3rd Overall: Diamondbacks Select RHP Trevor Bauer
By Aaron Somers
The Arizona Diamondbacks had the third pick in the 2011 first-year player draft and selected the right-handed starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. Over the past three years Bauer has been an extremely dominant collegiate pitcher for the UCLA Bruins. In 2011 he went 13-2 with a 1.25 ERA, and has thrown ten complete games this season. Bauer had 203 strikeouts and was named National Player of the year. A California native, Bauer won’t be far from home in Arizona.
College Stats:
2009: 105.1 IP, 2.99 ERA, 92 SO, 27 BB
2010: 131.1 IP, 3.02 ERA, 165 SO, 41 BB
2011: 136.2 IP, 1.25 ERA, 203 SO, 36 BB
The Stuff:
The Right-Hander from UCLA has excellent stuff, he has two plus-potential pitches including a fastball that can touch the high 90’s, and he regularly sits it in the low 90’s. His college strikeout numbers indicate how effectively he uses the fireball. Bauer throws a hard curve-ball that averages around 80; he is able to throw this pitch to both sides. Bauer also works an effective change up to complete a solid arsenal.
Potential Issues:
While he has pitched very well at the collegiate level, he has been worked like a dog. It’s been said many times, but college coaches are not interested in conservative approaches with pitchers. Coach John Savage is paid to win games, not farm a pitcher for the pros. While ten complete games are certainly impressive…he pitched ten complete games, far too many innings for any developing pitcher to log.
Let’s examine the innings pitched further, his freshman year he threw 105.1 innings, as a sophomore he threw 131.1 and this season as junior he threw 136.2 innings. The average college starting pitcher sits around 100 innings on average. As a comparison the top college pitcher taken in the 2010 Draft- Drew Pomeranz started the same number of games (16) and threw only 100.7 innings.
Delivering the Goods:
I’ve attached below a video of Bauer’s delivery. Some have called it a complex delivery, he lifts the left knee to his glove and then reaches back to throw. In throwing, he plants his foot about a yard and a half in front of the rubber on the release.
What Bauer Thinks:
When asked what he learned at UCLA, Bauer said being around people that knew the game was something he couldn’t put a price on. Basically, he felt the fundamentals and intangibles were really enforced at the college level. He also said he did the research about his heavy workload, and feels that he will continue to stay healthy in a Nolan Ryan type fashion.
With the D-Backs:
Trevor Bauer will join Archie Bradley, the Diamondback’s other first round pick, and should compete well through the D-Backs minor league system. Despite his attempts at staying healthy I don’t see him joining Arizona at the major league level, at least not as a top three starting pitcher. He could have some value in the bullpen or possibly at the back of the rotation, but his workload was just too much for a young pitcher. As always I would love to be proven wrong, but with Bundy on the board, the D-Backs made the wrong pick.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more on the Arizona Diamondbacks, check out Venom Strikes.