 quality starts out of 31 possible, and had a few appearances that fell just short. He only allowed 5+ earned runs in 6 of his 31 starts, only getting blown out vs. the Yankees on July 22nd (3.1 IP, 10 ER).

Shields gives the Rays an excellent #2 starter behind Scott Kazmir, and he is a major key to the long-term success for the franchise. Like many of the Rays players, he is young, cost-controlled, and homegrown. Marcel projects him to throw 180 innings with a 4.08 ERA, sporting peripherals somewhere between his 2006 and 2007 seasons. Shields will have a much-improved defense behind him in 2008 with ROY frontrunner Evan Longoria at the hot corner and Jason Bartlett replacing the stone hands of Brendan Harris at shortstop.

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Over at Driveline Mechanics, I did an analysis of Rich Harden's pitching mechanics....

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