Sowers shows consistency for Indians

By Chris Kline
March 30, 2005

Spring Training Dish • Dodgers catcher Russell Martin • Braves catcher Brian McCann

WINTER HAVEN, Fla.--When the Indians drafted lefthander Jeremy Sowers with the sixth overall pick out of Vanderbilt last June, they knew they weren't getting a dominant, future No. 1 starter in the big leagues.

What they knew was Sowers was extremely polished and had command of four pitches. The reason they paid him a $2.475 million signing bonus, though, and perhaps the biggest asset in his arsenal, is his ability to repeat his delivery and put together consistent outings on a regular basis.

Sowers has done that this spring. He hasn't wowed anyone with his stuff, and despite the high profile of being a first-round bonus baby, he still casually slips under the radar in camp.

"Nothing you see in him is going to blow you away," one National League scout said. "The key to appreciating what he can do is seeing him string several starts together. One day you'll see an average fastball with plus command. The next day you'll see it maybe slightly below average, but the command is still there with plus secondary pitches.

"He has that innate ability to not only read in himself what pitches are on that day, but has that natural gift of being able to command whatever he's throwing day in, day out."

The 21-year-old lefty will begin the year with high Class A Kinston in the Carolina League, where he will no doubt be challenged in his first taste of pro ball. Some scouts have compared him to Pirates lefthander Sean Burnett, who breezed through the CL in 2002, when he went 13-4, 1.80 in 155 innings.

But Burnett was a high school pick who was still slightly raw that season. Sowers is more the complete package right now, according to Kinston pitching coach Steve Lyons.

"I saw (Burnett) for the time when I was in Akron (as a pitching coach in 2003), and I think Jeremy's got better command than Sean. I really do," Lyons said. "Where I saw Sean at two years ago, I think Jeremy's ahead of that as far as his command goes. Sean's got good command, but his delivery at times allowed him to get out of the strike zone. I know he's a very good pitcher and a very good prospect, but I think Jeremy's going to be better than that."

Sowers adds and subtracts from his fastball (anywhere from 85-92 mph) while mixing in a plus curveball, a slider with cutting action that gets in on righthanded hitters, and a changeup. His fastball has good arm-side run and sink from a deceptive three-quarters delivery. He only has to further refine his changeup to put the finishing touches on his repertoire. While both his breaking balls rate as above-average to plus, featuring a tight, downward rotation, they lack that consistency at times.

Most of those pieces were evident in high school, prompting the Reds to draft him 20th overall in the 2001 draft. They made little attempt to sign him, however, and he went 23-16, 3.27 in three years as Vanderbilt's top starter in the tough Southeastern Conference. He struck out 327 and walked just 86 in 338 2/3 innings. His command remains his calling card.

"I don't think there's a lot of velocity that jumps out at you, which sometimes would be the case when you get a guy that high in the draft," Lyons said. "But with him, it's the total package. That's what's really going to kind of wow people. It's a guy who might not light you up, but when it comes to the end of the season, that's when I think people are going to step back and take notice."

SPRING THINGS

• Nationals outfielders Ryan Church and J.J. Davis have more or less secured spots on the big league roster after Endy Chavez was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans yesterday. The move was surprising, considering Chavez has played 273 games with the big club the last two seasons, despite posting a paltry .303 on-base percentage in that time. "We sent a message to the clubhouse," general manager Jim Bowden told the Washington Post. "You've got to perform. Potential's great. We need performance." Manager Frank Robinson indicated that his plan was to play the lefthanded-hitting Church in center this year. Church hit .343-17-78 in 347 at-bats at Triple-A Edmonton last season, but struggled in the big leagues, hitting just .175 in 63 at-bats. The Nationals also optioned righthanders Jon Rauch and Gary Majewski to the Zephyrs roster.

• The Royals joined the Nationals in sending messages via transactions, optioning 2004 all-star Ken Harvey to Triple-A Omaha along with lefthander Jimmy Gobble, who went 9-8, 5.35 for the big league club last year. Harvey, who hit .287-13-55 last season after a poor second half, lost a roster battle with lefthanded-hitting Calvin Pickering.

• The Diamondbacks sent down Scott Hairston, whom the club now lists as an outfielder. The organization's former top prospect hit .248-13-29 last season in Arizona but struggled defensively at second base and struck out 88 times in 339 at-bats while posting a .293 on-base percentage.

• Astros outfielder Luke Scott has hit his way into contention for a big league job in either left or center field when camp breaks Saturday. Scott, a ninth-round pick of the Indians out of Oklahoma State in 2001, has been one of the underdog success stories this spring, hitting .392-5-16 in 51 at-bats and leading the club in total bases with 42. When manager Phil Garner addressed the club at the beginning of camp, he told the club--nonroster invitees or not--that the Astros were an equal opportunity employer. "But of course, the odds are way against you," Scott told the Houston Chronicle. "But there's always the chance. That's enough to motivate you. You can't worry about that. I didn't come in here with the attitude I'm going to win a job or make this team. I don't think about that. Let's go out there and play the game and see what I can do." Scott, 26, hasn't played above Double-A, and spent parts of three seasons in high Class A with the Indians and Astros organizations. But you can never underestimate the value of lefthanded power. "I don't care if he's an all or nothing guy or if he has so little experience," an NL scout said. "He's got juice from the left side and that isn't easy to come by."

• In a possible sign of the future, Dodgers' No. 1 prospect Joel Guzman played first base and also homered to the opposite field in a big league game Monday against the Nationals. Guzman went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs against Nats starter Esteban Loaiza.

• The transaction wire is active with minor leaguers getting released. Among the notable names: Twins first baseman Dusty Gomon, a slugger who never made consistent contact enough for his power to emerge; Rockies righthander Ryan Kibler, whose 2001 season had him ranked as the organization's No. 4 prospect that year; Astros righthander Matt Wheatland, who was the Tigers' first-round pick (eighth overall) in 2000 before being beset with injuries; and Yankees lefthander Mark Phillips, the ninth overall pick in that underwhelming draft, picked ninth overall by the Padres.

• The Blue Jays released a raft of pitchers, including righthander Mike Smith, who pitched for them in the big leagues in 2002; and lefthanders Chris Leonard and Justin Maureau, both of whom were once touted as among the top southpaws in the system.

Contributing: John Manuel.