Scotty Layfield

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #11 prospect in 2003
  Layfield emerged in 2001 and earned a spot on the 40-man roster, and he solidified his spot in 2002, getting hitters out consistently in his first experience above Class A. In spite of battling a little tendinitis, Layfield led the Eastern League in appearances and games finished and dominated at times. Layfield has been a reliever almost from the time he signed with the Cardinals, and he appears born to the role. He loves to challenge hitters with his fastball and slider and wants the ball with the game on the line. His fastball ranges from 90-94 mph, and his hard, sharp-breaking slider is his best pitch. He can throw it from two different angles. He occasionally mixes in a changeup or splitter but is essentially a two-pitch pitcher. He's still working on a way to attack lefthanded hitters, who hit .284 against him last year (as opposed to .197 for righties). Layfield is such a physical specimen that he could be featured in a muscle magazine, but the Cardinals would like him to stay out of the weight room now. He has been working on his flexibility. Layfield should be the closer at Memphis this year, with a big league bullpen job just a phone call away.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #8 prospect in 2002
  Layfield came to pitching late, going to Valdosta State as a corner infielder. After a couple of unimpressive seasons in the organization, Layfield broke out as a closer at high Class A Potomac in 2001. He missed time during the season with elbow tendinitis, but he was fine by the end of the year and was added to the 40-man roster. Layfield is a physical specimen who actually spent too much time in the weight room before 2001. He loosened up and went from throwing 86-88 mph in 2000 to 91-93 in 2001. It's a power fastball with sinker movement. With his hard slider, which is a swing-and-miss pitch, he has top-quality stuff for the bullpen. At 25, Layfield still hasn't proven he can get hitters out above Class A. He has a changeup but doesn't need it out of the bullpen, and the Cardinals are satisfied with that as his role. The Cardinals now say they probably should have promoted Layfield from Potomac, but he'll benefit from his first big league spring training and could skip Double-A. If his sinker-slider combination remains potent, he could move fast.

• December, 2001 Scouting Report
  Layfield came to pitching late, going to Valdosta State as a corner infielder. After a couple of unimpressive seasons in the organization, Layfield broke out as a closer at high Class A Potomac in 2001. He missed time during the season with elbow tendinitis, but he was fine by the end of the year and was added to the 40-man roster. Layfield is a physical specimen who actually spent too much time in the weight room before 2001. He loosened up and went from throwing 86-88 mph in 2000 to 91-93 in 2001. It's a power fastball with sinker movement. With his hard slider, which is a swing-and-miss pitch, he has top-quality stuff for the bullpen. At 25, Layfield still hasn't proven he can get hitters out above Class A. He has a changeup but doesn't need it out of the bullpen, and the Cardinals are satisfied with that as his role. The Cardinals now say they probably should have promoted Layfield from Potomac, but he'll benefit from his first big league spring training and could skip Double-A. If his sinker-slider combination remains potent, he could move fast.