Adam Conley, LHP

[emkayseven]

yeah, Fernandez is starting tonight

[Bucklin12]

Really in depth interview with Conley about the current state of his pitches. Pretty insightful stuff.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp...vkey=news_milb

[emkayseven]

named #14 prospect in the Sally League from this year

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...2/2614131.html

[Cambridge]

@ AA Jacksonville

First Start:
5IP 1H 0BB 8K
55 Pitches 40 Strikes

1-0 Jacksonville win

Pretty awesome start.

[Mainge]

Nice. It'd be cool if he kept this up.

[HUGG]

Adam Conley got to face just one batter for the Miami Marlins in Spring Training, but his short Grapefruit League outing was perfect.

It took the second-round pick in the 2011 Draft just three pitches to strike out out Landon Powell of the New York Mets in the March 7 game.

"It would have been nice to pitch more, but the Marlins had a lot of pitchers to look at," Conley said. "I want to earn a longer look next year."

The left-hander is doing just that so far this season with Double-A Jacksonville. The Marlins' No. 6 prospect is 5-2 and has allowed just two runs over 11 2/3 innings in his past two starts, striking out 14.

The key for Conley has been his slider -- the pitch that will likely determine whether the 23-year-old Washington native stays a starter or has more of a Major League future as a reliever.

"I worked a lot on it and made a huge improvement," he said. "It was really good the last two starts."

Conley already had the rest of the pitching arsenal. He gets plenty of movement and velocity with both his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, and also has a solid changeup.

"I'll always pitch off my fastball," said Conley, who can crank it up to 97 mph at times. "But I needed to have a better breaking ball. That has been a point of emphasis."

The slider was behind because Conley was a reliever for part of his career at Washington State, setting a Cougars record with 12 saves as a sophomore. He moved to the rotation as a junior and impressed the Marlins, who gave him a bonus of $625,000.

"I was more comfortable as a closer in college," he said. "But I really love starting now. You can decide the pace of the game."

But Conley remains open to either role.

"I have faith in the Marlins making the right call on that," he said.

Conley was 7-3 with a 2.78 ERA in the first half of last season with Class A Greensboro, but tailed off to 4-2 with a 4.44 ERA after being promoted to Class A Advanced Jupiter.

That taught him a lesson. Conley, who is 6-foot-3, worked hard during the off-season to get his weight up to about 210 pounds from 195, and he has cut back on his throwing during the season.

"I learned how important it is to keep your weight up and stay strong," he said. "You have to take care of your body."

This season, Conley hopes to get better as the season goes along, and he is following that course so far. He was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in five April starts, despite allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings in his debut, then went 4-1 with a 4.39 ERA in five May outings. In June, he is 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA after two outings.

Overall, Conley has 56 strikeouts to 14 walks in 59 1/3 innings, and opponents are batting .238 against him. He allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings vs. Pensacola on May 11, striking out five and walking none.

"The idea this year was to build up as the season went along," he said.

The Suns are in a four-team battle for first place in the Southern League's South Division despite having pitcher Jose Fernandez, outfielder Marcell Ozuna and second baseman Derek Dietrich promoted to the rebuilding Marlins, Fernandez before the season even started.

"We were happy for them and it was exciting for us," Conley said. "We know that the opportunity is here. It's great for a young player to be in the Marlins organization right now."

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp..._milb&sid=milb

[dim]

I like Conley's chances as a starter, but I wouldn't mind if they move him back to relief work. I think he has a future with the big league squad either way at some point.

[HUGG]

MLBPipeline #8 Prospect

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
Conley began his professional career well, earning All-Star honors in each of his first two full seasons. But his rapid ascent was slowed in 2014 by injuries, as he was limited to just 13 games.

When healthy, Conley throws his fastball in the low 90s with good sinking action that helps him create groundball outs. His changeup is his best secondary offering, while his slider holds the key to his development. If he can throw it more consistently, he has the makings of a back-end starter. If not, he would be a good fit in the bullpen. He was used as a reliever some at Washington State, and his stuff played up in short stints.

If Conley can return to full health in 2015, he could soon be ready for an opportunity in the big leagues in either role.

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=mia

John Sickels #12 Prospect

12) Adam Conley, LHP, Grade C+: Age 24, bothered by elbow problems costing him both stuff and command, posted 5.92 ERA with 50/28 K/BB in 65 innings in Double-A/Triple-A, 74 hits. I liked him heading into 2014 but this was not a good year, lost four MPH on fastball and slider deteriorated. Could rebound if healthy but skeptics who projected him as a reliever and not a starter were probably right.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/...pects-for-2015