Scouting Report: Mike Minor, Jeffrey Inman

Some of you may have gotten my message that there would be a fine pitching matchup on Friday night between a pair of top college pitchers, Mike Minor from Vanderbilt and Jeffrey Inman from Stanford. For those that didn't get to see the game, here is what I saw from both pitchers.

Mike Minor
Fastball: No radar gun in this one but it didn’t look overpowering. Was probably throwing in his usual 88-92 range. Plus command, hits the corners with ease. Will throw even more strikes when he gets that Tom Glavine strike zone. Doesn’t have much movement other than a little natural lefty tail.

Breaking Ball: Featured a hard slider that was very good. Got a few swings and misses with it even when he threw it in the zone. Also possesses a slower, 11-5 curveball that could be above average at times. Minor used it more effectively against lefty hitters.

Changeup: Plus pitch, Minor’s best offspeed pitch. When he’s throwing it well, it’s nasty. Its Santana like in that it moves down and in to righties. Never did he leave it up in the zone. Either he threw it for a strike or he got it down.

Other Notes: Pretty clean mechanics although he does seem to short arm the ball a little. Stanford hitters made some good contact against him but I think it had a lot to do with the metal bats. It will take a good amount of strength to knock Minor around with wood bats.

Jeffrey Inman
Fastball: Explosive. Again, no radar guns but it was getting on the hitter in a hurry. Reportedly works in the 90-93 range and I’d say he was in this outing. Velocity seemed to pick up as the game went along. Great movement as it has a ton of arm side run. He left the pitch up in the zone a little more than you’d like to see but he was able to spot the ball well when he threw it for strikes, especially inside to lefties.

Breaking Ball: An above average to plus pitch at times. Very good 12-6 movement that Vanderbilt hitters struggled to make contact with. He left the pitch up in the zone sometimes but it was evident that he was releasing a bit too soon on some of the ones he did leave up. If he can stay on top of it, Inman’s curve is going to be a good outpitch.

Changeup: Threw maybe one or two really good ones but the majority of them sailed high out of the zone. Has potential but Inman is going to have to work on it.

Other notes: It’s obvious that he mostly needs to work on getting a better downward plane to the plate so he can stay on top of his pitches. All of his offerings usually missed high when he was out of the zone. Good pitchers frame that he could probably add 10-15 pounds to. Slow delivery to the plate but overall he had good mechanics.