2008 Draft, Rd4, #140, Corban Joseph

Born: 28/10/1988
Height: 6′2″ Weight: 165 lbs
Position: SS
Bats: L Throws: R
Transactions: Selected in 4th round (140th overall) of 2008 draft out of Franklin High School.

Video
MLB Scouting Video
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl_3_1.jsp?w_id=702219&w=/2008/open/draft/broll/br_joseph_corban_400.wmv&mid=200805302799653&pid=gen_video&vid=11071&cid=mlb&v=2&bypass=true

Photo
http://yankees.scout.com/PictureGallery.aspx?PlayerId=117191&Title=David%20Adams

Pending Pinstripes
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/2008/06/05/yankees-4th-round-pick-corban-joseph/
The Yankees took shortstop Corban Joseph, the Tennessee high school baseball player of the year, in the 4th round. Joseph put up huge numbers in his senior season, batting .510 with 15 home runs, and he only struck out 5 times in 135 at bats. He has a nice lefty swing with good bat speed, and can hit for both power and average. The fact that he only struck out 5 times thi season indicates that he does not have problems making contact. While he doesn’t have great speed, he has a chance of staying at shortstop, but it appears he was drafted mostly for his bat. I haven’t heard of Joseph before he was drafted, but he sounds like he has a very promising bat. I like this pick.

River Ave. Blues
http://riveraveblues.com/2008/06/05/yanks-fifth-pick-140-overall-2986/
With their 4th round pick, the Yanks’ choose Corban Joseph, SS, Franklin HS (Tn.)
Scouting Report: Hits for power and average to all fields, but he’s an offense first shortstop and will likely have to change positions. He’s got a big wiry frame, so there’s plenty of room to add strength. Fast, but not a burner. Here’s his scouting video.
My Take: I’m intrigued. If the kid can hit then the kid can hit. Like I said for the Adams’ pick, the Yanks need middle infielders.
Outlook: Not sure how his signability looks, but if they lock him up he’ll head to the Rookie level GCL.

The Pinstripe Press
http://nyyankeesnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/ss-corban-joseph-franklin-tennessee-hs.html
The New York Yankees selected Tennessee high school shortstop Corban Joseph with its fourth-round pick (140th Overall) in the 2008 MLB Draft. Having committed to Kentucky, the Yankees ignored possible signability issues and were promptly rewarded. Joseph inked a contract quickly and will start off in the Gulf Coast League.

Joseph’s sweet swing yielded huge numbers in his senior season. The Tennessean’s Midstate Player of the Year, he exhibited an exceptional ability to make contact (only five strikeouts) while hitting for both average (.510 BA) and power (15 HRs and 58 RBIs). Although he’s not considered a burner, the Yankees would like to keep him at shortstop where his bat may carry him.

"This kid's a really advanced high school hitter,” Damon Oppenheimer told MLB.com. “We really like his bat. We're not sure if he stays at shortstop, but he can hit, he has power and he’s an average runner"

Oppenheimer, during a yankees.com Q&A session, identified Joseph and Luke Anders (500) as the two draftees with the best power potential.

Kurt Jones, an assistant coach for Joseph’s high school team had the following scouting report:

“Corban is a pure and natural talent at swinging the bat. He has the potential to be a great hitter in the major leagues. The reason why is every pitch he makes an adjustment. High school kids don't normally do that." (The Tennessean)

NYYankeeFans.com
http://www.nyyankeefans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64983
In a competitive field, shortstop Corban Joseph distinguished himself as the top prep position player in the state because he plays a premium position and swings lefthanded. Joseph has plus bat speed and routinely squares balls up, hitting for power and average to all fields with a short swing. Joseph is an average runner, but speed will never be his game. He has a chance to stay at shortstop but will always be known for his offense than his defense. He profiles as a plus offensive 2Bman in the big leagues. Joseph takes pride in his swing which is a split image of Chase Utley's. "I want my swing to look good," said Joseph, The Tennessean 2008 baseball player of the year. "I can tell when my swing is off. I can look at it on video and tell what I did." He's also a team leader with a great work ethic. He's spend hours looking at video clips from multiple angles, dissecting every part of a swing. He also an called assistant throughout the season for extra batting practice. Joseph hit .510 this season with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. He struck out five times in 135 at-bats. Joseph, a Kentucky signee, finished with 37 home runs for his career. "The thing is none of those home runs are gimmes," Brentwood Coach Nick Waggoner said. "When he hits one, it's out."

MLB Comp: He's got a Casey Utley CEILING

NYCurve.com
http://www.nycurve.com/brett-marshall-corban-joseph-and-mykal-stokes
Corban Joseph is a shortstop out of Franklin High School in Tennessee. He was named the state’s high school player of the year and was dratted in the 4th round by the Yanks. He had a tremendous senior year with a batting average of .510 and 15 home runs. Both of these stats show that he can hit for both power and average, a great combination for any hitter.

Perfect Game (by Allan Simpson)
SCOUTING REPORT: Joseph is the younger brother of Caleb Joseph (No. 10 above). Corban is much farther ahead of Caleb as a hitter at a comparable stage of development and generally is acknowledged as the best high school hitter in the state. He has a short, fluid stroke with easy bat speed and lift in his swing, especially to the pull side. He drilled 16 home runs in 30 games this spring. The remainder of Joseph’s tools are barely average, if that. He is capable of making the routine plays at shortstop and his hands are adequate, but his actions are slow and deliberate. He profiles as a second baseman or third baseman—or even a first baseman—at the college or pro level. His speed is also below average, but he is not a base clogger. His bat will play, no matter where he ends up defensively.

2008 Draft, Rd3, #106, David Adams

Born: 15/05/1987
Height: 6′2″ Weight: 205 lbs
Position: 2B
Bats: R Throws: R
Transactions: Selected in 3rd round (106th overall) of 2008 draft out of University of Virginia.

Video
MLB Scouting Video
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl_3_1.jsp?w_id=701761&w=/2008/open/draft/broll/br_adams_david_400.wmv&mid=200805302798970&pid=gen_video&vid=11071&cid=mlb&v=2&bypass=true

Photo
http://yankees.scout.com/PictureGallery.aspx?PlayerId=117191&Title=David%20Adams

Pending Pinstripes
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/2008/06/05/yankees-3rd-round-pick-david-adams/
Adams, a 2nd baseman for UVA, had his stock drop this season as his batting average dropped over 100 points, to .286, after a great junior season in which he hit .372. He is a good fielder at 2nd base and has gap power. Not a very high ceiling pick here, but he sounds like a very polished guy with great baseball instincts. I’ll add to this if I find more detailed information. He also hit very well in the Cape Cod League, and the Yankees seem to like drafting guys who did well there, such as Andrew Brackman, David Robertson, and Jeremy Bleich.

River Ave. Blues
http://riveraveblues.com/2008/06/05/yanks-fourth-pick-106-overall-2985/
With their third round pick, the Yanks selected David Adams, 2B, Virginia

Scouting Report: He’s a grinder, gritty, hard-nosed, all that stuff. Decent pop (10-15 homers a year), but he excels at making contact. Not fast for a middle infielder but he can still steal some bags. Great makeup, kind of guy who just gets the job done. Here’s his scouting video.

My Take: I like the pick, good value in this round. The Yanks desperately need some middle infielders.

Outlook: I’m guessing he’ll head to Staten Island later in the month. Shouldn’t be tough to sign.

The Pinstripe Press
http://nyyankeesnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/2b-david-adams-university-of-virginia.html
Selected in the third round of last week's MLB draft (106th overall), Virginia 2B David Adams quickly inked a professional contract with the NY Yankees.

“It was certainly exciting and it is a great opportunity for me,” David Adams told the Charlottesville Daily Progress. “It is an honor to play for the best organization in baseball.”

After a stellar 2007, in which David Adams hit .315 (35-for 111) in ACC action, the Cavalier infielder struggled this year against in-conference pitching; He hit just .210 (25-119) this season. Batting in the third spot in the order, Adams hit .286 for the season with six homers overall.

“He’s had a down year,” said Yankees director of scouting Damon Oppenheimer. “We saw some things in his stroke that they had made changes to at the college level that we run into quite a bit. That didn’t work for him. We looked at a lot of film of him at high school and the [Cape Cod League].

“We’re hoping to get this guy back, and if we can get him back to what we saw, we feel we got a guy that at one time was ranked very high.”

UPDATE: David Adams, who was taken in the third round by the New York Yankees, agreed to a contract late Monday and will join short-season Staten Island.

NYYankeeFans.com
http://www.nyyankeefans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64983
A solid hard-nosed type, he gets the ultimate praise from scouts as being a real "baseball player." While Adams hasn't had a great season with the bat this spring, he's always hit in the past, including with wood in the Cape Cod League. His approach is going the other way and using his hands for contact. He's got gap power, but could hit 10 to 15 homers, perhaps once he's out of UVA's huge home park. Speed is not his biggest tool. Solid arm and range and knows how to turn a double play. His offense took a steep drop but he's a proven hitter:

2006: .318/.404/.448
2007: .372.454/.522

MLB Comp: Mark Ellis

MLB Scouting Report
Hitting Ability: While Adams hasn't had a great season with the bat this spring, he's always hit in the past, including with wood in the Cape Cod League. His approach is going the other way and using his hands for contact.
Power: It's not a big part of his game, but like with a lot of Virginia players, he'll probably show more -- 10 to 15 homers, perhaps -- once he's out of UVA's huge home park.
Running Speed: He's got below-average speed.
Base running: While speed is not a tool, he's a good baserunner who has used his instincts to steal some bases in college.
Arm Strength: He's got more than enough arm to be a good second baseman at the next level.
Fielding: He's adequate at second, with good hands and turns the double play well.
Range: His range is just average.
Physical Description: Adams is a decent-sized middle infielder who isn't flashy but gets the job done
Medical Update:Healthy.
Strengths: History of good hitting ability, great makeup, plays the game the right way. Weaknesses: He hasn't hit well this spring, he doesn't have any one tool that jumps out.
Summary: The University of Virginia has become a good proving ground for legit pro prospects in recent years, and while Adams isn't Ryan Zimmerman, he should do pretty well in this year's Draft. A solid hard-nosed type, he gets the ultimate praise from scouts as being a real "baseball player." He's hit in the past, but didn't fare so well this season, which might affect him somewhat, but likely not too much.

Perfect Game (by Allan Simpson)
SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): Scouts who saw Adams in the second half of the 2007 Cape Cod League season thought he had the most polished bat in the league and were impressed with his ability to center balls consistently. Indeed, he was a much better hitter statistically in the second half and his surge at the plate coincided with a move from shortstop to second base. He hit just .213 and made five errors in 15 games at short to start the season, but he moved across the bag once Oregon State’s slick-fielding Joey Wong joined the team late from the College World Series and became the team’s everyday shortstop. From that point on, Adams hit .352 and led the league with 14 doubles. Overall, he hit .302 on the season. Though he did not homer all summer, the ball jumps off his bat and scouts believe it’s just a matter of time before his power develops. He primarily needs to add lift to his swing—and could become another Jeff Kent-type of player once he does. He hit .372 with five homers last spring at Virginia. Though he played much more relaxed at second base and turned the double play efficiently, he still made nine more errors at the position and topped the Cape with 14 errors overall. Scouts say he’s more than adequate in the field and mainly needs to improve his throwing mechanics as he has a higher slot on his release than most middle infielders. At Virginia, Adams committed just seven errors in 271 chances as a sophomore. Virginia has produced three big leaguer infielders in Brian O’Connor’s brief four-year tenure as head coach—Joe Koshansky, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Zimmerman—but the Cavalier coaching staff said Adams had a better fall season than any of those players ever did.

UPDATE (5/15): Adams appeared to have solidified himself as a solid second-rounder through the first half of the 2008 season, but hit a wall in the heart of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and his average nosedived. As Virginia entered NCAA play, he was hitting just .282—a significant drop from earlier in the season and a 90 percentage point decline from a year ago. Earlier, he had shown the smooth swing mechanics and selectively-aggressive approach that enabled him to make consistent, hard contact, making him one of the best hitting prospects in the college game. Without his bat to carry him, his lack of speed and range at second base suddenly became more of an issue. Like teammate Jacob Thompson, though, he has enough of a track record that his late-season slide shouldn’t impact his draft status significantly.

Andrew Brackman (by Lane Meyer)

From Nomaas.org

Deep thoughts

by NoMaas' Lane Meyer on 9/6/07

It's a slow period regarding the minors given the season coming to a close, but I can't get Andrew Brackman out of my mind recently.

Now that he's signed and had surgery, any apprehension I had about him is gone. This doesn’t mean that I think he’s going to become a Major League star, but from a prospect standpoint, it completely amazes me when I take a step back and look at what Brackman is, and that he is now in the Yankees organization.

Brackman wasn't just a "top talent” like any other draft pick, he was a "unique talent," too. Every year there are pitchers in the MLB draft that throw in the upper 90s, and they are considered the cream of the crop – the top talent available. Every year there are also the unique talents, too; the guys that have an advantage over the rest of their peers simply because of the way they are constructed physically. Most often, those players that are uniquely talented regarding their body types are not the top talents in the draft based on their raw performance skills. Teams may be interested in a guy because he’s 6’8” and throws in the low 90s, because they see his unique talent (size) and perceive the chance to work with him to raise the performance talent (his velocity) to an elite level. Conversely, there are players (think Daniel Bard) that draw interest from a “top talent” perspective, but aren’t unique from their peers from a developmental standpoint going forward – they don’t have anything about them physically that causes them to be seen as more intriguing than a similar performance talent.

This is what has me so excited. Brackman is both a unique talent, in that he stands nearly seven feet tall, and an elite performance talent seeing as he sits in the mid 90s, topping out around 99 mph. His height can be a plus because the ball is released much closer to the plate than it is from a normal-sized pitcher, and thus gives the batter that much less time to execute a task that already pushes the limit of a human being’s reflexes and reaction time. This is why the Mariners were so excited about Ryan Anderson. This is one of the major reasons that Padres 6’10” pitcher Chris Young, despite sitting in the 88-92 range, is able to blow a fastball by Major League hitters. This is the reason that when Randy Johnson was in his prime hitters had almost no chance at catching up to his heater. A 97 MPH fastball thrown by Brackman from a release point nearly a foot closer to the plate is the equivalent of a normal-sized pitcher throwing 100 MPH or more.

Now, of course there is the downside, and it is substantial given the paucity of successful, tall pitchers. There are so many moving parts, so much room for error in the repetition of his delivery, and the constant battle with leverage can wreak havoc on his body. As dominant as Randy Johnson became, he was nearly 30 years old before he finally figured out how to maximize his unique talent. While Brackman has pitched for a major college program, he didn’t have especially impressive results, nor did he develop much as a pitcher. Because of this, and his recovery from Tommy John Surgery, he has a tough row to hoe going forward. It will be at least another year before he even throws off a mound, and not until the opening of the 2009 season will he be fully recovered (assuming no setbacks).

HOWEVER, despite all of the potential pitfalls along the way, it is impossible to argue that Brackman has not only elite talent, but also a uniqueness physically; he literally has almost no comparables in the history of the sport. That is why he is so exciting to think about now. Originally the worries were about whether or not he would need surgery. Well, he did, he had it, and is now on the mend. The guessing game over his health is concluded, and what’s left is a prospect with a higher ceiling than perhaps any minor leaguer in any organization. Sure, that designation is nebulous, but when you consider everything already discussed here, it is difficult to think that any other player could have a greater upside than him.

As far as those that argue Brackman’s selection being a big error, and that the Yankees should have gone for a more projectable pitcher like Harvey, or even Smoker, consider this: The Yankees are already packed with pitching prospects. Not including Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain, they have potentially exceptional bullpen arms like McCutchen, Tejeda, and Ohlendorf on the cusp of being ML ready. If an injury to a starter occurs, they have a guy like Horne ready to step in next year and spot-start. Additionally, they have high profile guys in the lower levels like Reyes, Heredia, and Nova developing, while injecting some more solid, polished arms via this year’s draft in Pope, Chigges, Olbyrchowski, and Zink. Needing hitting talent, the Yanks got top-of-the-draft bats with several of their first ten picks by breaking slot, and outspent everyone else in the IFA market. In summation, they addressed all of their deficiencies, and they knew they were going to before they even selected the giant righty.

So, when you consider that they had a plan in place to acquire a high-end group of hitting talents to go along with their already formidable stable of pitching prospects, you can see just how easy it was to select Brackman. Regardless of the odds of him actually panning out, picking 30th, even with slotting causing the talent distribution to be uneven, the Yankees should never even have had a shot at drafting such a unique prospect, let alone question whether or not taking him is worth the risk. By building their system up over the past two years, and by committing overslot money to garner additional hitting talent this year, they made it entirely acceptable to take a chance on the high-ceiling, broken-down enigma. And make no mistake about it: from a talent and ceiling perspective there were three out pitching prospect that were quite clearly on a different level than everyone else: Price, Porcello, and Brackman.

This brings us back to the original point, that Brackman’s arm would require surgery, and how this made us all a bit apprehensive about the selection. Well, he already has had the procedure, and with the high success rate of recovery, it’s encouraging to no end that he’s currently on the rehab road. If all goes well, he could be making a few rehab starts at the end of the 2008 minor league season, go to Hawaii for winterball, and then be fully recovered and ready to test his mettle come Spring Training 2009.

Who knows if he’ll come back strong? Who knows if he’ll develop a third pitch beyond his devastating fastball and freakish knuckle-curve? Who knows if he’ll ever pitch in the Bronx at all? All of these questions certainly cast doubt on his selection, but no more so than with any other high-ceiling draft pick with question marks. What is comforting though, is that the Yankees are not relying on Andrew Brackman to be their first-round, franchise-saving dominator like other teams would have to, given the amount of money he required to sign. Instead, this was a chance for a wealthy organization with a brimming farm system to get even richer, and by a lot, too. The natural inclination to be impatient with prospects is what subconsciously drives people to be upset with this deal, but if you can fast-forward two years and see Andrew Brackman closing out his first, full minor league season, and his line looks like

25 GS, 120 IP, 85 H, 80 BB, 150 K, 3.80 ERA

How upset are you going to be? Taking a step back, how upset are you going to be when he starts to throw off flat ground in 7-8 months and we read reports about how hard he worked during his rehab, and how excited he is that the velocity is back? How upset are you going to be when Our Lord and Savior Nardi is saying he’s never seen anything like Brackman in all his life? How upset are you going to be when he makes a rehab start late next year and we read quotes from the opposing manager about how, despite giving up a couple of homeruns, his stuff was so obviously overpowering? How it looked like he was releasing the ball halfway to homeplate, and how his hitters were a bit nervous digging in?

The truth is, none of us know what’s going to happen, and in a vacuum there is every reason to cast doubt on his signing. In reality though, the Yankees weren’t taking Andrew Brackman as the foundation upon which to construct the future, and then building atop and around him with subsequent draft picks. The foundation had already been built, and despite his status as the "first-round pick" Brackman was actually the last addition to the plan; the new wing to a well-built mansion. He is going to be the single most fun prospect to follow in the coming months, regardless of the ultimate outcome of his career. If he fails it’s not because the Yankees made a terrible decision, it is because the flaws that every prospect has prevented him from developing. It is for the same reasons that the majority of first-round picks never amount to anything significant. However if he succeeds…oh man if he succeeds…

Jesus Montero (by John Sickels)

From Minor League Ball

Controversial Prospect: Jesus Montero

by John Sickels on Jun 17, 2008 9:01 AM EDT

Jesus Montero was signed by the Yankees out of Venezuela in 2006, earning a robust $1.6 million bonus. There was some controversy about this: Montero's power was evident, but it quickly became clear he was extremely raw defensively. He had a strong arm, but doubts about all other aspects of his defense seemed to indicate he would face a move to first base or even DH, thus increasing the pressure to hit and justify the bonus.

He made his pro debut in 2007, hitting .280/.366/.421 in the Gulf Coast League, showing decent plate discipline and raw power potential. I gave him a Grade C+ in the book this year...remember that's a good grade for a rookie ball guy...and noting his power potential but pointing out the defensive issues and some concern about what his batting average and OBP might look like.

Batting average and power haven't been problems in 2008: he's hitting .309/.348/.453 for Charleston in the Sally League. Plate discipline is an issue: he's drawn just 14 walks against 44 strikeouts in 278 at-bats. The good news is that while the walk rate is low, the strikeout rate is also low for a young guy with power. Scouts like his swing, and even marginal improvements in his strike zone judgment will go a long way towards helping him maintain his hitting at higher levels. He is still just 18, and hitting like this in a full-season league is an excellent marker at that age.

Montero's defense is still a work in progress and he has spent a lot of time at DH this year. However, the numbers aren't bad: he's fielding .991 right now, has an average range factor, and has caught 26 percent of runners trying to steal on him, which isn't good but isn't as bad as what he did in the lower minors. He's made progress, but will it be enough? End-of-season scouting reports and stats will help us know.

In the meantime, I'm definitely impressed with the bat and will raise him to Grade B- with higher potential...he could go higher by the end of the year.

Gerrit Cole (by Alex Eisenberg)

From Hardball Times

Breaking down the draft: Scouting Gerrit Cole

by Alex Eisenberg on July 11, 2008

I decided to do a separate article on Gerrit Cole, the 28th pick in the Major League Draft by the New York Yankees, for a few reasons:

1. The quality of his overall stuff
2. The many questions about his mechanics
3. The debate over what to do about his mechanics and how to develop him

My initial thought on Cole was this: If Justin Smoak was the draft's best pick, Cole was a very close second. Cole profiles as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, and to get a player of that sort with the 28th pick in the draft is a coup for the Yankees.

Stuff

Cole has the best raw stuff of any pitcher in this draft.

Fastball - He has two fastballs: a four-seamer, which comes in between 95-97 with plenty of movement, and a two-seamer, which he throws between 91-93 and which has a great deal of sink to generate a lot of ground balls. Both profile as plus pitches, though I like the four-seamer a little more because of its better velocity and movement.

Curveball - This pitch comes in on a similar plane as his two-seam fastball, only about 17 mph slower. The pitch looks faster than the radar gun would indicate, and it has a late-breaking action, though the break isn't as big as that of other power curves. Below you'll see Cole's curveball and two-seam fastball:

Fastball Grade - 60/65 Now, 70 Future

Curveball Grade - 50 Now, 60 Future

Change-up - This pitch has good fading action, and once again it is difficult to discern from a fastball (this time, his two-seamer). Below is his change-up and two-seamer, and although you can't see how each pitch comes in on similar planes, you can see the similarities in each pitch's action all the way up to shortly before the ball reaches home plate.

Like most younger pitchers, Cole will have to work on maintaining that arm speed when throwing the pitch, but he shows a good feel for it.

Change-Up Grade - 50 Now, 60 Future

So you have three pitches—four if you count both fastballs—that are difficult for the hitter to pick up because all come in on a similar plane. Also adding to the difficulties for hitters is Cole's intent when he throws each pitch; this is especially true with his curveball. Namely, hitters gear up for something hard because he appears to have the intent of throwing hard. As I said earlier, Cole will need to maintain the arm speed with the change-up, but the aggressive mechanics, the active lower body—everything prompts hitters to react to his intent, and as a result they are vulnerable to Cole's off-speed pitches.

Mechanics

Cole's mechanics give a lot of people some pause. And it's true that Cole needs to clean up his mechanics some.

For starters, he occasionally throws across his body. His arm action is long, as you see him reach far back, which adds to the time between the break of his hands and the release of the pitch. His elbow, along with the ball, are brought high above shoulder height before sweeping forward. He then lands on a stiff front leg and there is some recoil in his arm after release.

So sure, there is risk involved here, just as there is risk involved in any pitcher. One thing that might follow from Cole's longer arm action is his tendency to stay back, not letting his upper body get out in front as his arm sweeps forward. As a result, he lands stiffly on his front leg and looks almost as if he is pitching uphill. This also gives Cole's arm less room to decelerate after release.

One thing that Cole does well is firm up his glove to prevent his front shoulder from opening (this also improves off-speed pitches), and you also see him leave the glove out in front of his chest, allowing his chest to move into the glove rather than tucking the glove into his side. This allows the pitcher to achieve a better upper-body tilt and extension out in front, which should allow Cole to release the ball just a little bit closer to home in addition to giving the arm more room to decelerate. However, by landing stiffly on his front leg, he neutralizes some of the advantages he gains with his very good front-side mechanics, such as the extra distance for the arm to decelerate and the release of the ball closer to home plate.

For an excellent finish, look at David Price:Front leg has some bend to it and is in an athletic position; the upper body is tilted forward; the arm is given plenty of room to decelerate; and Price finishes with intent.

With all that said, Cole has a tremendously fast arm. He has an aggressive move into foot plant to kick-start his hip rotation. And although the change-up needs work in this department, Cole throws each pitch the same way: with intent.

To change or not?

So we have a pitcher with tremendous stuff but some questionable mechanics. How much should he change mechanically, if at all? That's up to the New York player development team and Cole himself. Every pitcher has a wind-up that works for him. You must also look at the reputation of the organization in terms of the success they've had in changing a pitcher's mechanics. With Joba, the Yankees did quite well; with Phil Hughes, not so much.

The title of the Hughes article at the link is "If It Ain't Broke." The same concept applies to Cole: Why fix something that ain't broke? The answer is, They shouldn't. For now, the focus should be on simply letting Cole pitch. If needed, tweak his mechanics to make his current mechanics more efficient (such as shortening his arm action just a little bit, which I think would help solve a couple other problems as well). But let him pitch. Should there be problems, whether they be health- or productivity-related, clearly changes should be considered. But that is a debate for another day.

Grade - A

References and Resources
MLB Scouting Bureau
ESPN Scouting Reports
Minor League Baseball