With the 101st pick of the 2011 MLB Draft, the Mets selected another college pitcher in Logan Verrett, a Right Handed Pitcher (RHP) from Baylor University. Verrett hails from Texas and was not drafted out of high school. What makes me excited about Verrett are three Big 12 records that he holds:
K/BB – 4.14
BB/9 – 2.30
K/BB (Career) – 3.83
Mainly, what is looked at for a college pitcher, outside of raw skill is control. Can they control their pitches while still getting batters out? Well in the college level Logan Verrett is doing that, and doing that very well. While the other pitchers they Mets have chosen were power pitchers, Verrett is a control pitcher. His fastball sits at around 90's, he mixes in a slider and has a changeup that is in the 70's. Here are some of his college numbers:
2011: 7-5, 2.87 ERA, 100.3 IP, 95 K
2010: 5-3, 3.28 ERA, 90.2 IP, 97 K
2009: 7-1, 5.13 ERA, 54.1 IP, 64 K
In 2009 he was mostly used in relief, and since that he was mainly used as a starter. His K's stand out, especially vs innings. The key for Logan moving up in the system will be if he can make the adjustments necessary for the higher levels of play. Will he still be able to keep the ball in the zone while keeping runners off the base? Time will tell.
