Scouting Reports - Karsten Whitson (2010 Draft Class)

Scouted:

WWBA National Championship, October 24, 2009 (in attendance)
Aflac All-American Game, August 16, 2009 (film)

Under Armour All-America Game, August 8, 2009 (in attendance)

Perfect Game National Showcase, June 11-14, 2009 (film)

Frame:

Whitson has a power build with room to add strength as he continues to mature -- eyeballing it I'd say fifteen to twenty pounds. He is a solid athlete with clean actions and moves well off of the mound. Good body control and generally good repeatability.

Motion:

Whitson generates good velocity with a strong drive towards home and good hip/shoulder separation. He balances well over the rubber but can get into stints where he drifts towards home before reaching his balance point, most often when throwing out of the stretch. His arm action is relatively clean, though he finds some recoil as a result of his hard plant. His left leg lands bent but straightens almost instantly after contact, causing his momentum to swing around the leg rather than continue directly towards home. He also can stride a little too much towards the righty batter's box, which adds to the right-to-left momentum. This is not in-and-of-itself a large issue, though it has the potential to limit his control and certainly his command as continues to develop. He comes out of a high 3/4 slot and produces a tough angle for hitters to square on.

Stuff:

Fastball - Whitson's fastball is a low-90s offering that can consistently get up to the 94-95 mph zone. He produces some solid boring action and should have the ability down the line to produce groundballs as well as swings-and-misses. There's also potentially more velo in there, be it through some increased strength or clean-up in his stride/plant to get a little more momentum directly towards home. Control is the only factor preventing me from grading it a true plus offering right now, but the velocity and movement are there.

Slider - Whitson's low-80s power slider can be a nasty pitch when he's on, potentially among the best in the draft class, giving him the ability to freeze hitters as well as induce ugly cuts. There is good, hard bite as well as excellent depth, giving it plus potential when paired with the velocity. As with his fastball, the biggest obstacle to developing the pitch further is improving his control and command, though reports this spring indicate he is wielding the pitch with a high level of comfort and improved consistency.

Change-up - Whitson's off-speed pitch is a change-up with some drop, generally sitting in the low-80s. He can tip the pitch via some arm deceleration, but he shows enough feel for the offering to project as an average or above pitch down the line. He hits the same arm slot as his fastball, which aides in the deception of the pitch.

Nick's Notes:

I started out behind the plate during Whitson's start in Jupiter, FL during his WWBA National Championship outing for East Cobb Baseball, moving to the third base side to get another look at his mechanics. Upon arrival, I nestled between some golf carts occupied by ML scouts and was treated to a chorus of compliments directed at Whitson -- everything from his strength to his frame to his mechanics. This very tiny anecdote simply illustrates that while I point to some mechanical issues above, as well as concerns as to future control and command, these aren't the types of issues that will scare away Major League organizations -- or at least not a pair of AL organizations. Whitson has a special arm and a good feel for three pitches at an early stage in his development. Some tweaks could improve his effectiveness in the future, but as is he's easily one of the top few arms in the prep class, and arguably one of the top five arms in the entire draft class. He maintains his velocity and stuff through multiple innings, and could have three above-average to plus offerings once fully developed.

Projected Position: Mid-rotation to Front-end Starter

Suggested Draft Slot: First-half of 1st Round

Updates:

4/29/2010 - Whitson climbed two spots to #3 on the PnR Mid-Season Top 300, now ranking as PnR's second best arm in the draft class. Whitson has also enjoyed increased coverage this spring from the top mainstream media outlets covering the Rule 4 Draft, indicating the scouts they are talking to are high on the Chipley righty, as well.

11/4/2009 - Whitson racked-up nine strikeouts over five innings while allowing two hits in his Jupiter start for East Cobb. He was PnR Scouting's first round selection in a "mock draft" based upon WWBA National Championship showings (article here).

10/1/2009 - Whitson flumoxed Team Columbia in his start at the 2009 COPABE Pan Am AAA Championships, going five scoreless innings while striking out nine and allowing seven baserunners -- three hits and four walks -- and earning the win (Team USA recap here; box score here).

8/16/2009 - Whitson ranked as PnR Scouting's fourth most impressive performer at the Under Armour All-America Game (rankings here; article here).

Video: