Strike One -- Those Other Phenoms Dept.
Has anyone mentioned there are dazzling young players running around spring training who are not named Stephen Strasburg or Jason Heyward? Here are just a few that scouts have been buzzing about: • Marlins OF Mike Stanton: "He's an animal. His pitch recognition gets better and better. He's got a chance to be a very special package. I don't know if he'll ever be what Heyward is as just a pure natural hitter. But power-wise, he will be. No doubt about that." • Mets RHP Jenrry Mejia: "Just a natural cutter. This guy's got a Mariano Rivera kind of cutter. I've seen him twice, and guys just don't get the barrel of the bat on the ball. Seems like all the contact is off the end of the bat. I don't know what they want to do about him. He's only 20 years old. But he's armed and ready. He hits 93-94 [mph] on the gun, and everything cuts, cuts, cuts." • Orioles LHP Brian Matusz: "I know he's already reached the big leagues, but this is really the first time I've seen him. And wow, this guy's going to be special. For me, he's where Josh Johnson was this time last year. He's my No. 1 pick to click this year."
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Jayson Stark | email
Senior Writer, ESPN.com- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer
- Author of two baseball books
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Jayson Stark
Jayson Stark has been a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com since 2000. His regular contributions include the newsy Rumblings and Grumblings column, his eclectic "Three Strikes" blog and his tilted look inside baseball's numbers and quirks, the Useless Information Department.
Stark also makes regular television appearances on "SportsCenter," "Outside the Lines" and "Baseball Tonight." He is a regular ESPN Radio guest of Mike & Mike, the Doug Gottlieb Show, the John Kinkade Show, ESPN Radio tonight and numerous other shows on the network.
Before arriving at ESPN, Stark worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 21 years. He was twice named Pennsylvania's sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2010, he was honored by the Foster Conference for Distinguished Writers for his books and other work. He is the author of two books, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History" (Triumph Books, 2006) and "Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies" (Triumph Books, 2009).