Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rays 9th Round Pick - 289th Overall: Kevin James

Kevin JamesRanked #1 prospect in Wisconsin by BA:
There's no doubt that lefthander Kevin James is Wisconsin's best prospect, but it's unclear whether he'll get drafted high enough to bypass a Boston College scholarship. He's a projectable 6-foot-4, 187-pounder who drew attention by consistently hitting 90-91 mph while pitching against suspended Illinois high school lefty Ian Krol in a Wisconsin scout league in the spring. James' curveball and command still need a lot of work, and scouts can't figure out why he doesn't dominate weak high school competition. James went 0-8 as a junior, and while he won his first start as a senior, he still issued six walks in five innings.

Spotty command, but a decent ceiling. And I like the fact he shares a name with the comedian.

19 comments:

  1. Kevin James had an outstanding senior season, was named 1st team all state, and won the Louisville Slugger Wisconsin Player of The Year award. He was 7-3, 4 Saves,(zero earned runs in his 3 L's) .77 ERA, 63 IP, 124 K's/30 BB's. He was also a monster at the plate, .486-15 2B-10HR-41RBI-27SB-32BB. He's the real deal, hope he signs......

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  2. Reads toolsy and athletic but 30 BBs in 63 IPs kind of jumps out.

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  3. It shouldn't if you know the umpires in that area. One walk every 2 innings while painting the black is nothing to worry about. Wherever he goes he's going to be a hard worker dedicated to rising to the top.

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  4. Kevin James is a freakin beast

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  7. Whoever anonymous is needs to go back to his facebook page and waste his own time. This blog is for people who have a real interest in Rays baseball and their prospects. STOP WASTING OUR TIME!

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  8. I've removed both comments, thanks.

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  9. Thank you Kevin, sorry I was late to get to them. In the nearly 2000 posts here, this is only the second or third time we've needed to delete comments. I think that says a lot about the folks who read/post anon, much more than us, but still, thanks for catching those KG. It's kind of funny, I don't even know if I'd remember how to delete comments anymore. Thanks again,

    Doug

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  10. Where is Kevin James playing? I'd like to follow his progress. Thx.

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  11. He'll be with either the Gulf Coast Rays, the Princeton Rays, or the Hudson Valley Renegades. All three are short-season teams, meaning their games don't start until mid-June. Until then he'll be in extended spring training, which is a training camp of sorts(they play "games" there but they're not real games and aren't reported on).

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  12. Thanks for the update on James.

    What about Andrew Bellatti? Any career ending injuries from the accident? Surely his legal problems have only just begun.

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  13. At this point it's not even worth wondering about his baseball future. All the legal stuff must be sorted out first.

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  14. Caught this kid absolutely phenominal... Good hard throwing lefty with a nice hook. When this kid is hitting spots watch out he's got some wicked movement

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  15. Kevin's stat page shows only 1 inning pitched. What's going on? Hurt?

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  16. He is in extended spring training and will be placed next week probably in Princeton.

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  17. As a Wisconsin High School baseball player, my team faced James. We ended up losing 4-1, but our team was making more contact with his fastball than I thought we should considering he throws 93 and its Wisconsin High School baseball

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  18. K James ain't doing much work this summer. Arm issues? Or just not effective.

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=571807

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