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Friday, July 18, 2008

Scouting the A’s/Cubs Trade—Part 2

Video profiles on Chad Gaudine, Sean Gallagher, and the other players involved in last week’s trade.

Curveball (on right) - Big breaking 12-to-6 type curveball. His curveball is usually thrown in the mid to upper 70’s and the average difference in velocity between his curveball and fastball is about 16 mph.

Slider (on left) - Pretty good late breaking action on the pitch. It’s kinda slurvy and not as tight as some of the better sliders you’ll see. It actually looks like a cross between his curveball and a high fastball coming out of his hand. The pitch is good enough to get swings and misses.

Helping Gallagher is rather than guiding his off-speed pitches into the catcher’s mitt, he throws these pitches with the same intent he uses to throw his fastball. As a result, hitters gear up for something hard only to have their balance thrown off when the curve drops in.

NoVaO Posted: July 18, 2008 at 05:43 AM | 6 comment(s)
Related News: General, Fantasy Baseball, Minor Leagues, Prospect Reports, Scouting, Chi Cubs, Oakland

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1. scareduck Posted: July 18, 2008 at 10:46 AM (#2863620)

Chad G-a-u-d-i-n.

2. dng Posted: July 18, 2008 at 11:13 AM (#2863658)

Good stuff. I think Gallagher's fastball has even more movement than you give it credit. You can see it in that video, and that was hardly the only one that moved like that all night. I've seen him a few times before and I noted it then as well. And if he can get that curveball over at even a decent rate, he could be a special pitcher.

I don't claim to know much about mechanics, but looking at him, I think he's going to fight his aggressiveness in the upper body (the same thing which makes him good). His left shoulder really flies open when he misses, and that's not infrequent.

3. Thomas Richard Hamilton Nugent Posted: July 18, 2008 at 11:34 AM (#2863669)

Seems like Gallagher throws a couple of fastballs. One with quite a bit of movement in the 91-92 range on the WGN guns and a straighter fastball that sits at 93-94 and can hit 95-96.

4. retro-shiite Posted: July 18, 2008 at 12:12 PM (#2863700)

Sean Gallagher is going to be one hell of a pitcher. I think getting Harden was the right move for the Cubs in this time and place, but I expect to miss Gallagher in the not-too-distant future.

5. What Zupcic? Posted: July 18, 2008 at 12:24 PM (#2863709)

What's the difference between Gallagher's slider and curve? They look almost identical in those video clips... am I missing something?

(I'd say, if they differed anywhere, the 'curve' seems to have more lateral break and the slider more 'vertical', are they mislabeled?)

6. dng Posted: July 18, 2008 at 12:45 PM (#2863730)

I'm pretty sure both videos are curves. The one NoVaO has listed as a slider (the left) is definitely a curve. It's what he used to strikeout Figgins in the first inning (and it was absolutely sick.)

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Friday, July 18, 2008

Scouting the A’s/Cubs Trade—Part 2

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