Jesse Darrah Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Jesse Darrah
Born 03/28/1990 in Battleground, WA
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 190 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School Fresno Pacific
Drafted in the 8th round (244th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 (signed for $105,000).

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Darrah has a nice pitcher's frame at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He throws from a high three-quarter arm slot and there's some effort in his delivery, but he repeats well and it works for him. Darrah's fastball sits in the 90-93 mph range and he tops out at 95. His best secondary offering is his changeup and he also throws a slider and a curveball. When he mixed both of the breaking balls in, they were just average, but when he focused solely on his curveball, it showed flashes of being a power pitch with above-average potential. Darrah transferred to Fresno Pacific from Sacramento State this season and shows good intensity on the mound.

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After spending his first two college seasons at Sacramento State, Darrah set a Fresno Pacific record for strikeouts (101 in 89 innings) last spring. The Diamondbacks made him the first NAIA pitcher selected in the 2011 draft, grabbing him in the eighth round and signing him for $105,000. He continued to miss bats in his pro debut, averaging 10.3 whiffs per nine innings at Missoula. With a strong body and some effort in his delivery, Darrah throws a 90-94 mph fastball. His best secondary pitch is a changeup that he throws with the same release point and arm speed as his heater. His curveball is a plus pitch at times, and he also has a fringy slider that's really just a variation of his curve that he can throw for strikes more easily. Darrah pitches from a high three-quarters slot and repeats his mechanics well. Arizona believes he was a good value pick in a draft in which they loaded up on arms. He projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter and will make the jump to low Class A in 2012.