PostCards with Luhnow II: Pitching profiles, picks, Rasmus, and secret decoder

Birdland, the bop joint...with Cardinals’ jazzy vice president and draft director Jeff Luhnow.

Q: Jeff, how much do you guys look into walks when looking at a college pitcher? It seems like the Cardinals have taken a lot of guys in recent years that have had significant control problems in college, and none of them have really been able to improve that once they turned pro. I think the guy I am mostly referring to with this question is Shooter Hunt. Obviously he has great stuff, but if he isn’t able to figure out the strike zone he won’t amount to much. How much does a guy’s lack of control knock him down on your board? – fewgoodcards (one of the writers at Future Redbirds)

Luhnow: That is an excellent question and one that we are discussing every day in our draft preparation meetings. I won’t comment on Shooter Hunt except to say that he has two plus pitches at least and has been successful in college and in the summer. He will be talked about in all 30 draft rooms.

One thing that you are suggesting is that if a player has control problems in high school or college they will most likely have control problems in pro ball. I tend to agree with that statement, as do most experienced scouts. Having said that, the difference between the metal bat and the wood bat does change how some pitchers approach the opposition. Pitching to contact can be a dangerous strategy against bats with a much larger sweet spot, but can work in pro ball.

A lack of control will knock players down on our board. How much depends on a variety of other factors.