Brewers draft picks in the CWS

[colbyjack]

I'm not sure I would label Jungmann's curve a 'hanger', but it also isn't a 'hammer.' He drops it in nicely for strikes, and as another poster pointed out already, he wasn't throwing 95 as shown on the ESPN gun. He's more of a 90-93 guy, and has been amazingly consistent in that range, along with his curve, all season.

 

Brady Rodgers of ASU who opposed Jungmann on Friday was a Brewers draft pick a couple of years ago, and could be a first rounder next year.

[TooLiveBrew]

My take on Jungmann...

 

I wasn't impressed at all with his start against ASU. 'Disappointed in what I saw for #12 overall in a deep draft' would sum it up better. Obviously it's only one start, though.

[CWSOmaha]

I'm not 100% sure but, if everything plays out with the way the Super Regionals were set up(and the way it's happened over the past years), looks like Jungmann will pitch on Saturday vs Florida. I am assuming ESPN will put that game on at 6pm Saturday night(instead of 1pm) because it's Texas vs Florida and a bigger ratings draw.

 

At some point I'm looking to make some sort of contact with him when I'm there Sunday night through Thursday afternoon. If I do I will post something and BF.net. Will be interesting to see the access to players at "The Trade". At Rosenblatt it was easy to talk to players when they were coming/going... if the players wanted to talk. We are staying close to downtown so we might be able to find the Texas hotel.

[jmeks23]

theCrew07: it's tough to make a final judgement on a guy you saw pitch basically once. He didn't look very good against ASU, but considering his career numbers and intangibles, I would say that start was just a bad start for him. Far more likely he's better than that, especially considering the command issues he was having, which are out of the norm for him.

[TheCrew07]

I didn't make any final judgements on him, I've seen him pitch twice, and if he pitches again on national TV I'll watch him again. I'll watch him pitch next year in WI...

 

Right now he's getting people out mixing his pitches, he doesn't have a plus a secondary pitch, meaning he has no out pitch. Yes the curve was up in the zone, but I wasn't impressed by it's bite or it's depth, it's a very average pitch. While he located it for strikes quite a bit, it's simply not an impressive pitch. Like I said I actually thought he change was a better pitch the couple of times he threw it.

 

I may have caught him on the 2 worst games he's ever pitched, but he didn't even show flashes of a dominant curve like Scarpetta did when I saw him in WI. Just about every pitcher I've seen pitch in WI regardless of organization has had an obvious out pitch, if not then they were a reliever like Meadows. Scarpetta's curve was loopy at times and at a times it was filthy. With Jungmann it's the same pitch over and over, that's all it is. I wasn't sure how to feel about the curve as it was a very consistent pitch, just consistently average. I didn't see a slider when I was watching, as after the 5th inning I was also watching the Brewer game and missed parts of his half innings here and there.

 

He can certainly improve but if he's not going to sign early and get to work commanding that 2 seamer and tightening up those secondary pitches, he's years away from MLB.

 

He has a plus arm, relatively decent command, good mound presence.... and that's it. If he develops his secondary pitches well then he'll be very successful, if not he'll struggle because everyone above A ball can hit a good fastball if there's nothing else around it. I understand now why many reviews had him pegged as a middle of rotation guy... he has the size, he has the arm, he's a bulldog on the mound, but his pitches just aren't impressive.

[DHonks]

TheCrew, it also could be that the curve is exactly what coaches want. They might want him to show it for strikes so that his sinker and 4-seamer can get hitters out, while you're analyzing it as a strikeout pitch. If he were to show up in his next outing burying it in the dirt on 0-2, it might look very different.

[Herm]

I believe I saw that Texas will play on Sat 6/18 in CWS. Has anyone seen if Jungman is scheduled to pitch in that one?

[battlekow]

I believe I saw that Texas will play on Sat 6/18 in CWS. Has anyone seen if Jungman is scheduled to pitch in that one?

Yes, Jungmann is pitching on Saturday. It's at 6 pm CT on ESPN.

[battlekow]

Texas ace Taylor Jungmann falls into slump at worst possible time

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — For nearly four months, Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann was simply unbeatable.

And then he lost two games in a row.

The Longhorns need their junior right-hander to find his dominating form again heading into the College World Series. Texas (49-17) plays Florida (50-17) on Saturday.

Jungmann went 13-0 before those two losses in the postseason. Kent State jumped on him for seven earned runs in the first game of the Austin regional, including a grand slam that popped Jungmann's aura of invincibility.

He came back stronger in a 3-1 loss to Arizona State a week later, giving up just one earned run on three hits in a 7 1/3 innings.

"I'm the same pitcher," Jungmann said. "(Arizona State) was one of the better games I've thrown. I just didn't get the win."

A return to Omaha, Neb., might help him turn things around.

Jungmann dominated the CWS as a freshman in 2009, going 3-0 in four appearances, including a masterful five-hit complete game against top-seeded LSU. Jungmann said he's not looking back and expecting the same thing to happen.

"It's nice to know we've been there before, but it's a whole new ball game, new teams," Jungmann said.

Texas coach Augie Garrido, who has won five national championships, puts Jungmann "at the top of the list" of the pitchers he's mentored over 43 years, the last 15 at Texas.

Jungmann's 32 career wins currently rank ninth in Texas history.

"We've had a lot of guys do a lot of things," Garrido said. "He's 24-7 a pitcher and he treats it like being a world-class athlete. There aren't many baseball players who do that.

"And he's gotten better every year he's been here," Garrido said. "Typically, a guy who does as well as a freshman as he did, they are all filled with expectations and perceptions. He doesn't take on any of that."

Jungmann put in the work to get better.

At 6-foot-6, Jungmann filled out from 180 pounds as a freshman to 220 pounds this year. After his sophomore season, Jungmann skipped summer baseball to stay in Austin to work on his conditioning, technique and approach to pitching.

Jungmann's fastball hits the high 90s, but instead of trying to overpower every hitter for a strikeout, Jungmann has become more methodical in trying to earn outs with ground balls.

"I've matured a lot. Gotten a lot stronger mentally and physically," Jungmann said.

If Jungmann faces the Gators, he'll need to be on top of his game early. Florida has outscored its opponents 13-0 in the first inning and 39-1 in the first three innings overall during the NCAA tournament. They are also averaging 13.2 hits per game, up from 9.2 in the 16 games before the tourney.

Garrido knew he had something special in Jungmann in 2009 after the freshman beat TCU to earn the Longhorns' first trip to the CWS in four years. Jungmann was asked how he handled the pressure of being in such a big game at such a young age.

"Fear? I'm a pitcher," Jungmann said. "You can't be afraid and be a pitcher."

[TooLiveBrew]

"(Arizona State) was one of the better games I've thrown. I just didn't get the win."

 

That's not encouraging. He looked pretty hittable against ASU.

[CheezWizHed]

For nearly four months, Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann was simply unbeatable. And then he lost two games in a row.

 

He was drafted by the Brewers... I think its a curse.

[TheCrew07]

TheCrew, it also could be that the curve is exactly what coaches want. They might want him to show it for strikes so that his sinker and 4-seamer can get hitters out, while you're analyzing it as a strikeout pitch. If he were to show up in his next outing burying it in the dirt on 0-2, it might look very different.

That's as thin as thin gets... you've been in locker rooms, what pitching coach or manager is going to tell a player to limit his talent? They knew he had a pro career in front of him. I prefer power arms who can pitch off their fastball, and yes there are quite a few players who have success pitching backwards the way you suggest. However that's not what Jungmann was doing in either game... I'm not a college baseball fan, I'm a hockey fan so when I'm not watching Brewer related baseball I'm probably watching the NHL this time of year. I'll watch the Brewer draft picks in the CWS, but that's about it so I hadn't seem him pitch before the regionals... people are saying those were not 2 of his better games... I honestly don't know. What I do understand now is how someone with his physical gifts is rated as a middle of the rotation guy, I thought maybe his velocity was being overstated or something along those lines, he gets that rating because none of his secondary pitches are impressive.

 

It's doesn't matter if he buries the pitch in the dirt or not, that's not what makes a good curve (I'm talking to you Bill Schroeder, at some point the pitch has to look like a strike to get a swing) and I already stated he pretty much locates it where he wants. He spiked a couple curves per inning, the observation has nothing to do with where he was choosing to locate the pitch. The movement of the pitch simply isn't special, it's not a plus pitch, it doesn't break all that hard or far, it's just an average pitch at next level.

 

He thought he pitched pretty well against ASU which tells me that his curve is exactly what we're seeing. It needs more depth and bite to be a plus pitch, it needs to look more like what Sheets threw if he's going to throw that many curves in a game. It's loopy now and if college hitters can continually track the pitch and make contact with it, then the pitch obviously needs improvement.

 

He'll have success early in his pro career pitching off of his FB, but if he doesn't improve the quality of his pitches then he's going to struggle as he moves up. He certianly has enough talent that he could do very well and end up a top of the rotation guy if he continues to improve, but at this moment in time he's not a #1 or #2 in an MLB rotation, he's more like a #4 or #5.

[DHonks]

Makes sense, I generally try to toss out plausible ideas. I figure trying to keep hitters off balance with a curve to limit his pitch count rather than chasing swings and misses with higher pitch counts makes sense. We know it's what the brewers will try once we sign him to encourage throwing deeper in games

[tyguy20204]

Come on, what do you expect him to say? That he pitched like crap in his biggest game of the season? That he folded under pressure? Whether or not that was one of his better performances, I don't know, but an athlete of his confidence isn't going to start digging at himself over a start in which he only gave up one or two earned runs.

Take a player's PR speak with a grain of salt.

[battlekow]

Losses, shmosses: Horns ace Taylor Jungmann is pitching just fine

Kirk Bohls/Austin American-Statesman

OMAHA, NEB. — Here are a few things all Florida Gators might be amused to know about Taylor Jungmann, Texas' dominant pitcher they will face in tonight's College World Series opener.

Jungmann hates cheese. On nachos, pizza, hamburgers, you name it. But he does throw the high cheese, hitting 96 mph on occasion.

He loves soccer. Never played the sport, but is entranced by World Cup action and plays it on video games along with roommates Cohl Walla and Hunter Wilcox late into the night.

He hates country-western music. "I can't stand it," Jungmann says, preferring what he calls old-school music, with some hip-hop. He takes the mound with the old dance song, "What Is Love" blaring out of the UFCU Disch-Falk Field speakers, and catches a lot of abuse for it from his teammates.

He loves college baseball's new pitcher-friendly bats. Go figure. "The new bats have something to do with the (1.38) ERA," he modestly says.

Oh, and this: He's not really in a slump, and he loves pitching in Omaha or any big stage, for that matter.

But you probably already knew that.

Those last two trivia items aren't the least bit trivial as they relate to the outcome of tonight's game, and had a ton to do with the Milwaukee Brewers drafting the 6-foot-6 right-hander with the 12th overall pick.

But the stoic junior from Georgetown might not mind others thinking his 0-2 NCAA tournament record (along with a 5.14 ERA, inexplicably the highest on the team) in his last two starts — on the heels of a 13-0 start to this season — means he's wearing down and has his mind on a fast track to the major leagues.

You can forget that.

For one, he's totally locked in to the job at hand. He didn't even return a phone call from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin for two days after Milwaukee drafted him.

Here's the more likely reasons that Jungmann has slightly been off his game: Kent State was stealing his pitches, and he had one bad, six-run inning against the Golden Flashes. Next time out, he allowed one earned run in seven innings, in a super regional loss to Arizona State. Texas has scored four runs in his two June losses.

"We haven't helped him much," first baseman Tant Shepherd said. "He'll be fine."

The Gators can think Jungmann's fading in the June heat all they want — at their own peril. But Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan isn't buying into talk of a Jungmann slump or a poor-hitting Texas team, even though its .272 team batting average is the lowest among the eight CWS teams.

"I know we need to get some leadoff men on and try to get to one of the best pitchers in college baseball," O'Sullivan said. "Our players know Texas' history and Texas' pride. They know they're going to have their hands full."

Jungmann, remember, is a guy who tied a College World Series record here, with three wins in 2009. As a freshman. Before he really knew what he was doing on the mound.

Ask LSU about that coming-of-age moment when he threw a complete-game, five-hit jewel in the best-of-three national championship series to give the Longhorns life. Texas couldn't finish that success in 2009, but returns here tonight with a suspect offense but a superior pitching staff. That includes Mr. Jungmann.

Taylor's mind-set?

"My confidence is as good as it ever is," he said. "I'm not worried about any of that."

He spent a short session in the bullpen with pitching coach Skip Johnson on Wednesday, and concentrated on finishing his pitches better.

He may not be able to duplicate his breakout performances from 2009, but he has more experience this go-around; a new, bigger ballpark at TD Ameritrade, with broader dimensions and a southerly wind blowing in from the outfield; and maybe even the role of an underdog, as a national No. 7 seed facing a Florida team that was ranked No. 1 for much of the season. But that's academic. As he always has, Jungmann's just going to concentrate on Jacob Felts' mitt and nothing else.

Texas has to like its chances because it's gotten this far without a single Jungmann win in this NCAA tournament. Should he return to form, there may just be a party coming, hold the cheese.

[battlekow]

Alonso grad Toledo hopes to cap Florida career with crown

Joe Henderson/Tampa Tribune

TAMPA -- It is possible to process many thoughts in the time it takes a fly ball to leave the bat and settle into an outfielder's glove.

Pitcher Tommy Toledo of the University of Florida can tell you all about that.

The situation was the NCAA Super Regional final Sunday against Mississippi State. He had just thrown the pitch that would lead to the final out in the win to put the Gators back in the College World Series. In those seconds before victory was secured, Toledo experienced emotions of elation, reflection, perhaps even a little satisfaction.

Then he had to duck.

His teammates came stampeding toward him as he stood on the mound at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville. Moments later, he was buried under joyous teammates. Even that celebration triggered yet another thought.

"Unbelievable," he said.

Athletes tend to use that word a lot, but in this case it might really apply. It's not a stretch to say it was unbelievable for the former Alonso High pitcher and Saladino Award winner to be in that position at all.

He lost the 2009 season at UF after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right arm. After he returned from a lengthy rehab, calamity struck again — although actually it was a line drive that struck him in the face while he pitched against Charleston Southern.

The labrum operation was a church picnic compared to this. He needed 11 hours of reconstructive surgery on his face. Doctors used eight metal plates and 36 screws during the operation.

"It was bad," said Pete Toledo, Tommy's father. "His mother couldn't stop crying, but I never doubted he'd be back, never. You know the first thing he said to me after he came out of surgery? He goes, 'Dad, I never should have hung the curveball.' "

Compared to the 12 months he needed to come back after labrum surgery, his recovery from the facial operation was lightning fast. He was back on the mound after eight weeks. Pete still gets a lump in his throat telling the story how everyone stood and cheered when Tommy came in against Florida Atlantic in Gainesville.

The box score says he threw one scoreless inning that night.

The reality is, he accomplished much more than that.

"You could tell the fire was still there," Pete said. "He was banging his hand against his glove as he got ready to pitch, which is what he does when he's really competing.

"But what he did still amazes me, and I'm his dad. I'm not easily amazed."

Neither is Tommy, apparently.

He shrugged off the line drive as "bad luck" and the torn labrum as a "shoulder thing." No big deal.

"I just tried to get back out there after that and get after it," he said. "I never doubted I'd be back, not at all."

Tommy Toledo, you may have guessed by now, lives a life without regrets. He never second-guessed his decision to sign with Florida coming out of Alonso, even after the San Diego Padres took him in the third round of the 2007 amateur draft.

"It was a tough four years but my teammates and coaches have been so supportive," said Toledo, who posted a 6-3 record in 27 appearances this season.

Now he is just one class short of earning his degree at Florida, and he is in Omaha, Neb., for the second time in as many years. The Gators open play at 7 tonight against Texas.

These almost certainly will be Tommy's final days in a Gators uniform. He has a redshirt season available if he wants it, but the Milwaukee Brewers took him in the 11th round of the draft last week and it's time to go.

That thought hit him right around the same time his onrushing teammates did after the final out to secure the trip to Omaha.

"I had never been at the bottom of a dog pile before," he said. "I was thinking, 'You know, this is a pretty good way to end my last game at McKethan.' "

Oh, there was one more thing.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I was very nervous watching that," Pete said. "He got cleated on his foot in that pile-up. He's got a slice on his right foot from his toe to the tongue of his shoe. You know what he tells me? 'Dad, I'm gonna keep that shoe forever.' "

It's just one more souvenir in a journey filled with memories.

http://www2.tbo.com/mgmedia/image/604/354/123580/0618-toledo-18870067jpg/

(Associated Press)

[TooLiveBrew]

He didn't even return a phone call from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin for two days after Milwaukee drafted him.

 

Uh, really? You don't have 5 minutes to talk to your new boss? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

[Tedaldtada]

Tommy Toledo looks to have filled out little bit since his draft forum photo. He was crazy skinny, now, just skinny. I'm excited to have him.

[TheCrew07]

He didn't even return a phone call from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin for two days after Milwaukee drafted him.

 

Uh, really? You don't have 5 minutes to talk to your new boss? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

That stood out to me as well... I wouldn't agree that's being focused, I would qualify that as being rude. Obviously I have no love for Melvin, but come on, at least return his phone call. As long as he's not calling you on a day when you are scheduled to pitch, how does that conversation impact your focus at all? This dude better be able to pitch down the road because his interviews really rub me the wrong way.

 

 

[justwinbb]

"(Arizona State) was one of the better games I've thrown. I just didn't get the win."

 

That's not encouraging. He looked pretty hittable against ASU.

He gave up 3 hits in 7 plus innings and should have only given up the 1 run in the 8th if his middle infielders dont blow a dp in the 3rd. Im not sure how few hits he needs to give up for you to get off his case.

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Sorry, I'm not on his case. I just didn't think he looked good in that one start. I don't claim to know much at all about him. His track record on the mound speaks for itself.

[Tedaldtada]

Taylor just K'ed Top Prospect Mike Zunino with a nasty breaker down and away. That was a plus pitch in any book.

Edit: 8 pitch second. 3 ground outs.

Edit 2: Regarding Zunino, I thought I heard them say he has out homered (18) the whole Texas team. He is the reason Ben McMahan doesn't play.

[molitor fan]

he looks like halladay......he was filthy in the 1st

[Tedaldtada]

When Jungmann throws his 2-Seamer, it moves like crazy. Bores in on RHB's. I saw a couple at 89-90.

 

He should watch some Maddux tape to see how to get lefties with it.

Edit: Lost it a little in the 3rd. He threw some catcher assisted wild pitches. But he made a fantastic bare hand play on a bunt to get the guy at third and K'ed the heart of the order (Tucker, Zunino) to get out of it. Zunino on 3 pitches.

Edit 2: Jungmann is not pinpoint tonight, but I will say that the Gators are pretty stacked on offense. Their 8 hitter socked 3 bombs in a playoff game last year. Taylor has certainly had his impressive moments though.

And From Klaw: keithlaw keithlaw

5 is high but i agree there could be more in there RT @BucTD3: Jungmann has at least 5 mph in his delivery. He doesn't use his legs at all.

[TheCrew07]

I'm watching the game on the DVR right now.

 

The pitch in the first for that K was a nice change up, he hasn't thrown one since. I still like that pitch more than his curve, I don't get why he doesn't throw it more.

 

I'm watching the 3rd right now and his control is terrible walking the first 2 hitters and now a wild pitch as I'm typing this, but he made a real nice athletic play on what was supposed to be a sac bunt. He fielded the bunt bare handed and got the lead runner at 3rd, showed real nice quickness and athleticism for a guy his size. He just got another K on the best curve I've seen him throw, not a hard break, but it had real nice vertical 12-6 drop. Another K to get out of the inning with a change that wasn't located well, way up in the zone, but the hitter swung through it.

 

edit. I kind of like this Randall guy from Florida, he doesn't throw hard at all, hasn't hit 90 since the first inning, but every pitch has so much movement, I wouldn't mind if the Brewers picked him up next season. There have been some impressive throws in this game, the SS from TX just made a beautiful play across 2B to get an out and FL's C made an awesome throw to 2B, he's got a cannon.