Top Prospect
Alert - Scott Kazmir
DOB: 1/24/84, Age: 18, Height: 6’0’’, Weight:
184, Bats: L, Throws: L. Acquired: Mets - Drafted in the 1st Round of the
2002 Draft (Cypress Falls HS, TX). 2001 Stats: High School. 2001 Stats:
(S-Season A - Brooklyn) 0-1, 0.50 ERA, 18 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 7 BB, 34
K.
Scott Kazmir is an
electric-armed southpaw that the Mets selected with the fifteenth pick in
this summer’s amateur draft. He slid that far because of the predictable
signability issues, but after graciously accepting a few million clams
($2.15M) from the Mets, he proceeded to set the NY-Penn League on its ear
for the last month of the season. Success is no stranger to Kazmir, who
threw four (!?!) no-hitters as a high school junior and allowed 38
baserunners against 172 strikeouts as a senior, and from the early
returns, that won’t be the end of the ridiculous numbers that he will
post. Kazmir, who is a bit undersized, throws like a giant, sitting
between 93 and 97 with his fastball. He also has an excellent slider that
he uses as a strikeout pitch, a curveball that is above average already,
and a changeup that appears to be developing nicely. His control is
decent: not a strength just yet, but much better than you would expect
from a young flamethrower. His mechanics are very solid as well, with a
fairly effortless delivery. His fielding is not going to be a strength, as
he falls off the mound a bit toward third, but I think that’s looking too
hard for a flaw. Frankly, the numbers speak for themselves, because with
this kid, health (both mental and physical) will be his only stumbling
block on the road to the majors. He is the best high school pitching
prospect to come along since (gasp) Rick Ankiel.
The Mets are a franchise
in disarray right now, with their “go for it now” philosophy resulting in
one NL crown and a roster full of players that won’t be worth having in a
few years. After trading away a number of high-quality prospects in the
past twelve months, they have one decent hitting prospect (Reyes), one or
two pitching prospects (Heilman and Strange), and a whole bunch of guys
that probably will not help them in the future. In Kazmir, however, they
may have a jewel. He is as polished a high school pitcher that has come
into the professional ranks since Ankiel, which of course causes
everyone’s hair to stand on end. The odds are that no one knows why Rick
Ankiel has not fulfilled his potential to this point, so no one can guess
what attributes a player might have that would make him susceptible to
inexplicable failure, be it temporary or permanent. Ankiel aside, Kazmir
is as likely to succeed as any high school pitcher ever could be. He
reminds me of Ankiel, and he also reminds me of Billy Wagner. He could end
up like either one (to this point in their respective careers), or better.
I expect him to be the ace of the Mets’ rotation by 2006.
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