BA report: When scouts use the term "projection righthander," Rowland is exactly the type of pitcher they're talking about with his body type, athleticism and bloodlines. At 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, Rowland looks the part of a young Josh Johnson. He is one of the top basketball players in California and could have accepted scholarships to small Division I programs as a shooting guard. Rowland's father Rich is a former big league catcher (Tigers and Red Sox from 1990-1995), and his older brother is a college catcher. As for his actual abilities, Rowland pitches with an 87-90 mph fastball and touches 92. He uses a split-finger fastball as his primary out pitch, with an inconsistent overhand curveball, a changeup and recently developed cutter/slider. Rowland has a loose, easy, quick arm stroke from an overhand slot. When he takes his time to get out over his front leg, he gets good tilt and late run and his curveball then shows as future average pitch. He has signed with Oregon. PG report: SCOUTING PROFILE (3/1):The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Rowland is the top pitching prospect in Northern California and could also stake a claim for being the best basketball player in the 2010 baseball class nationally. He has received much more attention, in fact, for his exploits on the basketball court , where he averaged 26.5 points and 14.5 rebounds a game this winter and finished as the 26th leading scorer (2,548 points) in California prep history. His near and long-term future, though, appears to be on the mound. Rowland has a very easy, low-effort delivery and a smooth, tension-free arm action that produces a low-90s fastball that will bump 93-94 mph occasionally. His curveball is a good second pitch and he does a nice job throwing strikes with all his pitches. Rowland’s athleticism, size and arm action make scouts believe that he hasn’t reached anywhere near his potential on the mound. Scouts also appreciate his bloodlines, as Rowland’s father, Rich, caught in the major leagues for 10 years. Rowland has signed to play baseball at Oregon, although there is speculation that he might also play basketball at the Pac-10 school should he not end up in professional baseball first. —DAVID RAWNSLEY UPDATE (5/15): Rowland’s velocity has never taken the tick up from a steady 90-92 mph that many scouts had hoped for this spring, although there have been no complaints about his consistency either. In fact, he has been brilliant, at times, never more so than on April 14, when he threw a perfect game and struck out 13 while making just 71 pitches over seven innings. He didn’t allow a run through his first four starts, and through 58 innings was 6-1, 0.24 with 10 walks and 105 strikeouts. Scouts still believe there’s more velocity is in there, only that bump now would have probably moved the 6-6 righthander up into first-round contention.—DR --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.112.25.133