North Carolina State University Athletics
Buchanan Fires 3-Hit Shutout In Cape League
7/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Greg Schimmel’s Cape Cod League blog is must reading for anyone interested in the Cape Cod League.
Monday night, Schimmel saw NC State righthander Jake Buchanan pitch against the Hyannis Mets for the Cotuit Kettleeers. The following is Schimmel’s report on Buchanan’s performance from his Cape Cod League blog:
“I went to Hyannis on Monday night to watch Hyannis play Cotuit. An e-mailer, a fellow scout and the league’s ERA leaderboard persuaded me to catch righthanded starter Jake Buchanan from North Carolina State pitch for Cotuit, and sure enough he pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout and struck out 10. Cotuit won 3-0.
“Buchanan, whose ERA was 0.67 before he pitched a shutout Monday, didn’t have tremendous stuff, but he had a good feel for four solid pitches and he wasn’t afraid to throw any of them in any count. In the middle innings of his start, one American League scout said “This guy doesn’t ever throw the same pitch twice in a row.” Hyannis hitters were off-balance the entire game, and only four balls left the infield. Buchanan is average height with a stocky build at 6-0, 205. He short-arms his pitches a little but throws easy and has good balance. Buchanan’s fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range but hitters always seemed unsure of when it was coming and therefore it was effectively faster than its actual speed. Buchanan’s best pitch was probably his tumbling 74-77 mph curveball with very good, sharp break. He also threw a 76-80 mph slider with good run and a good 76-79 mph changeup with nice downward movement. None of Buchanan’s pitches, other than maybe his curveball, was sensational on its own, but his full repertoire was very effective. He could certainly be drafted in the first few rounds next June.”
For the season, Buchanan now is 2-1 with a 0.50 ERA in six appearances, five of them starts, for Cotuit. He has worked 36 innings, allowed 26 hits, walked six and struck out 32.
Follow Greg Schimmel’s Cape Cod League blog at http://capecodbaseballleague.blogspot.com.
