Jacob Turner Scouting Report

November 13, 2011

I saw Turner sit 90-94 MPH with his fastball for 7 innings. He complimented it with a big, sharp-breaking curveball in the upper 70’s. He also mixed in a low-80’s changeup to lefthanders that was an effective pitch to keep them off-balance, but it was not a strikeout pitch. His relatively smooth mechanics allowed him to repeat his delivery with all three pitches. He worked with a very good downhill angle.

That downhill angle will work well at the big league level, where he projects to be a ground-ball-type pitcher not totally dissimmilar to Rick Porcello. Turner does project to be a tick above Porcello in the strikeout department.

Turner's workload, given his age (20), is a concern to me. He finished 2011 with over 140 innings (over 6.2 IP per AA start). He only threw 109 regular-season innings last year. He is a big strong kid and it doesn’t seem like he is going to slow down, but it's still just a small concern at just 20.

Turner is well above the curve for his age and carries himself extremely well on the mound. His maturity level is well above his age level. He could be ready to pitch in the big leagues for a full season in 2012.

 

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