Rob Rasmussen, LHP

[tjfla]

5'10 160lbs-Website says 5'11 170

http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-b...sen_rob00.html

[Nick]

Good name.

[Fritz]

He's tiny for a pitcher.

[Ralph]

If the 2010 draft were today, UCLA left-hander Rob Rasmussen would most likely be considered a first-round talent based on his strong summer pitching for Orleans in the Cape Cod League. Rasmussen needed to reassert himself as a starting pitcher this summer, a goal he fulfilled statistically, and evidenced by this brief look. Rasmussen threw a good, hard rotation 12-6 curveball, then pushed the guy back with a 93 MPH fastball.

In our Q&A with Rasmussen, he discussed how he realized that his slider was taking away from his curveball, which even in the day and age of the power slider, is still the difference maker between a major league left-handed starting pitcher and an organizational filler. As the game continues to come clean and we see more and more ordinary right-handed pitchers throwing 88-91, a left-hander who can pop a 93, pitch at 90-91, and show a plus curveball is what we call a premium prospect.

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/0...smussen-video/

[LocoMarlinFan]

Scouting Report
Fastball: Rasmussen has been showing some more velocity this spring. He touched 95 mph in this start, perhaps because of the adrenaline from pitching in Dodger Stadium. He sits comfortably at around 91 mph.

Fastball movement: It has solid-average sink, tail and cut.

Curve: He has an average curve with some depth to it. He throws it 76-80 mph.

Slider: It's a hard and short slider, thrown around 85 mph.

Changeup: He has a solid changeup, around 82-83 mph, with some sink and fade.

Control: He's around the plate, but he does run high pitch counts.

Poise: He's a terrific competitor with plus makeup.

Physical Description: Rasmussen has a strong and compact frame. Physically mature, he's got a muscular lower half.

Medical Update: He's had some injuries in the past, including a fractured back his junior year of high school, but he's healthy now.

Strengths: Really competitive, knows how to pitch and uses all his pitches to keep hitters guessing.

Weaknesses: He needs to be a little more efficient. He's not the biggest guy in the world.

Summary: Rasmussen is a pretty advanced college lefty with an interesting combination of pitchability and stuff. He has four pitches he's around the plate with, though he does need to be a little more efficient with his pitches. He's a bit undersized, which might concern some, but he does a nice job mixing his pitches and keeping hitters guessing. If the spike in velocity he showed early in the spring is still around all season, he could sneak even further up Draft boards.

From MLB.com

[emkayseven]

I dig

so far so good IMO
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here's all of BaseballBeginning's stuff:

http://baseballbeginnings.com/tag/rob-rasmussen/

[Ralph]

I like to. BTW he called his own games this season.

[tjfla]

Weird Pick this early but you really can't go wrong with a college arm who throws 4 pitches,knows how to play the game,and will sign cheap

Best Case=SP
Worst Case=LOOGY

[DropkickAlex]

55 Fastball
60 Curve
60 Slider

50 Command

Not bad actually, I like the pick. There's some big talent left but knowing we don't go big on picks really; this pick is solid.

[emkayseven]

from BBB:

Rasmussen has matured from a little guy with a big breaking ball who was an anomaly coming from a private high school into a legit front-line major league left-handed starting pitcher prospect with four quality pitches.

Rob Rasmussen, LHP
5-11, 170
UCLA
Games seen: 3, Innings: 11

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Powerful lower half. Strong upper body. Average height.

STRENGTHS: FB 89-92 (91), above-average movement and command. Curveball 75-79 (79), well above-average rotation, tight depth and shape, two-plane with deceptive power. Fearless to pitch with his breaking ball, commands respect. Change-up 82-84, average velocity, movement and command. Slider 92-85 (84) with above-average movement and command. Slider has tilt and plane against right-handers. Different look from CB. Not the same pitch. Overall average command and control. Trusts CB as go-to pitch.

WEAKNESSES: Has had times of throwing too many CH in college career – not necessarily his fault. Absolute at his best when using all four pitches. Best when allowed to pitch with fastball. Better at using what works best on given day.

SUMMARY: Frontline 3-pitch LH ML starter. Most complete college LH starter in this draft for me. Extremely competitive and intelligent pitcher, up-tempo bulldog. Has the intangibles to pitch above his physical grades at the major league level.

GRADES (Present/Future):
Fastball 55/55
Curveball 60/60
Slider 60/60
Change-up 50/50
Command 50/50
Control 50/50

Overall Future Potential: 54

LOVE it

[Bobbob1313]

Nate Silver says Rasmussen has had a significant republican slant since the 2006 elections

of course MK7 approves!

[emkayseven]

hahahaha

[Nick]

UCLA's super regional will be covered by ESPN 2 this weekend.

[emkayseven]

word is he runs pitch counts high

some video:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueCLOR837IM&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaBdXUvE5K0&feature=related[/ame]
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Projectability is a term frequently heard from scouts when talking about pitching prospects, particularly taller ones with a big frame. UCLA's Rob Rasmussen is not a prospect you're going to hear those terms bandied about for.

Despite starting the season with a 30-14 K/BB and a 2.79 ERA over the first 19.1 IP of the season, Rasmussen is not getting as much buzz as other pitchers because of his size. He's listed at just 5'11" and 170 lbs.

Jason Churchill of espn.com recently talked with a few scouts to get their take on Rasmussen.

"All things being equal," one area scout said, "you want the size -- some projectability to know that he's got a chance to get significantly better, even if it's just because he's going to get bigger and stronger. A smaller pitcher has more limitations."

Eventually, however, scouts will have to take notice of his performance. His fastball sits in the low-90s, throws a good change of pace low-80s change up and has a curveball a scout called "very good, above average and sometimes it's a legitimate strikeout pitch for him."

Beyond his size, another concern is his command. While his 30 strikeouts in 19.1 IP is excellent, 14 walks in 19.1 IP is not. "This is a kid who will have to throw more strikes," said one crosschecker of an NL club. "But he can repeat his delivery; his release point and upper half need some work as it doesn't appear his lower half is working with his arm, but that can be fixed. It's somewhat common. It's probably why he gets into so many deep counts, though."

The question remains then, how high could Rasmussen be drafted? Being selected in the first day seems likely, but the first round? "He could be one of those where we say. 'We missed the boat a bit on him'" one scout said.

"No, he's going to pitch in the big leagues, and if things are cleaned up a little and he keeps developing the two offspeed pitches, he'll be more than a back-end guy."

http://www.baseballrumormill.com/201...-despite-size/
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With Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer heading UCLA's weekend rotation, Sunday starter Rob Rasmussen often gets overlooked. But by all indications, Rasmussen would likely be an ace on many other pitching staffs in the country. Professional scouts have taken notice, flocking to Jackie Robinson Stadium to see Rasmussen, who will be draft eligible this June. He has impressed so far, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.64 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. We caught up with him following UCLA's 20th consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon.

Blair Angulo: Before the season there were some uncertainties about who would pitch on Sundays. How have you settled into that role?

Rob Rasmussen: I knew that I'd be a starter -- what day it was didn't matter to me. But it's nice to be able to pitch after Cole and Bauer. All three of us pitch in a different style, but we pitch effectively. I'm not trying to keep up with them -- just making sure we get a win after they do their job.

Angulo: Talk about this 20-0 start. Is there a feeling of not wanting to be the guy that snaps the streak?

Rasmussen: No one wants to be the guy who loses it, but I don't think anyone really thinks about it. We just go about doing our job. After last year -- I'm not saying we know how to lose -- but we know our losses are going to come. We don't take this streak for granted. We don't expect it to end soon, but at the same time, we don't come to the field every day saying we can just show up and win. We have to play our game and if we do that we'll be fine.

Angulo: What role has head John Savage played in this historic 20-0 start? Has he done anything different from other years?

Rasmussen: We have a different mentality, but the coaching staff has definitely passed that down to us. I think that we've all accepted that. After last year, we all decided that we wanted to change it. We want to do something special here and I think we have the talent to do it. That's been the mentality -- just to take advantage of this time right now. The coaches and the players have been on the same page. That’s been a huge reason for our success.

Angulo: Is there a limit to what this team can accomplish this season?

Rasmussen: No, I don't think so. We have the pitching, obviously, but we also have the timely hitting. We're never out of an inning and there's never a time where we can't score. That's huge. Our offense knows that our pitching is going to keep us in there. The pitchers know our defense and offense are going to show up every day.

Angulo: It took the team 41 games to get the 20th victory last year...

Rasmussen: It's the first time I've heard that. It's a great feeling right now and we're just going to keep trying to go. Everything starts over next weekend with Pac-10 play. Our goal was to go out and be the best team in the Pac-10 during the non-conference. So far, we've been doing that. Obviously, Arizona State is putting up some ridiculous numbers too but we're just going to keep sticking with it. When Thursday hits, it's a new season for us.

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/...-rob-rasmussen

[Ralph]

My favortie pick in the draft.