Scouting Cole, checking on Harper  

April, 13, 2010
04/13/10
10:48
PM ET
By Keith Law

AJ Cole is one of the most projectable pitchers of the top high school arms in this year's draft, lacking the now stuff of Jameson Taillon or Karsten Whitson but offering the potential of bigger velocities and a better breaking ball down the road because of his frame and the way his arm works.

Cole, who attends Oviedo High School just north of Orlando, stands 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6 and looks slighter than his reported 190 pounds, with a good frame to add weight as he gets older and a very long wingspan. His arm is loose and moves easily through his delivery, with a wrist-wrap when it's fully extended but early pronation of his pitching elbow. He was 90-93 mph most of the day Tuesday, touching 94, losing a little velocity in the sixth inning after he was hit on his non-throwing elbow by a pitch while batting. He did recover some of the lost velocity in his last inning, amping up to touch 93 again as he went for the complete game.


To read about AJ Cole and what the Nationals should decide when it comes to Bryce Harper, you must be an ESPN Insider.

Keith Law

ESPN Insider
  • Senior baseball analyst for Insider
  • Was special asst. to Blue Jays GM
  • Wrote for Baseball Prospectus
Tags:

MLB Draft, Insider, Insider MLB

SPONSORED HEADLINES

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Draft 2011
Keith Law

Keith Law joined ESPN.com in June 2006 as the lead baseball analyst for Scouts Inc., covering the majors, minors and amateurs. Before joining ESPN, Law spent 4½ years with the Toronto Blue Jays as a special assistant to the general manager, and was previously a writer for Baseball Prospectus. He graduated from Harvard College and holds an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon.

Follow Keith on Twitter: @Keithlaw

Jason A. Churchill

Jason A. Churchill is the executive editor at ProspectInsider.com, covering major league baseball with an eye toward scouting and player development since 2006.

Christopher Crawford

The founder and executive editor of MLB Draft Insider. He can be followed on Twitter @crawfordchrisv

Follow us on Twitter: @ESPN_MLBDRAFT

SUBSCRIBE:

BLOG ARCHIVE:

RECENT UPDATES

LINKS