Nine Hitting Prospects Answer This Question: Who Is The Best MiLB Pitcher You Have Faced?
By MiLB.com
The Rockies’ David Dahl (to MiLB.com colleague Ashley Marshall): “The one that stands out the most was [the Reds’] Robert Stephenson who pitched for [Class A Short-Season] Billings. I only faced him one game, I think he went seven innings. He was honestly like a Double-A pitcher already. It was really cool to see, and it was fun to face. He was throwing like 97 [mph] to 101 with three really good pitches. You never really knew what he was going to throw. If he was behind in the count, he could still throw his dirty curveball or change when you were sitting on the fastball. He was just a really good pitcher. He had everything working that day.”
The Mariners’ Stefen Romero: “Probably [the Astros’ Jarred] Cosart. He’s pretty tough. I saw him in the [Arizona] Fall League. He’s just one of those guys who can spot up everything, knows how to command all his pitches really well and keeps you guessing, off balance.”
The D-backs’ Adam Eaton (to MiLB.com colleague John Parker): “I can’t think of one in the Minors, but Clayton Kershaw was the toughest so far in the Majors.”
The White Sox’s Marcus Semien: “Last year, I had a pretty tough game against [the Nationals’, and now Twins’] Alex Meyer from [Class A] Potomac. He’s probably one of the better ones I have seen. [With Meyer’s height], I was not able to pick up the ball. One of worst games of the year was against him. He throws hard and has a good slider.”
The Padres’ Jedd Gyorko (to MiLB.com colleague John Parker): “That’s a hard one — there are a lot of good guys. Maybe Danny Hultzen from the Mariners — he’s a tough lefty with a three-quarters drop-down motion and a great changeup.”
The Reds’ Ryan LaMarre: “The guy who I have had the toughest time with was James Paxton [in 2012] with [his Double-A] Jackson Generals. I have faced some good ones but, for whatever reason, he was on me, and I think we only faced him once. He gave us fits all night. He has such tilt on his ball. It’s downhill — his fastball is downhill — and it’s got some life and out of his hand, it looks like it’s going to be low every time, and it just rises.”
The Rockies’ Trevor Story: “It would have to be [the Orioles’] Dylan Bundy. There are a lot of good pitchers, but it would probably be Bundy. We faced him on Opening Night [April 6], and he came out throwing gas. I know he struck me out Opening Night. I only faced him one time that night. I faced him another time I think [on April 30], but I’m not sure what I did that time [a second strikeout].”
The Rangers’ Luis Sardinas: Eduardo Rodriguez from the Orioles. He’s hard to square up, but I was 2-for-6 against him. [He throws] 94 mph with movement from the left side and [has] some good secondary pitches. He’s a very underrated player. He’s hard to square up.
The Pirates’ Greg Polanco: Jose Fernandez from the Marlins.
