Watched: Kansas State @ Missouri

I finally got around to making the trip to Columbia to see the Tigers (and especially Aaron Crow). The Tigers have been in a little bit of a slump, dropping their national ranking from #4 to #15. Aaron Crow was on the mound on Friday and they hoped to change their luck.

Aaron looked pretty strong in the first few innings, despite giving up a run in each of the first two. Aside from a double to lead off the game, Kansas State's hits were all ground balls that found their way through the infield. Crow combined an overpowering fastball with a wipeout slider to rack up the strikeouts.

The Mizzou offense was firing on all cylinders early, as well. After two innings the score was 7-2 and Aaron Senne and Jacob Priday had both homered. Priday would add another later, as would Trevor Coleman and Ryan Lollis. Here is a three picture sequence of Priday's second homerun:

The leftfielder never moved [Note: you can click on the pictures for a full-sized view].

Mizzou held on to win 13-10, but the story was Aaron Crow. He seemed to have the ability to 'turn it on' and become dominant when he needed to, but other times he seemed to lose focus. Maybe he was just hurting, though. Crow came out of the game in the sixth inning with an injury. It looked to me like he was grabbing at his lower back. [UPDATE: It has been reported that he had muscle spasms in his back, which as far as I know did not recur during the rest of Missouri's season] I hadn't noticed any deterioration in his stuff, but he had been a little wild in the inning (in which he gave up 3 runs - two earned - and left with men on first and second).

There are some concerns about Crow's mechanics - check out this picture of his delivery where his throwing elbow is above his throwing shoulder:

I believe that is what Chris O'Leary would call an 'inverted W', which is a warning sign (according to Chris). In the link above for Chris O'Leary, he breaks down Crow's delivery and explains why the 'inverted W' is a bad thing. He also talks about a red herring in Crow's delivery: the wrist wrap. O'Leary's conclusion is that the wrist wrap is not a red flag, and that may be, but it is odd looking in person:

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in seeing Crow in person. He has been tabbed as a top five pick in the draft, but he was far too inconsistent to me. His flashes of dominance showed what he is capable of, but I'm not sure that is enough for a top five pick.

As a bonus, here is three picture sequence of Trevor Coleman ripping a pitch into leftfield:

Coleman is a switch hitting catcher who hits for power and average from both sides of the plate. He seemed to handle himself well behind the plate, too, as he threw out a runner trying to steal and did a good job of blocking pitches in the dirt. He is only a Sophmore this year, but I would expect him to get some early draft consideration in 2009.

Another Kind of Tigers

I was going to go to the Missouri Tigers baseball game this Friday night. I had several reasons for making the trip, most prominently to get some game action practice using my new camera before I head to Florida for Spring Training next week. Unfortunately, the game has been cancelled because of cold weather.

I did do some research in preparation for my trip, though, so here is my quick preview of the 2008 Missouri Tiger baseball team:

Main Attraction

The big gun on this team is clearly Aaron Crow. He is one of the top rated pitchers in the country and is expected to be a top 5 draft pick this June. He was undrafted out of high school and wasn't considered a top prospect until this past offseason, when his fastball gained several mph in the Cape League (he now sits at 94-96 with his fastball). In 2007, as a Sophmore (and before his velocity jumped), he went 9-4 with a 3.59 ERA, with a 6.9 K/9 inning rate and a 2.5 BB/9 inning rate.

Other Stars

The 2007 recruiting class was huge for the Tigers. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year last year was catcher Trevor Coleman (drafted in the 38th round by Cincinnati out of high school) who put up a .282/.429/.506 line with 9 home runs in 170 at bats. Sophmore outfielder Aaron Senne is another solid bat from the class (drafted in the 13th round by the Twins). His line last year was .289/.389/.482 with 7 home runs in 218 at bats. The final big gun out of the 2007 recruiting class is pitcher Kyle Gibson (drafted in the 36th round by the Phillies). Reminiscent of Crow his Sophmore year, Gibson is currently more of a command pitcher than a power pitcher, but he may develop more velocity as he grows into his 6'6" frame. He has already been mentioned by Baseball America as a possible top pick in the 2009 draft.

Senior Jacob Priday is the power source in the middle of the lineup. Last season he hit 13 home runs while putting up a .297/.402/.575 line. Ostensibly an outfielder, the Tigers use him most often at the designated hitter spot (which does not bode well for him defensively at the next level).

Others to Watch

Missouri had another nice recruiting class this year, getting three commits that were drafted by major league clubs. The jewel of the class could be Missouri native (Blue Springs, MO) right handed pitcher Nick Tepesch, who was drafted in the 28th round by the Red Sox. The other two Freshman draftees are also both right handed pitchers: Brad Buehler (43rd round by the Rays) and Tyler Clark (46th round by the Cubs).

Outlook

Missouri started the year ranked in the top ten nationally and behind Aaron Crow and their underclassman hitters, they have a chance to stay there all year. Missouri is becoming known as a pitching pipeline, with Max Scherzer getting drafted early in the first round two years ago, and now Crow, Gibson, and perhaps Tepesch all lined up for first round selections in successive years.