John Russell

After pitching for Connecticut Avery Point JC as a freshman, Russell pitched ineffectively and infrequently for the Huskies as a sophomore, which made this year's massive leap forward somewhat of a surprise. Russell struck out 66 batters in 38 innings (15.6 K/9) while rarely breaking 90 mph with his fastball. The reality is that hitters are done a favor anytime Russell resorts to his 87-90 mph heater as he has a pair of plus breaking balls. Russell has a nasty 79-82 mph curveball and a slightly harder plus slider. It doesn't have great depth, but it's break is late and he does an excellent job of making it look like his fastball coming out of his hand. A team signing Russell will be hoping that the 6-foot-3, 182 pound righthander will add more velocity as he fills out and matures, but his breaking balls give him survival skills while he works on that.