Mound Talk

BACKGROUND AND STATS

Craig Italiano was drafted in the second round of the 2005 draft by the Oakland A’s out of high school. The 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher had the stuff to be a first round pick but teams were leery of his mechanics and he slid to the second round.

In his professional debut, Italiano was assigned to the Arizona Rookie League where he threw 18 2/3 innings in 2005. He recorded a whopping 27 strikeouts and walked eight. However, he proved to be hittable, allowing 20 base hits, and a bit wild, being charged with six wild pitches.

The promising young fireballer was promoted to Low-A for his first full season at the age of 19 but made just four appearances before going under the knife for labrum surgery. In his 18 innings he struck out 23, walked nine and gave up 18 hits.

Italiano recovered from surgery in time to get action in the 2007 season. He was assigned to Low-A once again and made six appearances throwing 17 innings before being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Mariners prospect Carlos Triunfel. Italiano struggled with command as he came back from surgery. He walked 16 and gave up 32 hits. However, his excellent stuff was still present as he struck out 24 batters. He would miss the rest of the year with a head injury.

Now 21 years old, Italiano is back in the Midwest League and as sharp as ever. The A’s are hoping for a healthy season out of him but having essentially missed the last two years, Italiano is on a pitch count hoping to not only develop as a pitcher but build his arm strength up.

Because of his mechanics and his maximum effort delivery, many believe Italiano is better suited for the bullpen but the A’s are looking to keep him in the rotation for the time being. After his performance last night (4/10/08), it seems that is the way to go.

In the second game of a double-header, Italiano took the mound for the Kane County Cougars as they took on the Burlington Bees. I was planning to make the trip up to Appleton to see Phillipe Amount and Engel Beltre, however, rain and snow cancelled the game. So I headed south to see Craig Italiano and Mike Moustakas. Italiano was spectacular. He was on a strict 80-pitch limit. Italiano went 5 2/3 innings striking out nine batters, walking none and allowing zero hits. In the sixth he hit one batter. As he reached his pitch limit, he was relieved by Antonio Jimenez who finished off the 7 inning no-hitter for the Cougars.

ON THE MOUND

Italiano boasts an excellent repertoire of pitches. He throws a fastball, changeup, curveball and slider. He works fairly quickly and confidently on the mound. Scouts have raved for years now about his electric stuff but questioned his delivery. Ultimately, the question with Italiano is whether or not his delivery will prohibit him from taking the mound as a starter.

Italiano’s calling card is his fastball which sits in the 94-96 range but he will dial it up to 97-98 occasionally. I recorded him at 98 on four occasions on April 10^th and he was able to maintain the velocity later in the game. His movement is average but with the velocity he generates he doesn’t need great movement to be effective. Italiano shows good command with his fastball and can work it to all quadrants of the zone. He does a great job of elevating his fastball and getting hitters to chase it for strike three.

His changeup is much improved from pre-draft video I saw of him in 2005. He’s got a much more consistent delivery and throws the pitch with the same arm action as his fastball. He’s got good movement but average command with his change.

Italiano throws two breaking pitches that are pretty similar. He predominantly throws a slider in the low-90s with sharp break. He’s a little inconsistent because of his mechanics and tends to overthrow his slider at times. He’ll also throw a curveball in the mid-80s with good bite.

Despite the rave reviews his pitches get, Italiano has some serious issues that are cause for a cautious approach. The biggest problem is how he short-arms his pitches. This isn’t good for a pitcher because it puts added stress on the pitching arm. Energy is being absorbed and used by the arm instead of being transferred into the pitch. This means he could possibly add more velocity.

The second issue with his mechanics is that he’s a maximum effort pitcher and this is even more pronounced when he throws his breaking balls. The result is that he’ll overthrow the pitch and his curve won’t break the way he wants or his slider will flatten out. It’s the same effect as swinging a golf club as hard as you can. You become more likely to hit a hook or a slice. If you take the same club and swing nice and easy, you’re much more likely to hit the ball the way you want to. Alternatively, if you are typing something as fast as you can, you’re much more likely to type letters in the wrong order than if you were to type at a more reasonable rate. That is essentially what happens with Italiano, and other pitchers who throw with maximum effort: The rushed nature of their delivery naturally lends itself to fundamental mistakes.

ANALYSIS

Italiano has electric stuff without a doubt. I don’t question his ability to get batters out by any method. However, I do question his future because of his mechanics. The combination of added stress from short-arming his throws, combined with the max effort exerted is not a good combination. This is why some believe he’d be better suited for the bullpen. I do not necessarily disagree with this but I do think he’ll be fine as a starter. However, the A’s should be cautious with Italiano because he is such a special talent.

THE FUTURE

Italiano should be given the chance to advance to High-A sometime this year. He’s 21 years old and although he hasn’t had many innings in Low-A, there’s little reason to hold him back if he’s succeeding. If he does get moved up to High-A, Stockton, he could fill out a rotation that includes Fautino de los Santos, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Henry Rodriguez. If that isn’t enough, Matt Sulentic and Jermaine Mitchell are in the outfield and Chris Carter is manning first.

Italiano could be pushed up the ladder a little faster if the A’s decide to move him to the bullpen. As a starter, I’d expect them to be a little more cautious. Because of his unique skill set projecting a future for him is difficult. My gut tells me he’s a bullpen guy but he certainly has the makings to be a #2 starter. He’s a risk because of his mechanics but his upside is very good.

Obviously I caught him on the upper end of his ability. But mark him down as a guy who will soar towards the top of prospect lists if he’s healthy all year. I have no reason to doubt he stays healthy this year. I only make mention of that because he does need some track record of success to be ranked well come the end of the year.