David Robertson (60)

Pitch #1: Fastball, high 80’s to low 90’s velocity.   Looks like it’s coming at hitters a lot faster than it is.  Not afraid to try and blow it by hitters, especially when he thinks they are looking for his curveball.   Fairly straight pitch, that he controls fairly well.  Does a good job of keeping hitters off of it by mixing in his cutter which looks similar but has late cut movement to it.

Pitch #2: Curveball, plus pitch with 12-6 movement.  Uses it as a strikeout pitch.   Has a lot of confidence in it, and will double and even triple up on it.   Can throw it for called strikes or bury it in the dirt.  A hard curveball that he throws in the high 70’s to low 80’s.

Pitch #3: Cutter, low 90’s velocity.   Has real late cutting movement to it, but stays along the same plane.   Just has enough late movement to make it a very difficult pitch for hitters to get good wood on.

Delivery: Throws from the stretch with a belt high leg lift.   Very little effort to his delivery, and is very easy to repeat.   Uses a high three quarters arm slot. Maintains leg lift with runners on, but does speed up his delivery a bit.

Control: Mainly works north and south, with his strong 1-2 punch of fastball-curveball.   Has good control over all three of his pitches.   Strikes out a tonne of batters.   Does a great job of mixing all three of his pitches, and will throw any of them in any count.   Has confidence in all of them.

Poise: Has great poise, and can handle high pressure situations.   Many thought he would perform better in his audition as the Yankees closer last year, but his struggles can be attributed more to battling injury than to a lack of confidence or ability to pitch at the end of games.

Physical Description: Thin frame with real powerful lower half.  Strong muscle definition in thighs and calves.   Could stand to add more weight throughout his body, but it’s not a necessity.   There is little risk of him adding bad weight to his frame.

Projection: Elite setup man, who will push his way into the closer role eventually.  Strikes out a tonne of batters.  Should contend for All-Star teams even without the closer role.