RHSP - Jeff Samardzija - Tennessee Smokies AA
Position: P Full Name: Jeffrey Alan Samardzija
Born: January 23, 1985 Merrillville,Indiana
Height: 6-5 Weight: 215 Bats: R Throws: R
High School: Valparaiso (Valparaiso,IN)
College: University of Notre Dame
Drafted - Selected by Chicago Cubs in 5th Round (149th overall) of 2006 amateur entry draft (June-Reg)
A bit of a tricky one to rate, Samardzija was a top football prospect coming out of Notre Dame, but obviously felt more at home on the diamond. No denying his athletic ability, but remains something of a mystery on the mound. He's obviously an athletic pitcher, but he has much to prove if he's to be considered a top pitching prospect. His stuff, whilst excellent, has not brought about high strikeout totals.
He drops and drives well, evidenced in this comparison with Roger Clemens:
From insidetheivy:Deric McKamey: I rated Samardzija the way I did because he is a special talent, but there are lots of questions in regards to realizing it. He is highly athletic and has excellent arm action which helps him generate both velocity (88-95 MPH) and movement. He derives natural, late life to both his fastball and slider, and that’s something that’s difficult to teach. His experience level is less than most college-drafted pitchers of his age due to his two-way status as a football player, so he still, in essence, is learning how to pitch. He doesn’t repeat his ¾ slot or his arm speed for his change-up, which negatively affects his command. I think the improvement in his base skills (K/BB, K/9, and oppBA), as well as the lower ERA in Double-A, means that he has perhaps turned a corner. And let’s not forget that he was less than two years removed from playing Division 1 football, so he was still in the transition of re-shaping his body (muscle memory) to baseball.
Pitching repertoire
Four-seam fastball (low-mid 90s), two-seam fastball (high 80s-low 90s), hard breaking slider, circle changeup.
Delivery and mechanics
Videos showing Samardzija's delivery from both the windup and stretch:
Good front view at 50 secs:
Good clips of delivery in this video:
Performance grading
171.2 IP / 4.26 ERA / 82 K / 56 BB / 1.49 WHIP / 199 H / 4.31 K/9 / 2.94 BB/9
I don't think statistics do justice to Samardzija's talents. He's not a strikeout pitcher, but will pitch to contact, and saw major improvements with his command last year at AA, suggesting that this raw college pitcher is finally "getting it". He had a 2.67 ERA after a month at AA last year, and only a poor outing in September pushed his ERA up over 3.00.
Entering 2008, Samardzija should be pushing for promotion to AAA.
Right now he needs polish, but should be looking at a the back end of the Cubs rotation in the next year or so.
Some have argued that he may be suited to a relief role, possibly as a future closer. Either way, he will get his chance with the big club, and figures very much in the team's future plans; a lot has been invested in him.
Appearance
Wears hair long, as in above picture, and always clean shaven.
Wore #34 with Tennessee in 2007, wore #22 at A ball, seemed slated to wear #30 with the big club.
Wears deep brown-red fielding glove.
Shirt sleeves clearly visible under uniform, come down to forearms.
Physically lanky build, but extremely strong upper body build.
Scouting
Stuff: 70
Movement: 70
Control: 60
Location: 65
Mound presence: 65
I'd limit his stamina in comparison to a Donnie Veal, until we see him get more innings under his belt. Remember that some have talked about him as a possible closer, but he continues to be very much considered a starting pitcher. His control is improving greatly, and he should look to make the next step up this year. Some have him rated higher than Veal, but as of now I'd have him as a B prospect if the lefty is a B+ rated prospect.
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