2010 Top Prospect List: #10 Matt Maloney, lhp

Matt Maloney
Height 6-4, Weight 220, B/T: L/L, DOB: 01/16/1984
2009 Redlegs Baseball Prospect Ranking: #14

In some ways, Matt Maloney is representative of just how far the farm system has come. In years past, Maloney would be one of the best pitchers in a system entirely devoid of quality pitching prospects. However, the renewed emphasis on rebuilding the farm system has finally overcome the years of damage done by Marge Schott's scorched earth approach to scouting. Maloney's remains a good prospect, but he is overshadowed by those young pitchers already residing in the MLB rotation and by a handful of impact pitching prospects down on the farm.

Still, Maloney is talented enough to deserve some time in the spotlight.


DRAFT POSITION

Maloney was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft out of the University of Mississippi. He acquitted himself well early in his professional career, but his time in the Philly organization was short lived, as on July 30, 2007, the Reds acquired Matt Maloney from the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Lohse.

Overall, Kyle Lohse was a very good acquisition for the Reds, as they gave up Zach Ward to acquire him, got one and half years of production out of him, then traded him for a better pitching prospect in Maloney than it took acquire him in the first place. When making player personnel moves, general managers should already have an exit strategy in mind for each player they acquire. In order to maximize the value of each player to the organization, it's important to consider how to extract value from the departure of that player. Kyle Lohse is a prime example of maximizing value to the organization, as by cashing in on his departure the Reds managed to keep that value in the organization in the form of Matt Maloney.


2009 SEASON

Maloney spent the vast majority of the 2009 season pitching for triple-A Louisville. For the Bats, Maloney continued to roll and put up good numbers. In 143.0 innings Maloney posted a 3.08 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, and a 7.9 K/9. On the season, Maloney walked only 24 batters, while striking out a robust 125. His performance was truly stellar, as evidenced by his ridiculous 5.21 K/BB ratio.

His performance earned him a late season promotion to the majors, where he posted a 4.87 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 1.77 BB/9, and a 6.2 K/9 in 40.2 innings. Unfortunately, his underlying performance wasn't as strong his ERA, as his Fielding Independent Pitching was an unimpressive 5.41. Additionally, he was likely a bit lucky, as his BABIP was a bit low at .282, while his strand rate was a bit too high at 77.3%. So, he gave up fewer baserunners via the base hit than expected and also stranded a few more of those runners who did reach base than expected.

However, Maloney's MLB performance was reflective of both his minor league strengths and weaknesses. His strong K/BB ratio carried over to the majors as evidenced by his 3.5 K/BB mark. However, he also continued to struggle with the long ball, as he gave up 9 homers in just 40 major league innings. Maloney is a fly ball pitcher and with less than overpowering stuff he has little margin for error. He posted an HR/FB mark of 13.2%, which was higher than all but two full time starters in Major League Baseball in 2009. When you factor in just how many more fly balls he gives up than average, having such a high percentage of them leave the yard is a potential problem.


REPERTOIRE AND MECHANICS

If a lefthanded pitching prospect strikes out almost a batter an inning against advanced competition, then one would think that he would be pretty highly regarded. However, scouts downgrade Maloney on the basis of his repertoire, which consists of four solid pitches.

Maloney throws a fastball that sits in the 87-88 mph range and has good late sink. His best pitch is his plus changeup, which he threw 27.2% of the time and in any and all situations. He also has a big looping 11-5 breaking curveball and a fringy slider. Unfortunately, his velocity lowers his ceiling, but Maloney understands how to pitch and keep hitters off-balance. Both his control and command are strong, as he can consistently hit his spots inside the zone. He certainly gets the most out of his abilities and his understanding of pitching allows his tools to play up a notch.

As for his mechanics, Maloney is fundamentally sound. He holds his hands at chin level and peers over the top of the webbing to look in and get his sign from the catcher. He triggers the windup with a small step towards third base, which allows him to transfer his weight to his plant foot and shift his left foot down onto the rubber. While he's in the process of shifting his weight and his position on the rubber, he is bringing his hands down to belt level. He then brings his leg up into his leg kick and his hands all the way up by his left ear. His leg kick is fairly extreme, as he brings his knee all the way up to his chest, while his lower leg almost reaches parallel to the ground. He doesn't incorporate significant hip rotation, choosing instead to bring his leg kick straight up rather than coil his body. So, instead of their being a rotational differential between his hips and shoulders, they both stay on a line running from second base-to-homeplate which reduces the overall energy he can impart on the baseball.

Maloney has tremendous balance at the apex of his leg kick. He has good body control, which enables him to maintain a strong position over the top of his plant foot. Unfortunately, he doesn't use a strong push off the rubber that would enable him to more effectively incorporate his lower body into the delivery. His move towards the plate isn't very aggressive, seemingly falling naturally towards the plate rather than aggressively driving towards the plate with the lower body. His high leg kick creates substantial potential energy, but by unpacking the leg kick without really driving to the plate, he is inefficient in translating that potential energy into kinetic energy. The limited body coil and the less than impressive push off the rubber prevent him from maximizing the energy generated by his delivery.

Once he does head towards the plate, the defining aspect of his delivery comes into focus. Maloney's plant foot lands closer to the first base side than normal and as a result he has a closed off delivery (which you can somewhat see below in the first photo) which requires him to use a cross-fire arm action. Also, his combination of a closed off delivery and cross-fire arm action often results in his body facing third base on his follow-through. The closed off position of his plant foot forces his momentum to work around his plant leg, rather than heading directly towards home plate. To compensate for the closed off body position and to try to direct his momentum towards the plate, Maloney flexes and locks the knee of his plant leg (almost to the point of hyperextension) when delivering the pitch. When the momentum does work around his closed off lower half, it spins his entire body around to face third base after delivering the pitch. Obviously, facing third base after delivering the pitch leaves him in less than ideal fielding positioning and could cost him a few hits back through the box over the course of the season.












Maloney's height allows him to throw on a downward plane, which he does despite using a three-quarter arm slot. Below, you can clearly see his arm slot in the photo on left, which shows that he doesn't use a pure over-the-top delivery. In the photo on the right, Maloney demonstrates a good arm position, as his elbow isn't too high and it is on pace to be up in throwing position when his plant foot lands, which is what you want to see. As a general rule, the pitching arm should be up in throwing position with the forearm perpendicular to the ground when the plant foot lands. In the photo on the right, Maloney still has his arm parallel to the ground, but his foot hasn't landed yet and he will bring it up into position in time. If the arm isn't up in throwing position when the plant foot lands, then it is lagging behind and it could create problems with consistency and increase the stress on the arm. You can also see that Maloney takes a nice long stride, which helps with his balance and allows him to get good extension despite the closed position of his plant foot.















Overall, Maloney's mechanics are solid, his arm action is clean, and his less than max effort delivery should lower his injury risk. However, his below average body coil, poor leg drive, and closed off lower body work to cost him velocity, as he is relatively inefficient in imparting the energy created by his delivery to the baseball.

You can access Maloney's MLB draft scouting video here. And, you can see his MLB highlights here.


CONCLUSION

Maloney is a prime example of the type of "free talent" that exists throughout the game. He's a solid pitcher who lacks elite stuff, but knows how to succeed with it and should be a solid option at the back end of an MLB rotation. All he really lacks is an opportunity. Even so, you see General Managers around the league throwing multi-million dollar contracts at pitchers with similar abilities. A prime example is Eric Milton, who the Reds signed to a massive contract despite his marginal skills. A better strategy would have been to promote or target pitchers like Matt Maloney, who provide similar production for a mere fraction of the price.

At this point, Maloney is in the running for the fifth starter spot, but has pitchers like Travis Wood and Aroldis Chapman fast on his heels. He may get an opportunity to start, but may ultimately be forced out of the organization. If so, a bargain hunting GM would be wise to acquire his services, especially if he can put Maloney in a ballpark better suited to his pitching profile. At the very least, Maloney should provide very good production for the cost until he accumulates enough service time to hit arbitration.

For now, Maloney's polish and pitchability are impressive enough to land him at #10 on the list.

2009 Top Prospect List: #14 Matt Maloney, lhp

Matt Maloney
Height 6-4, Weight 220, B/T: L/L, DOB: 01/16/1984
2008 Redlegs Baseball Prospect Ranking: #13


While the young international prospects in the system (Y.Rodriguez and J.Duran) may be the mystery men, Matt Maloney seems to be the forgotten man. Maloney continues to put up quality production against advanced competition, but he just doesn't seem to be in the organization's plans for the future.

Whether it's because the Reds have more pitching depth than they have had in a long time or because they don't view Maloney as a quality prospect is unclear. Whatever the reason, Maloney seems like a bit of a longshot to have an impact at the MLB level in 2009. Despite being ready for the majors, he may need an injury to a Reds starting pitcher or a trade to get a legitimate look at the MLB level.


2008 SEASON

The Reds sent Matt Maloney back to triple-A Louisville for 2008. In 2007, Maloney made an late season appearance in triple-A where he performed quite well. He posted a 3.18 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 23/6 k/BB ratio in 17.0 innings. However, Maloney didn't crack the 2008 MLB rotation and returned to Louisville to work on his craft.

Unfortunately, things couldn't have started off much worse for Maloney last season. In 23.0 innings in April, Maloney posted a 6.65 ERA. However, his poor start was really the product of poor luck, rather than ineffective pitching on his part. In April, he suffered from a BABIP of .435, which is far too high. The terrible start seemed to define his season in the eyes of many, despite the fact that he was very effective over the rest of the season.

In May, he pitched 38.2 innings and posted a 2.56 ERA. Not surprisingly, his BABIP regressed to .257 and his ERA dropped significantly. He was back on track and performed quite well over the course of the season. However, his poor start seems to have caused his prospect stock to drop.

Overall, Maloney posted a 4.68 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 132/39 K/BB ratio in 140.1 innings. His record was impressive, as he earned 11 wins and only 5 losses. His ERA certainly wasn't impressive, but his 8.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 4.11 FIP are solid. His BABIP was also a bit too high at .321, so that could fall a bit in 2009. While his rough first month may overshadow his 2008 season, in actuality it was another solid effort by Maloney.

REPERTOIRE AND MECHANICS

If a lefthanded pitching prospect strikes out almost a batter an inning against advanced competition, then one would think that he would be pretty highly regarded. However, scouts downgrade Maloney on the basis of his repertoire, which consists of four solid pitches.

Maloney throws a fastball that sits in the 87-89 mph range and has very good late sink. His best pitch is his plus changeup, which he's not afraid to throw in any situation. He also has a big looping 11-5 curveball and a fringy slider. Unfortunately, his velocity lowers his ceiling, but Maloney understands how to pitch and keep hitters off-balance. He certainly gets the most out of his abilities and his understanding of pitching allows his tools to play up a notch.

As for his mechanics, Maloney is fundamentally sound. I took an in-depth look at his mechanics in last year's write up, but I'll revisit them a bit more here. The defining aspect of his delivery is his slight cross-fire arm action. His plant foot lands closer to the first base side than normal and as a result he has a closed off delivery (which you can somewhat see in the first photo) which requires him to use a cross-fire arm action. He also doesn't coil his body with his leg kick, so his hips and shoulders stay on a line from 2b-to-homeplate which reduces the overall energy that he can impart on the baseball. Also, his combination of a closed off delivery and cross-fire arm action often results in his body falling off towards third base on the follow-through, which doesn't put him in ideal fielding position after the pitch.












Maloney's height allows him to throw on a downward plane, which he does despite using a three-quarter arm slot. Below, you can clearly see his arm slot in the photo on left, which shows that he doesn't use a pure over-the-top delivery. In the photo on the right, Maloney demonstrates a good arm position, as his elbow isn't too high and it is on pace to be up in throwing position when his plant foot lands, which is what you want to see. As a general rule, the pitching arm should be up in throwing position with the forearm perpendicular to the ground when the plant foot lands. In the photo on the right, Maloney still has his arm parallel to the ground, but his foot hasn't landed yet and he will bring it up into position in time. If the arm isn't up in throwing position when the plant foot lands, then it is lagging behind and it could create problems with consistency and increase the stress on the arm. You can also see that Maloney takes a nice long stride and gets a good push off the rubber.














You can access Maloney's MLB draft scouting video here.

CONCLUSION

Maloney is a solid prospect. He may not have the tools of the more elite prospects, but he maximizes the production that he gets from his tools. He understands how to pitch and how to keep hitters offbalance. His upside is probably only that of a #4 starter, but that's certainly not without value. A homegrown back-end of the rotation starting pitcher, especially a southpaw, is a good asset at the MLB level, as it prevents the team from having to lavish expensive salaries on league average talent to round out the 25-man roster.

Overall, Maloney posted another good season in 2008. Even so, he seems, once again, to be on the outside-looking-in. He doesn't seem to be in the mix for a spot in the rotation and wasn't considered for a spot in the bullpen, as evidenced by the Arthur Rhodes signing. Given that Maloney will be 25-years old in the 2009 season, it's time for the Reds to either find a role for him or trade him away for an asset that can be utilized at the MLB level. Time will tell what they choose to do, but for now Maloney checks in at #14 on the list.

Top 25 Prospects: Midseason Update Part 1

Well, we are almost halfway through the season, so it's as good a time as any to check in on the sprouts down on the farm to see who on our Top 25 Prospect List is thriving and who is withering on the vine. Here is how I had them ranked this offseason and how they are doing this season:

1. Jay Bruce - Well, I'm not sure much needs to be said on this one, as Jay lit up triple-A pitching to the tune of .364/.393/.630/1.023, which brought him a well earned promotion to the majors. Bruce wasn't phased much by the big leagues, as he got off to a white hot start and sits now at a more than respectable .300/.386/.470/.856. Pitchers have slowed him down lately, but Bruce will simply need to adjust to their plan of attack. He has too much offensive skill to be held down for long. Get ready for a fun next decade or two, Reds fans.

2. Homer Bailey - Well, while Jay Bruce's path to the majors has been as straight as a string, Homer Bailey's has had more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Homer's triple-A performance really didn't earn him a call-up to the majors, but he got one anyway. At triple-A Louisville, Homer currently sports a 4.07 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 62/31 K/BB ratio. During his most recent stint in the majors, Homer made 3 starts posting an 8.76 ERA, a 2.11 WHIP, and a putrid 3/10 K/BB ratio. He's still young, so he has time to right the ship, but at the MLB level his fastball velocity is down and he seems to lack both command of his pitches and also an out-pitch. Also, his attitude has repeatable been called into question, which is never a good sign for a young ballplayer. The Reds tinkered with Homer's mechanics (including having him bring his hands only to the chest, rather than over the head), but have yet to see positive results. The best thing the organization can do is leave him in triple-A for the rest of the year and force him to actually EARN his next promotion.

3. Johnny Cueto - Johnny's rookie season has been overshadowed by the dominance of fellow rotation member Edinson Volquez. However, unlike the prospect directly above him on the list, Cueto has demonstrated the skills necessary to be a very effective MLB starting pitcher. Three of the main elements of a successful pitcher are walk rate, strikeout rate, and groundball rate. Well, interestingly enough, Cueto is very strong in walk rate and strikeout rate, while Edinson is very strong in strikeout rate and groundball rate. However, Great American Ballpark is more ideally suited to a strong strikeout/groundball pitcher like Edinson, than it is to a low walk/strong strikeout pitcher like Cueto. Over time, Cueto should learn to limit his susceptibility to the long ball, but for now Edinson's game is better tailored to Great American Ballpark. Even so, Cueto should have a long, successful career in Cincinnati.

4. Joey Votto - The Canadian kid has performed about as well as expected, however his production is a bit different than I expected. So far in his big league career, Votto has displayed good power, but only average on base skills. Given his career minor league line of .289/.385/.476/.861, I expected the opposite. Regardless, his career is in its infancy and he should continue to provide professional At Bats in Cincinnati for years to come.

5. Drew Stubbs - Stubbs is still plying his trade at high-A Sarasota, where he started off as hot as a supernova. While he has cooled off as of late, his line is still solid at .267/.381/.405/.786 with 22 steals in 29 attempts. Stubbs came out of the University of Texas with a reputation for tremendous defense, good speed, and light-tower power. He is one of the few Longhorns to ever hit the ball over the scoreboard at Texas. However, his current skill set would seem to have him on track to be a leadoff hitter, as his on-base skills and speed are both above average. Stubbs is what we need to see from more of the Reds prospects: great defensively, strong on-base skills, and a high baseball IQ. If he continues to stay on track, he could be the Reds starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter for good starting opening day of 2010.

6. Todd Frazier - Previously, I wrote: "Todd Frazier is a baseball player. That sentence may not seem like it says much, but in reality it says it all." That statement continues to be true, as Frazier's polished skill-set is enabling him to climb the ranks of the Reds system. He started out back at low-A Dayton, where he pounded pitchers to a tune of .321/.402/.598/1.000 before getting promoted to high-A Sarasota. At Sarasota, Frazier is currently at .288/.347/.485/.832, which doesn't strike the eye as very impressive, but Sarasota is notoriously tough on hitters. Overall, Frazier is one of the brightest lights in the Reds system and his innate understanding of the game allows all of his solid tools to play up a notch. If he continues to perform as he has, Frazier will continue to climb the levels of the farm system and up even higher on this prospect list.

7. Juan Francisco - Juan is another bright light in the farm system and another example of the importance of international scouting in the modern game. Juan is also working at high-A Sarasota, where he has posted a respectable line of .283/.301/.476/.777 in a pitcher friendly park. Francisco has substantial power and is a very good athlete, but he is less polished than Todd Frazier and still has an alarming K/BB ratio of 69/8. It's difficult to envision a hitter have much MLB success without improving on his approach at the plate, so it's a very large red flag. Still, he's a young player and has significant upside, so he's definitely one to keep an eye on.

8. Devin Mesoraco - Mesoraco was held back in extended spring training to start the year, which led to talk that he was destined to head back to the rookie level Pioner League. But, the Reds eventually sent him to low-A Dayton, where Mesoraco begin to make good on his promise and justify his high draft slot. He is currently hitting .276/.331/.397/.727 after following up a slow start with a nice hot streak. As a catcher, Mesoraco has a long way to go in his development, as he has much to learn on both sides of the dish. Still, after an injury plagued season last year and a bit of a poor start in 2008, it's comforting to see Mesoraco play so capably. Mesoraco has a long way to go, but he's demonstrating a great deal of promise.

9. Travis Wood - Wood slid down many prospects list due to an injury plagued 2007, but he has had a strong bounce back year thus far. He posted a very impressive 2.70 ERA and 41/21 K/BB ratio in 46.2 innings at high-A Sarasota. That earned him a promotion to double-A Chattanooga, where he has strong 24/12 K/BB ratio in 23.0 innings pitched. He also has a poor ERA of 6.65, due in large part to back to back games in which he allowed 6 and then 7 earned runs. Still, Wood seems healthy, which should go a long way towards reestablishing him as a quality pitching prospect in the eyes of the national baseball media.

10. Chris Valaika - Valaika is another who slipped down most prospect lists, but he is having a very strong 2008 season. Chris posting a stellar line of .363/.393/.585/.978 at Sarasota and now has a line of .281/.345/.425/.770 at double-A Chattanooga. After some questions emerged about his bat in 2007, Valaika has done his best to answer them in 2008. The jump from A-ball to double-A ball is considered the toughest in the minors, so it'll be interesting to see if Valaika can build on his solid start. In addition, he has improved his defensive play at shortstop to the point that some are wondering whether he might be a legitimate option at shortstop at the big league level, which would only increase his value. Overall, it's been a nice year for Valaika, but he needs to continue to prove that he profiles as more than just a utility infielder at the big league level.

11. Neftali Soto - No one has gotten off to a better start in 2008 than Soto. The Reds assigned him to the rookie league Billings Mustangs, who just got their season underway. In the team's first 5 games, Soto has cranked 4 homeruns and posted a line of .435/.480/1.087/1.567. Soto is a right handed hitter with a beautiful swing. It has a similar fluid grace to Joe DiMaggio's swing. If Soto can be half the MLB player that the Yankee Clipper was, then the Reds will be quite pleased. Personally, I still don't think Soto will be able to stick at shortstop, as he already lacks good first step quickness and will likely only lose range when he inevitably adds weight to his 6'2 frame. Still, Soto is an intriguing prospect and could shoot way up this list if he continues his stellar play.

12. Danny Dorn - Dorn is one of my favorite prospects, but he's had a bit of a strange year. He suffered a knee injury early in the season, which has made it difficult for him to get into a rhythm. Still, Dorn has posted a solid line of .272/.368/.474/.842, which is well down from his amazing performance at double-A last year (1.089 OPS). Even so, the on-base skills are strong and given his lack of top flight power, that is what will drive his career. Another strange aspect to Dorn's season is that the Lookouts are using him at several different positions. So far this season, he's played leftfield, rightfield, quite a bit of firstbase, and spent a lot of time at designated hitter. I'm not sure if the Reds are moving him around because they don't view him as a potential starter, so they are attempting to increase his versatility or if they are taking it easy on his injured knee. Regardless, he'd be better off starting every game in leftfield and I hope to see that happen in the near future.

13. Matt Maloney - It's been a tale of two seasons for Maloney, as he started out 2008 with very poor results. However, he's been much better as of late, which has earned him an ERA of 4.93, a whip of 1.37, and a stellar K/BB ratio of 78/28 in 84.0 innings pitched. His peripherals have been solid all year, so a large part of his struggles seem to be poor luck. His BABIP for the season is .331 and his Fielding Independent Pitching has been 3.98, which is much more impressive than his 4.93 ERA. Overall, Maloney has had a deceptively solid season and as the sample size increases his ERA and WHIP should regress to the mean. He should make his debut in Cincinnati later this summer.

14. Josh Ravin - Turning to one of my other favorite prospects, the Reds kept Ravin in extended spring training, but eventually sent him to low-A Dayton. At Dayton, Ravin has shown flashes of brilliance, but also struggled with his command. Ravin fell off of most prospect lists because of his terrible control in 2007. However, I've always loved his mechanics, which should help his command come around, and his pure stuff, so I still rate him highly. At Dayton, Ravin has posted the following: 5.00 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a K/BB ratio of 24/16 in 27.0 innings. Clearly, the stuff is there, as he's striking out almost a batter an inning, but it's hard not to be disappointed in the control. However, he's young and I still wouldn't change his ranking on this list, as I'm a true believer. For me, he's definitely someone to watch. Now, if he could only find a consistent arm slot, the sky would be the limit.

15. Adam Rosales - Rosales had a very impressive spring training and he turned all of the right heads in the Reds organization. In addition, he has no longer been relegated to 1b, which is where he spent most of last season due to an elbow injury. So, with the elbow injury no longer of concern, Rosales has been able to climb back up the defensive spectrum, which has really helped him regain some of the value he lost at first base. Still, despite all these positives, Rosales has really struggled at the plate with triple-A Louisville, where he is hitting a paltry .215/.279/.318/.597. Unfortunately, he seems to have given back some of the gains he made in Spring Training. At this point, he seems to be a real long shot to be anything more than a utility infielder at the MLB level.


Well, that's how the first 15 stack up, so the next installment will feature #16-25 and the Other Notables. I'm sure you won't want to miss that!!!

Top Prospect List: #13 Matt Maloney, LHP

The Reds acquired Matt Maloney from the Phillies last year for Kyle Lohse. Since Maloney arrived in the Cincinnati organization, he's opened up a lot of eyes and given pause to those fans who felt that Wayne Krivsky shouldn't have traded Zach Ward for Kyle Lohse. At this point, Maloney seems to be a better prospect than Ward.

It's interesting to see the Reds acquiring a lot of guys with high baseball IQs over the last couple of years, including Matt Maloney, Devin Mesoraco, Danny Dorn, and Todd Frazier. It's nice to have guys in the in organization who play smart baseball and always seem to make the right percentage play.

Maloney went to the University of Mississippi. He's 6'4, 220 lbs, bats left, and throws left. He'll be 24 years old heading into the 2008 season.

REPERTOIRE

Maloney features four solid pitches, including a fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider. None of the four pitches is a plus pitches, but his tremendous command and feel make the pitches play up.

His fastball is his best pitch and it sits in the 86-89 range with tremendous late sink. His changeup is his second best offering and he is not afraid to throw it at any time. His curveball has an 11-5 break on it and is a big looping type breaking ball.

His lack of velocity limits his upside, but Maloney understands how to get the most out of what he has, which is always a good thing in a pitcher.

Most scouting reports have him pegged as a backend of the rotation starter due to his lack of a plus pitch. However, given his stellar performance at each and every level over the past couple of years, it may be time to increase his ceiling to that of a #3 starter.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Maloney has had nothing but success at every level. From 2005 through 2007, Maloney put up quality numbers at every stop. He posted a 3.89 ERA with a 1.43 WHIP and a 36/15 K/BB ratio in 37 innings at low-A ball. At high-A, Maloney posted a 2.02 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and a 180/73 K/BB ratio in 169 innings. At Double-A, Maloney continued to roll posting a 3.69 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP with a 154/48 K/BB ratio in 153.2 innings. And, finally, at Triple-A, Maloney posted a 3.18 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP and a 23/6 K/BB ratio in 17 innings.

In his minor league career, Maloney has a 3.4 BB/9 and a 9.4 K/9. In addition, he gets a heavy amount of groundball outs due to his good sinker, which will play well in Great American Ball Park. On average, Maloney has GB% of up over 40% for his minor league career.

While his stuff is not considered to be above average, the results certainly are.

PITCHING MECHANICS

Mechanically, Maloney is sound. He works from a three-quarters arm slot, rather than a pure over the top slot. He has a clean, efficient delivery that doesn't have any unnecessary movement. He doesn't have a lot of effort in his delivery, which isn't unexpected considering his lower velocity, but it still should reduce his chances of injury. His arm action is clean and efficient, which makes his delivery much easier to repeat.

Unlike Travis Wood, Maloney's leg kick doesn't wrap around his body, but rather it stays pretty much in line with his "glove-side" (GS) shoulder. Wood coils his body up, which enables him to store more energy and impart more velocity on the ball. Maloney's straighter leg kick doesn't create as much power as Wood's coiled approach.

One thing that's a bit unorthodox with Maloney is that he throws across his body (which you can see in these photos, note the closed position of the Glove Side leg and the cross-fire action of the arm). His "glove-side" (GS) leg lands outside of his original foot position on the rubber. In essence, when he plants his GS leg it lands closer to first base than his feet were to begin with. This leaves his body closed off from home plate, so he has to throw across his body in order to deliver the ball to home plate. This also results in Maloney falling off the mound towards the third base side, as his momentum is going that way from having to throw across his body. Accordingly, he isn't in the best of fielding positions at the end of his delivery.

You can access the link to Maloney's MLB draft scouting video here.

All in all, Maloney's mechanics are fundamentally sound, which should result in consistent results and a decreased risk of injury.

FUTURE

Maloney is an interesting prospect. The scouts will tell you that his stuff isn't good enough to be a quality starting pitcher, but he keeps having substantial success as he climbs the ladder. His great strikeout rate defies his reputation for average stuff. It'll be interesting to see if pitching savvy and guile can overcome less than elite stuff. To date, his performance at every level necessitates a bump in his potential ceiling to that of a #3 starter, but whether his stuff will play at the MLB level remains to be seen. Of course, that's the same question that's been raised at each stop of his career, but at some point the argument that is stuff won't play at higher levels must yield to the fact that his stuff IS playing well at the higher levels.

For now, the crafty lefty Matt Maloney comes in at #13.

And, so it continues...

Well, the Reds traded Kyle Lohse to the Phillies for LHP Matt Maloney. To me, that doesn't seem like a good deal at first blush, but if we dig deeper it may actually be the best deal we could have cut. While originally I had hoped to see Lohse net compensatory draft picks for the Reds after leaving via free agency, but I'm no longer sure that would have been possible.

Here is Maloney's scouting report from the 2007 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, in which he ranked #9:

Maloney was worn out from pitching Mississippi to the NCAA super regionals when he turned pro in 2005, so the Phillies didn't see him at his best until 2006. His best was very good, as he was named South Atlantic League pitcher of the year after leading the circuit in wins, innings, and strikeouts while finishing second in ERA. Maloney attacks hitters by throwing four pitchs for strikes. His stuff is average across the board, but his advanced feel makes it play up, and he creates good deception with his easily repeatable delivery. His 86-88 mph sinker is his best pitch because of its late movement. His changeup isn't far behind and he'll throw it in any count. He also has an 11-to-5 curveball and a slider. Maloney's lack of velocity leaves him with little margin for error, and his secondary pitches need work to translate at the upper levels. his curveball has good downward spiral but can flatten out at times, and his slider needs to be tighter and harder if it's going to remain in his arsenal. On the high end, Maloney could be a No.4 starter. Without better breaking stuff, he could be a middle reliever. Considering his savvy and that he'll be 23 in 2007, he could skip a level and head straight to Double-A.

At the very least, he's a southpaw whose best pitch is his sinker and also features a nice change-up. He's not great, but not a bad return on Lohse. Unfortunately, given that Lohse did not even qualify as a type C pitcher in 2006, it hardly seems likely that he'll be qualified as a type A or B free agent after this year. So, compensatory picks may not have been a realistic option after all. Given the choice between letting Lohse walk for nothing and adding Maloney, it seems like a rather nice trade for the Reds.

Here is an explanation from Baseball America of the rules for ranking players for Free Agent Compensation:

Every offseason, the Elias Sports Bureau compiles rankings of all major league players, based on the previous two years' stats. The players are ranked by position groups: catchers; designated hitters, first basemen and outfielders; second basemen, third basemen and shortstops; starting pitchers; and relief pitchers. The players are then broken down into Type A, Type B and unranked free agents.

Type A players are players rated in the top 20 percent of all players at their position. Type B players are players rated in the 21-40 percent bracket at their position. Because players are only compared to others at similar positions, some players might be a Type A but seem to be not as good as some Type B players, etc., but that's how the system works.

When a team loses a free agent who is ranked in one of the two categories, it receives compensation as follows (if and only if it offered the free agent arbitration before he signed with his new team):

• Type A: Team losing player gets signing team's first-round pick as well as a supplemental first-round pick. If the signing team is picking in the first half of the first round, it loses its second-rounder instead of their first-rounder.
• Type B: Team losing player gets a supplemental first-round pick.

If a team doesn't offer arbitration to its free agent, it gets nothing when he signs with another team. This brings up the next question of why don't the teams always offer arbitration? The answer is, they might simply be afraid he'll accept it. It's a gamble some teams aren't willing to take, even if it seems likely the player is heading out of town.

In 2006, Kyle Lohse was ranked by Elias as the #67 starting pitcher in the NL.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-10-31-elias-rankings.htm#nl


That ranking was based on his 2005 and 2006 seasons, in which his total combined stats were:

305.2 IP, 361 Hits, 37 HRs, 88 BBs, 183 Ks, W/L 14-23, an ERA of 4.87, and a 1.47 WHIP.

After 2007, his ranking will be based on his 2006 and 2007 seasons. I projected out his 2007 season on the basis of his production up to this point and his combined total 2006/(projected)2007 stats were:

306.2 IP, 346 Hits, 37 HRs, 89 BBs, 206 Ks, W/L 14-24, an ERA of 5.10, and a 1.42 WHIP.

Those stats are eerily similar to his 2005 & 2006 stats and a case could be made that they are a bit worse. In order for the Reds to have received compensatory picks for Lohse, he would have to climb up around 15 places in the 2007 rankings, which would have made him a type B pitcher. However, his combined 2007 & 2006 stats do not represent a substantial improvement over his combined 2006 & 2005 stats, so he may not move up high enough to warrant compensatory picks. Anything less than an improvement of ~15 spots in the rankings would result in him being classified as a type C player or not even ranked at all, and, of course, neither of those two designations would have garnered the Reds compensatory picks.

Basically, the Reds made a calculated gamble that Lohse wouldn't have brought in any draft picks after the season, so they made the only logical decision. They brought in value rather than end up with nothing after the season. Given that Lohse's agent is Scott Boras, there is very little chance the Reds would be able to re-sign him, even if they wanted to do so. So, all in all, it seems like another solid move by the Reds, as "something" is still more valuable than "nothing".