Marc Hulet over at Fangraphs has a scouting report up on Kyle Hendricks after seeing him pitch August 1st. His review is mixed.
The Good:
- He’s dominated hitters in the minors due to above-average control and command of his four-pitch repertoire (fastball, curveball, cutter, changeup)
- His simple mechanics allow him to consistently repeat his delivery — both from the full windup and from the stretch.
- Hendricks did a nice job of changing speeds and mixing his pitches…
- [He] received swinging strikeouts on both his changeup — which showed plus potential — and on his cutter…
The Bad:
- He has a fringe-average fastball in the 87-91 mph range.
- I was a little surprised in his lack of athleticism.
- His curveball was just fringe-average on this day and did not result in many swings and misses — most were fouled off.
Summation:
He has a strong frame, keeps his pitch count to a minimum and has a low-effort delivery, all of which should allow him to act as an innings-eating No. 4 starter.
Given the lack of pitching depth in the Cubs' system, it's hard not to be pleased with how Hendricks's numbers have held up this year in his transition to the high minors, despite a middling strikeout rate. Compared to the reports we heard at the time of the Dempster trade ("organizational guy", "throw-in," etc…), I suppose we should take "innings-eating No. 4 starter" as progress.
Comments
See also: Travis Wood
BerseliusQuote Reply
With the offense we could potentially have in 2016, a staff full of innings eating #4s might be enough to win 90 games every year.
sitrickQuote Reply
Some crazy shit going on in this Cards-Pirates game
Recalcitrant Blogger NateQuote Reply
There is NOTHING wrong with an innings-eater 4 type. A solid 4 starts on probably 27 of the teams in baseball right now (not saying that Hendricks is definitely that, but there’s a good chance he is).
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
(dying laughing) he’s not my son, Myles
GWQuote Reply