Lucas Giolito

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03-04-2012, 09:00 PM
Parker Hageman

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On the video, Giolito seems to have great form.

I'm not being critical of his form overall - rhythm, tempo, repeatability all look good -- what I am saying is that he is not engaging his legs as much as he probably should.

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Every pitcher instruction is leg up, then down and out.

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The front leg should go "up-down-out" helping a pitcher to keep his weight back over the mound, which in turn allows him to generate power with his back leg. If the pitcher's front leg goes "up-out-down" if throws off his balance, causes him to open up his front side, and rush his arm forward to catch up with the body.

Der. In the simplest sense of pitching, yes, leg goes up, down and out. It's also a little more complex than that. It's not that he should go "up-out-down" either. Compare Verlander's sideview to Giolito's sideview (specifically one minute and fifty-two seconds in). In Verlander's case, when his leg hits the pinnacle and starts its descent, he's already driving forward off of his back leg. So as he's coming down, he's moving forward and driving off the mound. In Giolito's case, when he hits the peak of his leg lift, he's bringing the front leg back down before moving forward with his body thereby limiting the amount of drive in his kinetic chain.

So, his mechanics are smooth, repeatable, etc but the leg lift is the one thing I would offer as a "hmm" situation when contemplating him and his mechanics - that there is a potential for Giolito for putting stress on his arm. For someone throwing triple-digits and have a long ways to go from high school to the big leagues, there is a chance that his arm starts to wear. I'm not saying its detrimental nor even a reason not to draft him.
03-04-2012, 09:02 PM
Parker Hageman

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While I agree that Giolito could use his lower half a little more, I think his arm action is really clean and he has very little effort in his arm action.

I have absolutely no problem with his arm action.
03-04-2012, 09:06 PM
Esoteric Ball Guy

From everything I've read I like Giolito more than Appel. That said if the Twins decide to go with a position player I hope they give a long look to Mike Zunino from Florida. Even if Buxton profile a bit higher I'd rather go after a premium position instead of grabbing another toolsy outfielder.
03-05-2012, 05:05 PM
Turd Furgeson

I keep hearing about Giolito's fastball that touches 100 mph at its peak. That's obviously very impressive, my question though is what are his secondary pitches? Do any of them rate very high?
03-05-2012, 05:16 PM
Parker Hageman

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I keep hearing about Giolito's fastball that touches 100 mph at its peak. That's obviously very impressive, my question though is what are his secondary pitches? Do any of them rate very high?

He's got a good looking curve ball -- you get a good idea of it in the first video I posted. He throws a change-up but I haven't seen anything written up on that.
03-05-2012, 07:08 PM
darin617

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Originally Posted by twinsarmchairgm

I think the chances of him going to school are pretty small as he really cant improve his stock any by going to college. The chances that he goes to UCLA and becomes the defacto #1 in three years are fairly low, and he is already looking at a bonus in the 7+m range. I hope Appel goes #1 because I think Giolito has a higher ceiling, even if there is a higher risk of him not reaching that ceiling.

Finally, someone actually makes a statement nobody can argue with. If he goes to UCLA he would be throwing away millions if he either gets hurt or sucks. Too bad for the Twins he will probably go #1. I would not be suprised to see Appel drop to #5 overall. You have to wonder what Appel can do to help his delivery, they say it's easy to pick up the ball off him. Let's actually draft a kid that can strike guys out and forget about pitching to contact...
03-05-2012, 07:38 PM
darin617

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Originally Posted by Cody Christie

That could be a sign of some bad things to come.

At this point, there is a lot of baseball left to be played before the Twins will have to make their selection. Both Giolito and Appel could turn into very nice players. The upside of Giolito is nice but I can see the Twins wanted to stick with the safer college arm.

I hate the idea of sticking with a safer college arm. What that means is using a #2 pick for a pitcher who would be a #3-4 SP on a good team or an ace on an average team.
03-05-2012, 07:47 PM
darin617

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Originally Posted by Fanatic Jack

I have said since October Lucas Giolito is the best pitcher in the 2012 MLB draft. He is a future ace pitcher and is very sound mechanically. However, the Twins don’t have any desire to draft a pitcher without college experience. They prefer #3 and #4 pitchers with little upside like Kevin Slowey and Alex Wimmers. Giolito would decide to go to UCLA if he is drafted by the Twins anyways. If you were the best prospect in all of MLB would you want to come to Minnesota and work with our coaching staff. It would make about as much sense as me giving vehicle designs to Lee Iacocca. They would tell him to “pitch to contact” and destroy his confidence just like they did to Liriano. Houston would be out of their minds to pass on Giolito and probably won’t. We need to hope Mark Appel is still available at #2 when the Twins draft. Appel is clearly not a #1 or #2 pitcher but will fit into our organization well.

Finally a great post from Fanatic Jack! I agree with this statement 100%. I am only confused when people say Giolito will go first and we need to hope Appel will still be available when we pick NEXT. Maybe the Twins will just draft another OF because they only have OF prospects that they value so high and would never trade and then they end up complete failures. I would be talking about Aaron Hicks who they should have dealt for Cliff Lee.
03-05-2012, 07:48 PM
Seth Stohs

Doesn't matter who they take, there is risk. The risk is far, far higher with Giolito than with Appel. Appel's ceiling is pretty solid too. I mean, he'll be a solid top of the rotation guy, and much more likely. I worry about his K-rate, but everything else is great. (except his last start) I mean, it's not like Appel is a bad pick. I'd rather go with the guy with the highest ceiling, but when he doesn't get above AA will all the same people who say that it's absolutely the right choice eat their words? No, they'll bash the organization because Appel has been to X All-Star games and playoff wins.
03-05-2012, 07:50 PM
darin617

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Originally Posted by thrylos98

Because with the hard caps on the slots, any pitcher would be nuts to bypass the money that comes from the second overall pick and risk injury in college. That simple.

Players can come here ride out their service time and hope the great minds don't ruin their skills. Just watch Liriano will be an Ace again when he leaves MN and gets real coaches to fix what the Twins did to him.
03-07-2012, 12:47 PM
Parker Hageman

https://twitter.com/#!/BAHighSchool/...64029764268032

Boom.
03-07-2012, 01:02 PM
Jeremy Nygaard

...well that's interesting... And potentially very costly.
03-07-2012, 01:12 PM
Seth Stohs

Wow!! Looks like his HS is in favor of Rest-and-Rehab too.
03-07-2012, 01:12 PM
righty8383

So much for him...who's next?
03-07-2012, 01:15 PM
thrylos98

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Wow!! Looks like his HS is in favor of Rest-and-Rehab too.

The keyword in the announcement is that the UCL is sprained and not torn. The correct treatment for spained UCL is rest and rehab. The ligament is stressed but in one piece, you just don't take it off. A bone analogy is a deep bone bruise vs a fracture...
03-07-2012, 01:19 PM
righty8383

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Originally Posted by thrylos98

The keyword in the announcement is that the UCL is sprained and not torn. The correct treatment for spained UCL is rest and rehab. The ligament is stressed but in one piece, you just don't take it off. A bone analogy is a deep bone bruise vs a fracture...

I am no expert, but I just get that feeling that a tear is all but inevitable somewhere down the road, Which of course would result in TJ surgery.
03-07-2012, 04:47 PM
gunnarthor

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Originally Posted by righty8383

So much for him...who's next?

Buxton would seem to fit the Twins mold. Very toolsy high school centerfielder. http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...-byron-buxton/
03-07-2012, 04:59 PM
twinkiesfan11

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Originally Posted by Parker Hageman

https://twitter.com/#!/BAHighSchool/...64029764268032

Boom.

Acting smug over someone's injury seems a little questionable...just saying
03-07-2012, 05:03 PM
Parker Hageman

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Acting smug over someone's injury seems a little questionable...just saying

There's nothing smug about it. It's big news, hence, "Boom".
03-07-2012, 05:10 PM
Neinstein

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Originally Posted by Parker Hageman

There's nothing smug about it. It's big news, hence, "Boom".

Don't worry Parker... after all the opposition in those earlier comments, you deserve to feel a little smug. No, you definitely aren't showing it. You're right, nothing smug about the "Boom".
What's really going on here is a lot of folks were getting so excited about the possibility of a Twins/Giolito draft. Now they're all pissed about it.
Giolito wasn't the pick for the Twins either way.

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