- Full name Mike Judd
- Born 06/30/1975 in San Diego, CA
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Grossmont JC
- Debut 09/28/1997
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Judd has accumulated 46 innings with the Dodgers over the last four years while spending most of the past three seasons as a Triple-A starter. He's coming off his best year in Triple-A and finally looking more like a pitcher than a thrower. Judd's entire repertoire consists of hard stuff. He works off his 93-96 mph fastball, which has excellent movement and moves up and in against righthanders. Judd also throws a good, sharp slider as well as an average changeup and curveball. He needs to be more consistent with his delivery. Smoother mechanics also will improve his command. He continues to throw too many breaking balls early in the count instead of going right after hitters with his heat. The Dodgers continue to be infatuated with Judd's potential, though he has yet to live up to expectations in the big leagues. Most members of the front office believe this will be the year he puts everything together by earning a job in the major league bullpen. -
Background: The Dodgers stole Judd from the normally astute Yankees in 1996 for journeyman lefthander Billy Brewer then saw him develop quickly into one of their top pitching prospects. Judd struggled in his first true big league trial last year, but he pitched just 11 innings in a nine-week period--a difficult test for a young power pitcher. Strengths: Judd has a fastball in the 94-95 mph range and also can come at a hitter with a slider, curveball, split-finger, changeup and cutter. When he stays on top of the ball, he gets heavy sinking action on his fastball and sharp movement on his slider. Weaknesses: Judd didn't react well to the hitting circus in Albuquerque and pitched passively, relying on his cutter too much and trying to finesse hitters. His two inactive months in the Los Angeles bullpen capped a forgettable year. The Future: The Dodgers are still high on Judd's arm and he'll start with a clean slate with the team's revamped development staff. The big league rotation seems set for the near future, so Judd probably will have the opportunity to polish his skills in Triple-A.