AFL Update: October 15, 2011
The Scottsdale spiral continues with a fourth straight loss, this time by a 14-5 count. Three Nats saw game action…
- Bryce Harper drove in two with a 7th-inning triple and went 1-for-4 overall while playing left field
- Zach Walters went 0-for-4 while playing third base, where he made two putouts and had an assist
- Rafael Martin was touched for a home run and a double over his 1⅓ innings of work, but walked none and struck out two
The Scorpions and Javelinas rematch this afternoon to finish out the second week of AFL play.
Some interesting bits on Purke from Byron Kerr on the MASN site. He’s finally in Scottsdale, throwing 92-93 & will apparently come out of the bullpen. I’m good with that, how about you folks?
I don’t think his performance in the AFL is going to be definitive. I think the bigger questions are:
How is the movement on his FB?
How is his control?
What are his results in the AFL? does he get hit hard? Does he learn from mistakes and improve as the season goes on?
Going forward:
How much are the Nats going to tweak his delivery?
He has a short stride and his velocity comes from arm strength not the use of his lower body. Will he adapt? Or will he be unable to?
Is he starter? Can he maintain his velocity in the later innings? Because he had a problem with that his last year.
Will he master a 3rd pitch (change up) or a 4th for that matter.
I think his potential is great, but he has a lot of risks. I don’t think he is close to a sure thing at all… I am hopeful, but I think next season minor league season will be more interesting.
Rich: This will be our 1st look at him as a true Nationals prospect. I’d like to see what we have over the next month with Purke & go from there.
No draft pick is ever a sure thing; They’re more like lottery tickets, in that the more you buy (sign), the better your chances of hitting a winner.
You are absolutely right. I didn’t mean to sound like I wasn’t excited about reading about his achievement. I will be following him without a doubt. And I hope that he will be very successful.
I will be curious if he can throw harder than 93… Not that velocity is everything, but he used to be able to throw 95, right? If he can hit that or 96 it would make me feel a bit better about arm strength…
Interpreting ‘Coach speak’ for a moment, I’d guess that Doug Harris was talking about where Purke had his FB on average; If I’m right with that assumption, he should be able to ramp up to 95-96 when needed. Even if I’m wrong, 92mph from a 20-y.o. LH is pretty good, as long as he has 2-3 other pitches to mix in.
If Purke regularly hits 92-93 and tops out at 94-95 I would be happy with that for the AFL. Purke hasn’t thrown in game action for nearly five months, so to me just proving that his shoulder is sound is the key.