College Baseball 2006

[colbyjack]

I finally had the chance to watch the Cal State Fullerton/Long Beach State game last night, at least the first several innings. Watching Wes Roemer face Andrew Carpenter was like watching Greg Maddux vs. Roger Clemens. Roemer pitches just like Maddux, relying more on movement and location than velocity. He neutralized left-handed batters with what looked to be a sinking fastball. The pitch starts in on the hands of a left-handed batter and drops down just below nipping the strike zone. It looks somewhat like a screwball. He also has a nice fading changeup, a decent slider and surprised a few batters when he uncorked his 4-seamer. Tim Stauffer was taken 4th overall in '03, garnering praise as a similar type of pitcher, and I could see Roemer being taken that early in '07.

 

Carpenter definitely has modeled his game after Clemens. From the windup he faces the plate square, glove in front of his barrel-chest and his hat pulled tight down onto his head. He even has similar mannerisms as Clemens on the mound. He's also the same as Clemens from the stretch, and has a similar, thick build wih a strong lower half. He really likes to use his split-fingered fastball, but he'll need a good catcher at the pro level as he spikes a lot of balls in the dirt. His fastball has decent velocity, and his breaking ball is average. I could see Carpenter going in the supplemental first-round this year.

 

Longoria is going to be a real good hitter at the next level, and should provide plenty of offense at 2B. I still would like to see him tried at SS, as he has the athleticism and rangy body to at least be given that chance.

[Bruce Ciskie]

I thought Roemer was fantastic against Beach. Certainly, he met the expectations I had for him after what I had heard about him.

 

I'm looking forward to the regionals this weekend. Besides ESPNU and CSTV, is there any other TV coverage that you all are aware of?

[CalNiner]

CJ,

 

Good comparisons re: LB/CSF players. My comments having watched all of these players over the past year:

 

Longoria- Profiles as a 2nd baseman in the mold of Jeff Kent. I don't believe he has the range or arm to play SS, and will probably not produce the power numbers to be considered a corner infielder in the "Bigs". Great hand-eye coordination and quick bat. FYI, the teams that have had private workouts with Longoria have worked him at 2nd.

 

Carpenter- Very mature physically. Looks like Clemens, but will not throw anywhere near as hard. Relies on his splitter, which has worked great in college. Question is upside. How much more development is in there. I believe he profiles as a middle relief type- will throw strikes.

 

Roemer- As I said in a post earlier this year, he throws off of breaking balls form three different angles and speeds. Personally, I believe he needs to learn to pitch more with his fastball. He gets a lot of batters in college to chase the breaking balls, and his reputation gets him a lot of border line calls that he won't get in pro ball. He hides the ball extremely well in his delivery, which has a lot of extra moves in it. His best attribute is his competitive nature which he will also need to manage a little bit when he leaves college. As I also said in my earlier post, I would take him on my rotation any day.

[ThatPhenomsMom]

For anyone who missed it a clip of Roemer v. Longoria/Carpenter is back up (here; www.cstv.com/) then scroll down to Instant Access and click on More Videos.

[parkside21]

Colby and/or others: Incase you are interested, I posted my recap of the action from the D3 NCAA tourney if anyone is looking for a semi-long read, lol, check the Off-Topic forum.

[colbyjack]

Thanks a lot parkside, I appreciate the incredibly detailed report.