5'11, 185 lb starters are rare, but if they can maintain their stuff and gets hitters whiffing enough they have a shot at surviving in the big leagues. Hansel Robles is that guy for the Cyclones, and he definitely showed starter stuff tonight against the Staten Island Yankees.
Although he is 21-years of age, which is somewhat old for prospects in the New York-Penn League, Robles threw four controlled pitches and repeated his delivery. I've preached this many times in the past, but the ability for a starter at this level to repeat his delivery is integral if he has any hopes of progressing as a pitcher rather fast. The small righty threw on a consistent, downhill plain while attacking hitters and missing bats. His fastball touched as high as 94 MPH, though he regularly sat at 91-92. He threw a slider that had some bite, and although it isn't anywhere close to being a plus pitch, it has some projection. He threw a curve at 80-or-so MPH but at times hung it and didn't use it economically.
One of the biggest bright spots of Robles' start was his line of seven strikeouts in five innings. Almost all seven of the Ks came on fastballs that were thrown slightly away from the batter. His fastball does have some outward cut to right-handers, so I suppose it helped him out in that sense. Additionally, he pitched with lots of confidence and worked fast. Working fast sometimes hurts pitchers at low levels if they speed up and fail to maintain their delivery and stuff, but Robles wasn't letting down at all.
Next time out, I'll be keeping an eye on his stuff more than anything. If his fastball continues to be his swing-and-miss pitch than that's a very good sign and a very bad one for opposing hitters.
can anyne identify the right hand pitcher shown on the Brooklyn Cyclones Pocket Schedule, Game Program and media Guide ( #12 )
Posted by: Michael Sebastiano | 07/07/2012 at 04:08 PM