Tyson Ross

Yet another NorCal Baseball alum, Ross stepped into California's weekend rotation as a freshman and has filled the Friday role for two years. He also pitched well for Team USA last summer and was the team's most consistent pitcher. His velocity was down during the summer in the mid-to-upper 80s, and has been erratic again this spring. He was at his best against Stanford in a May victory, touching 96 mph and sitting in the low 90s. Moreover, Ross worked off his fastball and used his changeup effectively against the Cardinal in a start that may convince teams to leave him as a starter. His best pitch is a plus slider thrown in the low-80s with short, hard break. At times it has two-plane break, and it's such a good pitch and he locates it so well that at times he throws it far too often, working off the slider instead of his fastball. The biggest question on Ross is his mechanics. His stride is exceptionally short for a pitcher his size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds), leading to stress on his arm and a lack of extension to finish off pitches down in the zone. Also, his arm action is short in the back, and it may be difficult to "fix" all those issues. Some scouts believe that would do more harm than good, though, and would send him to the bullpen as a pro to use that slider as a weapon.