Robert Rohrbaugh

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Seattle Mariners #27 prospect in 2008
  Rohrbaugh reached Double-A in his first full pro season and Triple-A in his second, largely because of his mature mound presence. He's an athletic strike-throwing machine with a simple delivery that he repeats well. Rohrbaugh's stuff is just average to a tick above, but he's not afraid to pitch to contact. His cutting 86-90 mph fastball generates lots of awkward swings and misses, and he throws on a good downward plane from a high three-quarters angle. Rohrbaugh's curveball has slurvy action that doesn't impress scouts or same-side batters. For the second year in a row, Southern League lefties hit him harder than did righthanders. Rohrbaugh's changeup has some fade and sink. Despite leading the organization in wins (13) and innings (170) in 2007, Rohrbaugh is a No. 5 starter if everything breaks right. He'll start at Tacoma, but he's behind other young, upper-level lefties like Ryan Feierabend, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Justin Thomas.
• 
  Ranked Seattle Mariners #23 prospect in 2007
  Rohrbaugh's best attribute may be his mound presence, which enabled him to succeed in Double-A during his first full pro season. He repeats his simple delivery extremely well, which allows him to throw all three of his pitches for strikes. His fastball arrives at just 86-90 mph, but hitters don't get good swings against it. His fastball has some cutter action on it, and he throws on a good downward plane from a high three-quarters angle. Rohrbaugh throws a three-quarters breaking ball, somewhere between a curveball and slider, that draws mixed reviews from scouts. It doesn't fool lefthanders, who had much more success (batting .305) against him than righties (.229) did last year. His average changeup features some fade and sink. Rohrbaugh projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter and has proven himself at a top college program and up through Double-A, and he should reach Triple-A some time in 2007.