Sonny Gray Scouting Report

Sonny Gray has been drafted by the Oakland Athletics and has already agreed to terms.

This is Part 4 in a series previewing 12 potential players for the Orioles’ #4 overall selection in the 2011 draft. The full series:

1. Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice
2. Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
3. Danny Hultzen, LHP, Virginia
4. Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt
5. Jed Bradley, LHP, Georgie Tech
6. Bubba Starling, OF, Gardner-Edgerton HS, Kan.
7. Francisco Lindor, SS, Montverde Academy HS, Fla.
8. Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA
9. Dylan Bundy, RHP, Owasso HS, Okl.
10. George Springer, OF, Connecticut
11. Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Spring Valley HS, S. Car.
12. Archie Bradley, RHP, Broken Arrow HS, Okl.

Sonny Gray is a solid pitching prospect that most link to the small stature Tim Lincecum. His stuff has him as one of the best arms in this class, but many are divided on his role as a professional.

School: Vanderbilt
Position: RHP
Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Height: 5’10” – 5’11”
Weight: 180 lbs.
Body: Bottom heavy athlete with solid legs and hips, strong lower build. Solid/compact upper body, strong forearm/wrist development.

Fastball

Gray mixes the two-seam and four-seam fastballs throughout his outings. He sits comfortably in the 92-94 mph range with the four-seamer and occasionally will gear it up to 96-97 mph. The four-seamer comes out very heavy, but it lacks consistency with the movement, as he will get tagged by better hitters at times. The two-seam has more cutter than sink in it, but still shows some downward movement. He has worked it in then 91-92 mph range and over the last few outing the pitch has been 89-90 mph. Both pitches maintain velocity late into games as well as late into longer innings, which is significant as it shows he can handle bigger workloads going forward.

Slider

The slider is a pitch Gray needs to shows more often, as lately he is getting away from it. It is a hard biting slider that gets through the zone in a hurry. He tends to throw this pitch with a lot of bite and you can really see the snap in the arm, which makes me pause while watching him. The movement from the high slot tracks downward and away from the right handed hitter. He shows no preference for location and works it well to both sides of the plate. The pitch runs 84-88 mph, but sometimes a bit  faster or slower. It is most effective when working around 86-87 mph.

Curveball

Cole’s owns a true power curveball (81-84 mph) with 12/6 break. I consider this his out pitch and the only secondary offering that is not above-average at this stage of development. His curveball comes out hot and heavy as well, and it is common theme in his arsenal. Typically, this pitch has a lot of bite and will fall off the table in a hurry. He gets curve happy sometimes and tends to want to use this pitch to set everything else up. This is fine in high school and college, but he will have to effectively live off multiple off speed pitches and maximize the fastball in the professional ranks.

Lately — specifically his last three outings — Gray’s curve has been floating too much for my taste. Most baseball people will tell you the easiest pitch to hit in baseball is a hanging hard slider, and the same goes for a hanging power curve. Overall though, I feel Gray’s curveball still has some projection left in it and he should be able to throw at will once he learns to live off the fastball.

Changeup

As with everyone in this draft outside of Cole and Hultzen, Gray’s changeup is a solid offering for his level, but he will have to improve it as he matures. His change has good sink and the grip is a straight change, three finger grip that comes out of his hand at 82-85 mph. I see some ever so slight deceleration at times that will be corrected as he continues his professional career. This pitch should improve beyond major league average because it simply offsets the power of the rest of the arsenal.

Mechanics

During the loading phase, Gray’s arm is elongated a bit longer than normal and you see a full extension. Sometimes this can be a root problem with timing where you tend to rush through your delivery. As Sonny moves into the transition phase, his arm is slotted along with the shoulders, which minimizes pressure on the girdle. His delivery is smooth as far a mechanics are concerned.

He has a solid lower first half and starts with an aggressive drive and plant foot. He gets a larger extension in the stride that allows the ball to come out of his hand, as if he were a few inches taller. He has solid hip turn and really drives off the mound. While everything is safe, he does bring a great deal of force that is on the verge of what I would call max effort.

Gray does have some issues that should make any team pause and these lead to both command and control problems. One, he tends to sweep away in the follow through more to first base than you like out of any pitcher. Two, he tends to rush his body. Sometimes you will see his lower half go way ahead of his upper torso and the rush leaves timing in flux. Combine the rushing tendencies and the sweeping follow through, and you can see why he pitches deep in innings and tallies higher pitch counts than his record should indicate.

Control/Command

Gray walks his fare share for a guy who could strike out 12-15 batters each outing. His fastball command is not always present for his pedigree and when frustrated his heater will be a very loose pitch for him. The ball will float in the zone on occasion and is often all over the place outside, inside, and beyond the catcher’s set up. When the curve is working he will show solid command, but control can get the better of him. As with power curves, these pitches often float in the zone. I feel his control can improve as he learns to trust his body, but he simply works too many batters counts and walks too many for my taste at this time. I think the right team forces him to work off the two-seam and four-seam and he turns into a completely different type of pitcher.

Intangibles

Gray’s greatest asset could be his un-doing. He is ultra-competitive on the mound, but sometimes wears his heart on his sleeve. I have seen him on more than one occasion lose his cool on the hill, but in a controlling way. Once this happens, you see some of the ugly things pop up in his game which get him in trouble. When he is Cool Hand Luke on the hill, he is a more effective pitcher.

Sonny has a very good move to first base, which all comes from a highly athletic individual. I think if he were a few inches taller, he would have been playing on Saturday afternoon’s in the fall.

Whether he’s a starter or reliever is yet to be determined, but either way he brings a skill set that rivals few arms in the 2011 draft class.

Discuss Sonny Gray in our MLB Draft Forum >>

This is Part 4 in a series previewing 12 potential players for the Orioles’ #4 overall selection in the 2011 draft. The full series:

1. Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice
2. Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
3. Danny Hultzen, LHP, Virginia
4. Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt
5. Jed Bradley, LHP, Georgie Tech
6. Bubba Starling, OF, Gardner-Edgerton HS, Kan.
7. Francisco Lindor, SS, Montverde Academy HS, Fla.
8. Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA
9. Dylan Bundy, RHP, Owasso HS, Okl.
10. George Springer, OF, Connecticut
11. Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Spring Valley HS, S. Car.
12. Archie Bradley, RHP, Broken Arrow HS, Okl.