Tyler Kolek, RHP

[Todd]

I would make him drop his breaking pitches. Completely eliminate them from his repertoire. They dont sound like they are all that advanced at this point anyway. Make him refine his changeup, and add a splitter and cutter to go along with it. With the heat this kid reportedly throws, IMO you could get the same effect of a breaking pitch from the much less stressful splitter and change with the speed difference and make it alot less taxing on the arm.

Bring him to Jupiter, put him on a strict diet and workout regimen, and limit his work, maybe start him out of the bullpen while slowly transitioning to the rotation in the GCL, while throwing enough fastballs to keep the pitch electric but while also working on his offspeed stuff.

JMHO of course.

[HUGG]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgUK2cZlwek[/ame]

[Mainge]

Command and release point are all over the place there.

[Big Z]

I miss Rodon.

[marlinsfan24]

Kolek, Marlins moving closer to deal
MIAMI — The Marlins are in advanced negotiations with Tyler Kolek, the second overall pick in last week’s First-Year Player Daft.

According to multiple sources, Miami is getting close to finalizing a contract that would start the 18-year-old right-hander’s professional career. Barring any late holdups, the deal could be official within a couple of days.

Along with Kolek, the Marlins also are making progress with all of their first 10 rounds of picks. There is strong optimism that deals will be reached soon with catcher Blake Anderson (36th overall), shortstop Justin Twine (43rd), second baseman Brian Anderson (76th), left-hander Michael Mader (105) and shortstop Brian Schales (107).

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Brian Anderson has agreed to a $600,000 deal.

Before deals are official, each player must complete his physical. That process with some of the picks is already underway.

Kolek is the marquee prize for Miami in the Draft, which got underway on June 5.

Kolek, the power pitcher from Shepherd, Texas, caught the attention of the Marlins and the entire league with his overpowering fastball. His 102 mph fastball is the highest ever recorded by a high school pitcher.

The slot value for the No. 2 overall pick is $6.8 million. But it is unclear if Kolek will receive exactly that amount.

http://joefrisaro.mlblogs.com/2014/0...loser-to-deal/

[marlinsfan24]

@jimcallisMLB
No. 2 overall pick Tyler Kolek, @Marlins finalizing deal for bonus of $6 mil. Third-highest bonus for HS P ever ... @MLBDraft

https://twitter.com/jimcallisMLB/sta...29433110577152

Jim Callis @jimcallisMLB · 18m
Kolek's $6 mil bonus will trail only Jameson Taillon & Brady Aiken ($6.5 mil each) in @MLBDraft history among HS pitchers ...

Signed, sealed, and delivered. https://twitter.com/jimcallisMLB/sta...29670445260801

[Miamarlin21]

Kolek will report to the GCL Marlins on Tuesday.

[Miamarlin21]

On no-throw status for a week after having lower back discomfort.

[Mainge]

He's fat

[emkayseven]

REENSBORO — Tyler Kolek didn’t figure in the decision, the big Texan was long gone from the game before his Greensboro Grasshoppers rallied for a 9-7 victory over the Delmarva Shorebirds at NewBridge Bank Park on Friday night.

Kolek left trailing 4-0, but the Hoppers rallied, led by Rodrigo Vigil, who went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.


Although it was brief, Kolek’s first professional start under the lights gave the announced crowd of 5,374 a glimpse of why the Miami Marlins picked the 19-year-old right-hander second overall in last June’s draft.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Kolek pitches from an easy delivery and doesn’t look like he’s working hard. Yet the baseball bursts from his hand with uncommon velocity.

His first pitch registered 96 mph on the radar gun, and Delmarva lead-off hitter Jay Gonzalez chopped it weakly to third base.

One pitch, one out.

Kolek threw nine more pitches that first inning — all four-seam fastballs, seven of them at 97 mph and one at 98 mph.


“He had a great first inning,” Hoppers pitcher coach Jeremy Powell said. “Then we got a little scattered with the fastball.”


Kolek threw a lot of fastballs — 66 of his 69 pitches looked like four-seamers. Working with a limited pitch-count early in the season, he gave up four runs on four hits in three innings of work.

This was Kolek’s 11th professional game, but his first under the lights. He pitched in the Gulf Coast League last season, which plays all day games, and his first start this season was on a Sunday afternoon.

“I pitched under the lights a couple of times in high school,” Kolek said, “but it was a small town and we’d get 50 or 60 fans. Nothing like coming out here tonight with 5,000. That was awesome.

“You can’t help but get butterflies sometimes. I did there for little bit. ... It wasn’t terrible. But I was a little disappointed with it.”

Kolek’s struggles started when he hit Delmarva’s Riley Palmer with a pitch in the second inning.

“He hit Palmer in the back, and it seemed to unravel from there,” Hoppers manager Kevin Randel said. “About 97 mph in the ribs? That had to smart.”

At that point, he had thrown 15 pitches, 11 for strikes. He finished with 42 strikes on 69 pitches.

“It slipped out of my hand,” Kolek said, “and after that I kind of lost my momentum. Things happen, you know?”

Warming up for the game, Kolek said he couldn’t get a feel for his curveball. None of the three he threw in the game were strikes.

“He got limited down to just the fastball,” Powell said. “He tried a few breaking balls, but the feel wasn’t there for him. And at the end of the day, when you’re pitching behind in the count, it’s tough to mix your secondary stuff in. With him, we’ve got to be able to corral that fastball first, throw it down in the zone for strikes and get ahead of hitters.”

Kolek gets another chance Wednesday. His turn falls on a morning school kids day.

http://www.news-record.com/sports/gr...dcf224b61.html

I'll be at his Wednesday start

[Bobbob1313]

Here's BaseballProspectus.com's scouting report on Kolek's last game

Build: Thick throughout frame, especially midsection/quads—legs; broad shoulders with wide hips; power bottom; body will be high maintenance going forward; could use some conditioning.

Mechanics: Three-quarters arm slot; good tempo but can rush; drop-and-drive type; arm stab in back and back elbow can get high; front-side glove gets high and big; has slight inverted W; starts from first-base side of mound but foot landing is on third-base side; crossfire delivery; cuts hips off when rotating; gets over front knee when releasing; can land stiff on front when throwing off-speed; high-effort delivery, but can repeat well presently; huge innings-eater type body, do not have questions about durability.

Fastball: present grade 60; future 70
Presently plus velocity; command is well below average, has trouble controlling the zone; small arm-side life; two-seam 91-92; create low amount of swings and misses; presently plays down but could play to 70 grade with improved command and possible velocity jump in bullpen.

Change up: 40/50
Arm-side sinking action; slowed arm speed in lower velocity band; consistent arm speed in higher velocity band with more sinking action; created more swings and misses in higher velocity band; presently below average but could play to average with improved command and higher spike in velocity from fastball—comfortable arm speed/separation from fastball velocity.

Slider/Curve: 30/50
Presently caught in between breaking balls; sweeping type break; flashed some bite; presently throws slider in curveball velocity band; slows arm speed and pronates wrist out in front; presently does not throw for a strike; at times loses grip and spins one but doesn't break; in higher velocity band did show ability to spin it; presently well below average but with improved command and velocity spike could show sharper shape and bite.

Tyler Kolek is a big, Texas right-handed pitcher who had a body of an innings-eater horse and arsenal of a mid-rotation starter. His complete arsenal flashed at least average, and he currently throws his fastball in plus to double-plus velocity band. Kolek has a bit of an arm stab and can cut himself off in his delivery, but he repeats relatively well despite having a high-effort delivery. Kolek would need to make the necessary adjustments to improve his command and let his full arsenal play to its full potential for him to remain a starter, but signs point to him being a reliever.

Round Drafted: 2014 1st round, 2nd overall
Why: Big Texas Prep RHP; showed ability to spin a breaking ball and ability to replicate arm speed on sinking action changeup; trust their developmental staff to tweak his delivery and improve command to keep him a starter—bullpen velocity spike, improved command could allow Kolek to become a closer.

Ceiling: Role 60; No. 3 Starting Pitcher.

Maybe it was just a bad start.

[MiamiHomer]

Woot a reliever!

[Jay]

Wasn't Kolek's ceiling supposed to be much higher than a no. 3

[Miamarlin21]

That's bad. Real bad.

[HUGG]

It's also based on one game