Saint Paul Saints and Tanner Scheppers

This weekend I took the wife and kids up to Minnesota to visit my parents and celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  My brother was able to get free tickets to Sunday’s St. Paul Saints game so I was elated to have the opportunity to attend.  I was hopeful that Tanner Scheppers would be the starter on Sunday against the Sioux City Explorers, but when we arrived in the Twin Cities, I read in the paper that he was starting the Saturday night game.  Fortune apparently decided to smile upon me as it rained the entire day on Saturday, and most of the night as well, and the game was cancelled.  My parents’ party was a little water-logged and held completely indoors, but Scheppers was suddenly starting game 1 of a Sunday doubleheader and I was a very happy individual.  Sunday morning I headed out to the game with my parents and 5 year old son, Justin, in tow.  My wife, also a huge baseball fan, took one for the team and stayed behind so our 2 year old son Zachary could stay on his nap schedule.  Despite the overcast sky, mid-40s temperature, and bitterly cold wind, we stuck it out on the metal bleachers to watch Tanner Scheppers in person.  I should pause and also recognize the sacrifice of my older brother, his wife, and 3 year old daughter for attending the game with me despite none of them being big baseball fans.

For those of you not aware, Tanner Scheppers was pitching for Fresno State last April when a shoulder injury ended his season prematurely.  Before being hurt he was projected as a top 10 pick in last June’s draft.  Despite the injury, the Pirates selected him in the 2nd round (48th overall) but could not come to terms with Scheppers, who was looking for a 7 figure bonus.

I didn’t have the greatest view of his pitches from the right field bleachers, so I can’t speak to the action on them, but this is my take on Scheppers.  His fastball ranged between 91-99 mph and was thrown consistently between 93-95 mph.  His curveball was in the 77-83 mph range but some of those could have been changeups.  Through the first 3 innings he couldn’t throw his curve pitches for strikes and he also struggled to control his fastball.  The 4th inning started with more of the same and Scheppers walked the bases loaded.  Then something clicked and he proceeded to strike out the side while dropping his breaking balls in for strikes.  One of his best pitching sequences came in this stretch when he threw 2 curveballs for strikes to get ahead and then reached back and threw a 99 mph bullet for strike three.  It was the one at bat the entire game where I felt the batter didn’t have a chance.  He took a hack at strike three, but it was one of those swings where you close your eye and hope the bat finds the ball.  He gave up a leadoff single to start the 5th, but quickly erased the runner via a double play and got the third out on a grounder to 3B.  He was still throwing mid-90s at the end of the 5th inning.  He took the mound for the start of the 6th inning, but was quickly pulled after giving up a leadoff single.

After watching him pitch, I can see why he’s projected to go in the 1st round.  But his stuff, outside of his velocity, didn’t really impress me all that much.  Control, at least on Sunday afternoon, was an issue and the opposing team wasn’t overmatched.  Scheppers only gave up 3 hits, but several Explorers put real good swings on his pitches that may have left the park on a typical June afternoon at Midway Stadium.  If I am a major league GM looking at Scheppers, I am fairly confident that the shoulder injury he suffered last spring is not an issue.  Although he opted for rehab over surgery, Dr. Lewis Yocum has signed off on Tanner’s shoulder being sound.  To me the issue with Scheppers is that he is not dominating his competition.  He is pitching well in the American Association posting a 3.32 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and 20 SO in 19.0 innings pitched over 4 starts, but for a guy with his profile and talent, I was expecting more.  Scheppers has been projected to be selected in a number of places in the 1st 15 picks, which based on my 1 game assessment of him is too high.  Currently they are projecting him to go 15th overall to the Indians.  The June 1-14th issue of Baseball America had Scheppers going at pick 12 by the Royals, but this was before their rankings started to show that USC SS-Grant Green would be around at the #12 pick.  I’m not a big advocate of taking Green and perceive that the available pitching talent is far more valuable than taking a position player to fill a need.  Winds are also starting to blow that the Royals may select Boston College C-Tony Sanchez.  If he’s the pick I am going to be very upset.  First Sanchez will be a reach at that pick, and second drafting a catcher not named Joe Mauer that high is bad practice.  At least if they take Green at pick 12, they are taking a guy who has been tabbed to go as high as 3rd overall.

If I am making the Royals selection tomorrow evening, and if he is available, my pick is RHP-Shelby Miller out of Brownwood HS in Texas.  The draft projections I have seen have Miller going between picks 9 and 14, so there is a chance he will still be on the board when the Royals pick.  If Tanner Scheppers ends up being selected by the Royals I’m not going to be completely disappointed, but I can see a scenario where he ends up having the career path of Royals 1999 1st Round pick, Kyle Snyder.  Assuming he can stay healthy, Scheppers strikes me as someone who could wind up as a middle of the rotation guy and not a top of the rotation starter.

Aside from Tanner Scheppers, aside from the draft, and aside from the abnormally cold temperatures, we had a great time at the game.  I had never been to an independent league game, but based on my experience Sunday I will definitely be going back to a Saints game the next time we make the trip to the Twin Cities.  I hope the next time I walk through the gates of Midway stadium the sun will be shining and the wife and both boys will be with me.