I went out to San Jose Municipal Stadium last night with the goal of learning as much as possible about Michael Main and Tim Alderson. Juggling a camera, scorebook, and radar gun -- got some help from my dad with the last one -- I'm happy with the data we gathered last night.
Michael Main
Overall, it was hard to walk away impressed with Main on this occasion. Though it was a chilly 54-degree night -- we consider that cold in California -- I was hoping to see a little more velocity out of him. And his fastball/changeup/curveball combo didn't keep many of San Jose's hitters off balance -- guys were crushing line drives off him all night.
Fastball...His four-seamer sat around 88-91 and touched 93 a couple times. His two-seamer was closer to 86 MPH. Main struck out Thomas Neal, the Giants' No. 9 hitter, with an 89 MPH fastball in the 2nd inning (looking). I was impressed with the movement on his two-seamer. His four-seamer was pretty straight, but he located it well at times. He did a good job of keeping both pitches down in the zone.
Changeup...This pitch sat 78-81 and he threw it with similar arm action as his fastball. Main struck out Nick Noonan swinging with an 80 MPH changeup in the second inning. He also did a good job of keeping this pitch down in the zone.
Curveball...He didn't throw his curve too often last night. When he did, it was mainly 74-76. Angel Villalona roped a 72 MPH curveball for a double to right-center field in the second inning. Buster Posey lined a single between shortstop and third off a 75 MPH curveball in the third inning.
Disclaimer: San Jose has an amazing group of hitters in its lineup right now -- No. 2-7 in last night's batting order were: Brandon Crawford, Nick Noonan, Buster Posey, Conor Gillaspie, Roger Kieschnick, and Angel Villalona, respectively. If those guys were in a college lineup, the team would probably trample competition in Omaha. So I'm fine with giving Main another long look before I become concerned about his future.
At-bat of the night: Posey hit a no-doubt home run on a four-seam fastball in the first inning (video below -- see 9:32 and thank my dad for the sound effects). Visit our video and photo forum for every pitch Main threw last night.
Tim Alderson
Alderson was great for three innings -- mostly the first time through the lineup -- but he wasn't fooling hitters by the third time they saw him; some hit him well the second time, too. His curveball really jumped out at me this outing -- it's the best curveball I've seen so far this year. He threw it for strikes consistently and mixed it in almost as frequently as he threw his fastball. Alderson's fastball, however, wasn't very impressive.
Fastball...His four-seamer sat in the 88-91 range and had more movement than Main's. His two-seamer was closer to 86 MPH. Matthew Lawson struck out swinging on an 88 MPH fastball in the second inning. Ian Gac grooved an 89 MPH fastball to right-center field for a 4th-inning double. Lawson launched an 88 MPH fastball over the left-field wall for a home run in the 5th inning.
Curveball...74-75 with an occasional slower version coming in at 71-72 MPH. Alderson attacked the strike zone very effectively with this pitch. He struck out Elio Sarmiento looking with a 75 MPH curveball in the 2nd inning, Engel Beltre swinging with a 72 MPH curveball in the 3rd inning -- three curveballs, three strikes that at-bat (two swinging) -- and Mitch Moreland swinging on a 75 MPH curveball also in the 3rd.
Changeup...Seldom used but was around 79 MPH when he did throw it.
Inning of the night: In the third inning, Alderson struck the side out in order (first video below). I've also included his 5th inning -- when he gets rocked -- for comparison. You can see every pitch Alderson threw last night in our video and photo forum.
We plan to post Scouting Reports regularly this season. Adam Foster can be reached at adamf@projectprospect.com.