IP 34
ERA 4.765
WHIP 1.765
BB/9 5.294
SO/9 8.735
  • Full name Aaron Andermon Poreda
  • Born 10/01/1986 in Walnut Creek, CA
  • Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 240 / Bats: L / Throws: L
  • School San Francisco
  • Debut 06/12/2009
  • Drafted in the 1st round (25th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2007 (signed for $1,200,000).
    View Draft Report
    Poreda wasn't on the radar screen in high school; he focused more on football as a defensive end/tight end. He did pitch a bit, even tossing a no-hitter, but was awkward and had suspect arm action. In three seasons at San Francisco working with pitching coach Greg Moore, however, he has developed into a first-round candidate and one of the nation's hardest-throwing lefthanders. Poreda works off the fastball almost as much as UC Riverside's James Simmons (No. 47), and like Simmons, it's his only above-average pitch. While his fastball was flat and 89-90 mph in his 2007 opener, he has been consistently in the low 90s since then, touching 96-97 and regularly hitting 94. He throws plenty of strikes (though he lacks true command), and with his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame, he should prove durable. He doesn't pitch as downhill as he should at his size, in part because of his low three-quarters arm slot. Poreda's arm action and lower slot make his breaking ball a fringe-average pitch at best, though it has improved. He has the makings of a changeup but hasn't thrown it much, sticking to his fastball. He had experimented with a higher slot to aid his breaking ball, but the move cost his fastball some of its late life and was back to his old slot.

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  • Rated Best Fastball in the Pacific Coast League in 2014
  • Rated Best Fastball in the Chicago White Sox in 2009
  • Rated Best Fastball in the Chicago White Sox in 2008

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