Jacksonville: Brian Ellington, RHP

[tjfla]

Discuss

[emkayseven]

he's from Gainesville (no I don't know him beef, bobbob)

2012: The junior went 6-3 on the year posting a 4.08 ERA... led UWF and the GSC with 11.93 strikeouts per game… made 15 appearances and 11 starts… fanned 76 batters in 57.1 innings of work… held opponents to a .241 average… was an All-GSC second team selection…
2008-2009: (Florida State University) Medical Redshirt...
High School: Played centerfield and pitcher on the baseball team his junior year... was coached by Roger Maris' son, Kevin Maris... posted an 8-1 record with 93 strikeouts... hurled three no-hitters along with two other complete games... was named to first team All-Conference...

http://www.goargos.com/profile.asp?playerID=1777

[Flasportsfan88]

Asked my friend who caught him regularly at West Florida. This is what he said.

"scrub. 91-93 wild. Big league slider when it's on, which is a blue moon. Change up is good but has no feel for it. Can get real wild."

[FishTale]

Asked my friend who caught him regularly at West Florida. This is what he said.

"scrub. 91-93 wild. Big league slider when it's on, which is a blue moon. Change up is good but has no feel for it. Can get real wild."

No offense to your friend but his description is not one of a "scrub." It certainly fits the description of a project but you're talking size, average to plus fastball and at least the makings of an average to plus big league slider and change. Command appears to be an issue but in the 16th round, you take guys like this all day long. If player development can clean him up and turn him in to a major leaguer of some sort, even if just a 4A type, it's a heck of a draft pick.

[Flasportsfan88]

I didn't ask him how he projects as a major leaguer I asked him how he performed in Division II.

He also said the kid failed 4 drug tests and went to like 5 different schools.

[Mainge]

Change up is good but has no feel for it

Mind clarifying this? That's a contradictory statement

[Flasportsfan88]

Mind clarifying this? That's a contradictory statement

Movement

[Mainge]

What about it?

[Flasportsfan88]

Pretty sure he meant is that he has good movement on it but can't throw it on target consistently.

[Mainge]

Ah I see.

Still, 90s and a good change is something to work with. If he ever figures out control, good looks. If not, tough titties.

[LocoMarlinFan]

Ellington's long road to Miami

By Kevin Brockway
Staff writer
Published: Monday, June 11, 2012 at 11:58 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 11, 2012 at 11:58 p.m.
When Gainesville native Brian Ellington was drafted in the 16th round by the Miami Marlins last week, it was the culmination of a dream that began in Little League.

“To be able to get picked by a team that I grew up watching, in my home state, it was an honor,” Ellington said. “I had tears in my eyes.”

It was an emotional day for Ellington, considering what he overcame to achieve that dream.

Ellington can still tell you the day he underwent Tommy John surgery — Sept. 7, 2007. A top right-handed pitching prospect out of Oak Hall School, Ellington had thrown two straight fastballs in the low-90s to start a summer travel league game in North Carolina. Then came a curveball that helicoptered over the catcher’s mitt to the backstop

“My arm didn’t hurt too much,” Ellington said. “But the next two innings my velocity dropped to 84-85 miles an hour. I knew something was wrong.”

Ellington had torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He was just weeks shy of his 17th birthday.

Nine months of rehab followed after renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery. Ellington sat out his senior season at Oak Hall to get ready for his freshman season at Florida State, where he had earned a scholarship.

But Ellington said there were some differences of opinion of how to progress with his rehab at FSU. He jumped to two more junior college teams, first Chipola College, then Florida State College at Jacksonville.

During that time, Ellington was unable to regain the form that made him an elite pitcher in high school. In his junior season at Oak Hall, Ellington threw three no-hitters. At the junior college level, Ellington struggled to win games.

“Physically, I felt like I was all the way back,” Ellington said. “But mentally it was a grind for me.”

The low point came during his lone season at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

“I wasn’t pitching to the best of my capabilities,” Ellington said. “I was getting beat a lot. Guys that I used to be able to dominate in high school were getting hits off me.”

That’s when Ellington contemplated quitting baseball. But during a return to Gainesville last summer, Ellington changed his mind. He worked out with John Colacci, his travel-league coach with the Florida Hardballers. Colacci gave his former pitcher a pep talk.

“He’s never been a quitter,” Colacci said. “But he was a guy in high school who was always the fastest, the tallest. I told him ‘Right now, the game is humbling you. You can either stick it out or walk away. But it will make it that much sweeter if you can find a way to make it.”

“Marty Janzen, who pitched with the (Toronto) Blue Jays, lives in Gainesville and helps out with our program. He also overcame Tommy John surgery so I think he was able to talk to Brian and help him through some of the mental things he was going through.”

A change of scenery helped. Ellington moved on to Division II University of West Florida in Pensacola, where he went 6-3 with a 4.08 ERA this past season. He threw one shutout and struck out 76 in 57.1 innings.

More importantly, baseball was no longer tedious. It was fun again.

“It was a positive experience for me,” Ellington said.

Colacci’s alumni with the Hardballers include former area standouts Derrick Robinson (Triple-A, Kansas City Royals organization), LeVon Washington (Single-A, Cleveland Indians organization) and Tyler Holt (Single-A, Cleveland Indians organization). He said he thinks Ellington has as good a chance as anyone he’s coached to reach the majors. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Ellington has the physical build of a big-league starter.

“I really believe he’s going to make it,” Colacci said. “Because I know how hard he’s worked just to get back to this point. And I know he’s going to keep working hard.”

Ellington has one more year of eligibility left at West Florida, but he said he intends to sign with the Marlins.

“I take school seriously, but there are not too many people that get this kind of opportunity, to pitch in professional baseball,” Ellington said. “I truly feel blessed.”

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...orts?p=3&tc=pg

[Bucklin12]

Signed according to BA: http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft....php?team=1027

[emkayseven]

497) Brian Ellington, RHP, Miami Marlins: College arm from West Florida, 2.40 ERA with 33/25 K/BB in 30 innings for Jamestown in the NY-P, 20 hits. Good size at 6-4, 200, needs to get the walks down to project well at higher levels.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/...view#storyjump

[HUGG]

MLBPipeline #23 Prospect

Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45

A 16th-round pick out of West Florida in 2012, Ellington advanced to Class A Advanced Jupiter in 2014. He finished the year with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he pitched in the Rising Stars Game.

Ellington has good size and arm strength. His fastball typically sits in the mid 90s and can get up to 98 mph. His curveball is inconsistent, but, at its best, gives him a second above-average offering. He also can mix in a slider and a changeup, giving him a deeper arsenal than most relievers. He has worked to refine his delivery, and he's starting to throw more strikes as a result.

Ellington earns praise for his aggressive mentality on the mound. If he can continue to improve his control, he'll have all the makings of a big league reliever.

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

[Erick]

Made his big league debut last night and topped out at 98. Considering the state of the team and all of the relief arms in the system, it's really puzzling that this front office never sells high on closers.