Portraits, Batting Stance & Pitching Photos, etc.

[Grant]

Please post pictures of players that might help roster makers to create faces, batting stances and pitch deliveries. Make sure that you label each picture with the players name, organization and level of baseball.

[Grant]

Jesus Montero, C, Grade A: I know that his position is up in the air, but I love this bat so much that I'm going to give him a straight Grade A. This is a Mike Piazza/Manny Ramirez type bat.

New York Yankees - Catcher

Born: 1989/11/28 Age: 20

Height: 6-4 Weight: 225

Place of birth: Guacara, Venezuela

Bats/Throws: R / R

Seasons: 0

[Grant]

Austin Romine, C, Grade B: Not in Montero's class as a hitter, but he's not bad, should improve further, and is much better defensively.

Austin Romine, c
School: El Toro HS, Lake Forest, Calif. Class: Sr.
B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 195. Birthdate: 11/22/88.

Scouting Report: Romine's brother Andrew is Arizona State's starting shortstop, and his dad Kevin played there before his brief big league career. Austin also has committed to the Sun Devils, but the consensus in Southern California is he'll never make it to Tempe. That's despite a left hand injury that has plagued him all season. In May, he reaggravated what was diagnosed as a torn ligament in his thumb and had surgery. Rather than sit out the rest of the season, he focused on being El Toro's closer. His arm is his best tool, among the most powerful in a strong draft crop of catchers. Romine's pop times to second base have ranged from 1.78 to 1.85 seconds, putting him near an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. Romine's receiving is less advanced, but he's no slouch there and has the athletic ability to improve his deficient footwork. Offensively, Romine has gap power and makes consistent contact, and he's got enough strength to project to hit for average home run power down the road.

[Grant]

Manny Banuelos, LHP, Grade B-: Borderline Grade B. Intriguing young lefty, undersized but has a very good arm and has performed quite well thus far.

With a nickname that sounds like something out of Radical Feminist Manifesto, Manny Banuelos is a young and tiny lefthander signed out of Mexico who's already being heralded as a shining success story for the Yankee's international scouting team. Man-Ban's fastball is an easy 92mph, while his changeup already looks like a plus pitch, remarkable in such a young player. He's been working on adding a curve and/or slider to his mix, but even his existing two-pitch arsenal has been effective so far: as an 18 year old in the Sally League in 2009, Buenolos more than held his own, going 9-5 with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, not to mention 104 strikeouts in 108 innings of work. He'll be brought along slowly, as the ever-conservative Yankees have no need to rush him, but if his next year is as good as his last, he'll have to be considered one of the top young arms in the minor leagues.

[Grant]

TEAM: New York Yankees
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'5' / 230
DOB: 12/8/1987
AGE: 22
BATS/THROWS: Right / Right

Strengths
As I mentioned earlier, McAllister underwent quite a transformation over the winter; the Yanks scrapped the sinker-slider approach he used in high school and had him focus on a four-seam fastball and curveball while working from a higher arm slot. McAllister now sports both a sinking two-seamer and a pretty straight four-seamer that sit in the low 90’s, occasionally touching 94. Having grown up around the game, McAllister had already developed a feel for a good changeup and picked up on some of the nuances of pitching by time he graduated high school, much earlier than most prepsters.

Having added upwards of 6 inches and 60 pounds to his frame in the last 20 months, McAllister now possesses a great pitcher’s frame (6′5″, 230 lbs) with a thick and powerful lower half. He should add some velocity as he finishes maturing. The Yanks had McAllister change his repetoire because they felt his size was more conducive to a power pitcher’s repetoire. He’s a challenge pitcher, and will pump strike after strike when he’s on. There are no makeup or work ethic questions.

Weaknesses
McAllister took to the curveball early in 2007, but he completely lost feel for it down the stretch with Staten Island. His ability to spin the pitch, as well as his ability to control it, deteroriated to the point that the Yanks had him resume throwing his slider. He’ll give it another go with the curve in 2008, but he’s got a long way to come with it – it’s almost as if 2007 was a lost year of development for his breaking pitches.

Aside from the curve, McAllister isn’t very good at controlling the running game, which is a common problem amongst dominant high school pitchers. His control is good, but his command needs work. His biggest flaw is his inexperience, but that’ll take care of itself in due time.

[Grant]

Talk about a good photo to make a CAP face with!





Slade Heathcott, OF, Grade B-: Excellent tools, will have to see how his skills develop, and if he overcomes concerns about his makeup from high school.

Proper Name: Zachary Slade Heathcott
Born: Sept. 28, 1990 in Texarkana, Texas

Hitting ability:
Heathcott has plus hitting ability from the left side of the plate.

Power:
He has plus power to all fields.

Running speed:
Even with a knee brace, he showed above-average speed.

Base running:

Has great instincts on the bases and will be a base-stealer in the future.

Arm strength:
Also clocking in at 95 mph in the past off the mound, his arm from the outfield is a big plus.

Fielding:
He's a plus defender who can play all three outfield positions well.

Range:
His speed and his instincts allow him to cover a lot of ground.

Physical Description: Heathcott is muscular with broad shoulders and a v-cut torso.

Medical Update:
He had ACL reconstruction surgery in November and has been playing with a knee brace, but shows no ill effects. He recently sprained a shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield, but sustained no structural damage.

Strengths:
Plus tools across the board. Intense competitor with instincts beyond his years.

Weaknesses:
There are some off-the-field issues that concern some. His makeup on the field is fine, but his character is the question.

Summary:
Heathcott is a very interesting high school outfielder with plus tools across the board. Even after November ACL surgery, he runs extremely well, has a plus arm from the outfield and can really hit for average and power from the left side of the plate. He's an intense competitor, but there is some concern over character issues off the field. The team that gets those questions answered could be the one to take him on Draft Day.

High School: Texas HS, Texarkana, Texas
Ht.: 6-1 Wt.: 190
Bats: L Throws: L