Andrew Heaney, LHP

[emkayseven]

Discuss.
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120k:19bb last year in 102 innings...insane

http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-base..._andrew00.html
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Oklahoma State junior Andrew Heaney has been named a 2012 Louisville Slugger Division I First-Team All-American, it was announced today by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

A left-handed pitcher for the Cowboys, Heaney is the first OSU player to earn first-team All-America honors since Tyler Mach in 2006. He is one of six starting pitchers on the 2012 Louisville Slugger first team, which is selected by the staff of Collegiate Baseball.

Heaney was dominant on the mound for the Cowboys this season and was named the 2012 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team performer. He is a finalist for the College Baseball Hall of Fame National Pitcher of the Year and a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.

In 15 starts this season, Heaney was 8-2 with a 1.60 ERA. He tossed six complete games, including three shutouts, and racked up an NCAA-leading140 strikeouts in 118.1 innings of work. Opponents hit just .180 against him.

An Oklahoma City native, Heaney recorded eight or more strikeouts in 12 of his 15 appearances. He was the first OSU pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season since Matt Smith racked up 114 in 2000, and his 140 punchouts were the fifth most in a single season in OSU history.

Heaney’s three shutouts were one shy of the Big 12 single-season record and are fifth on OSU's career list.

Among Big 12 pitchers in 2012, Heaney ranks first in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, shutouts, complete games and opponent batting average.

http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-base...053112aaa.html

[Bucklin12]

Should be better than the last Big 12 1st rounder they drafted.

[emkayseven]

Summary

Heaney is not the dominating presence on the mound since he stands 6-2 and weighs 175 pounds. That weight is actually a big improvement for him since he was drafted out of high school weighing below 150 pounds. But, pitching isn't all about striking fear in a hitters heart, it's about being better than the hitter. This is where Heaney succeeds. You know that term "pitchability" that gets thrown around with guys like Jordan Lyles? Well, that's his calling card. He's smart and knows how to attack your weaknesses at the right time to beat you.

Because of his size, there were question marks surrounding his ability to be legitimate starter in the big leagues because scouts weren't sure if he could keep his fastball velocity and stuff going deep into games and rack up inning totals. Heaney finished the season out with a nine game stretch that left every scout no longer doubting him as he racked up a lot of innings in a short amount of time and maintained his stuff into the ninth inning on a few occasions. Heaney has flown up draft boards since and now is recognized as one of the best, if not the best, college lefty available.

He works off of his fastball that ranges from 88-92 and flashes 93 on occasion which is well above-average for a lefty. It's not a straight offering either since he brings it with heavy sink and good arm-side run. He uses breaking ball as an out pitch in which he gets hitters swinging or pounding the pitch into the dirt. I call it his breaking ball as it's most commonly called a curve but have seen it referenced as a slider. The changeup is developing but will be at least an average pitch. All three are at least average and can be at times above-average.

Mechanically, I don't see any major flaws that say he'll be an injury risk. It's an easy motion which you can tell from the videos that he doesn't have a lot of effort in his delivery. His arm slot seems to be on the low end of a 3/4 arm slot which lends to why his curve has been described as a slurve and slider. His motion also involves a little deception because of his slow leg kick and stride that lead you to expect a slower motion. But, that's not the case as he still generates some good arm speed that gets on you before you expect it.

Floor

Hate to say it, but a guy with his stuff has at least a job as a LOOGY. Heck, lefty's with his fastball alone can make it through a season as long as they have a show me pitch to go with it. He has the curve which is above average so he'll be able to handle the job. What would cause him to get here is that his body doesn't actually hold up for the workload of a starting pitcher. He gets here because he's not an injury risk and has above average stuff.

Ceiling

Ultimately, his ceiling is as a #3 starter or a decent #2. He's just not dominant enough to be a #1. He has the pitches and if the changeup truly develops into an above average pitch, this guy is going to move quickly through a system and be a solid contributor early. He could also be a late bloomer as far as body development. If he fills out a little more and hits 93 consistently, that #2 ceiling looks even more appealing.

Projected Draft Round

His late season surge that topped out in the Big 12 tournament has potentially put him in the top 15 picks. He's a first rounder for sure and something would have to show up between now and Monday to drop him into the supplemental round. He's just done too much this season to fathom him falling that far.

Will he sign?

I don't see why not. The questions surrounding the college junior have been answered so there's really not much to prove. However, he'll turn 21 on the second day of the draft, so even if he doesn't sign, he'll still be fairly young coming out as a college senior next year. I just don't see him improving his stock next year as he's already put together a solid body of work this season that scouts like.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/5/...hp-oklahoma-st

http://youtu.be/JytqYmEbt9w

[dim]

He sounds like a polished player. Doesn't sound like a superstar in the making, but a very solid guy who pounds the strike zone, and will move along the minor league system rather quickly.

I'm sure the Marlins would've rather taken Fried, but not a bad consolation prize.

[TheMendozaLine]

[tjfla]

Not sure how I feel about this pick since we already have Andrew Heaney pitching for us in Jupiter(Chad James) but you know what they say "You never have enough Left Handed Pitching" plus he should sign for 2.5-2.8 million.

[Bucklin12]

He sounds better than James to me. And they are the same age. But, we'll see.

[Jorge18]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NanV0aVLffY&feature=fvwrel[/ame]

[emkayseven]

Analysis: The best college lefty in the draft could go in the single digits; he's not that physical but otherwise checks all the boxes, including outstanding results with 109 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 93 innings in the strong Big 12 this year.

ESPN

When Heaney was coming out of high school in Oklahoma, he and Chad James were the top prep lefties in the state and both were highly thought of. James went in the first round and signed. Heaney, because of signability, slid and went on to Oklahoma State.

Teams aren't likely to pass on him this time around. Heaney still has the easy arm action scouts loved in high school and he repeats his delivery consistently. He also has the chance to have three solid-average to plus Major League pitches. He maintains his velocity deep into starts and can run it up to 93 mph at times, plus for a southpaw. His curve is an out pitch, with sharp depth and bite. His changeup is very deceptive and has late sink.

He has advanced pitchability, throwing all three offerings for strikes and mixing them well to keep hitters guessing. Pitchability lefties always do well on Draft day. When they have good stuff to go with that, they get followed very closely.

MLB.com

[tjfla]

his twitter

http://twitter.com/#!/heandog8

[lou]

There is nothing wrong with high floor players. System SP depth is getting pretty exciting. There is a whole slew of club controlled awesome coming so they can buy bats (a much wiser investment in free agency for my tastes).

[Ralph]

Wasn't very good prior to this season. Hope he figured it out and wasn't a fluke. Also aim some weight.

[Bobbob1313]

Averaged better than 7 2/3 innings per start in college. 140 K to 22 BB in 118 1/3 innings.

But only 8 wins in 15 starts.

:-)

[Todd]

I like this first round Oklahoma south paw much more than the last Oklahoma south paw simply because they didnt ridiculously pass on a Shelby Miller equivalent pitcher to draft him.

[Bobbob1313]

I like this first round Oklahoma south paw much more than the last Oklahoma south paw simply because they didnt ridiculously pass on a Shelby Miller equivalent pitcher to draft him.

Yeah, but I read somewhere that this guy is going to be a loogy.