2011 Scouting Report 40-man Roster, Taylor Buchholz

Taylor Buchholz- #33

29 years old
5th major league season
6'4" 220 pounds
Bat R/Throws R

Profile: Buchholz was originally drafted by the Phillies, and was traded to the Astros in the Billy Wagner trade. He spent 2006 with the Astros AAA and major league system, then was traded to the Rockies, and appeared in 104 games during 2007 and 2008. He missed the 2009 season with an injury, and only threw 33 innings last year, and he was ineffective. The Rockies released him after he also hurt his back, and the Blue Jays claimed him in September. That didn't work out, and the Red Sox took a flier. The Mets signed him this off-season as another low-risk signing (1-year, $600,000).

The Good: In 2008 and prior to Tommy John Surgery in 2009, Buchholz was throwing 92-93 mph with cut. When he returned last year, his fastball dropped to 89 mph. He also throws a plus curve-ball and an average change-up. He gets a lot of swings and misses (10.2% last year, 9.5% career), but surprisingly his K/9 for his career is only 6.4. Everyone will be dreaming about his 2.17 ERA with the Rockies he had in 2008. He limited walks before TJ Surgery, but he had trouble with his command last year.

The Bad: He needs to stay healthy. Pretty simple. When he's healthy, he's been effective. But we need to monitor his fastball velocity and his command in spring training and see if he has returned to his pre-TJ levels.

Role: As long as he "stays healthy", he will be a fixture in the 7th/high leverage innings.

Video from Spring Training: 1st base view


3rd Base View:


Video Recap: He has a free and easy arm action. I was impressed with him from what I saw.

My Projected Stats: 70 innings, 3.70 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 55 strikeouts, 25 walks.

Tomorrow: Chris Capuano

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Pedro Beato
Manuel Alvarez
Manny Acosta