Astros, Dodgers Show Strong Presence At Vladimir Gutierrez Showcase

In what will likely be his final time on the mound before he signs, 20-year-old Cuban righthander Vladimir Gutierrez showed mid-90s velocity Friday morning at an open showcase at the Phillies’ complex in Clearwater, Fla.

The Astros, who are planning to break their international bonus pool when the 2016-17 signing period opens on July 2, had the deepest crew of evaluators on hand, according to those in attendance. The Dodgers, who are over their current bonus pool, also had a strong presence at the event.

The Cubs and Royals (both over their current pools) as well as the Braves, Cardinals, Padres and Reds (all going over their pools on July 2) were among the other clubs with a notable contingent in town to watch Gutierrez. The Orioles, Brewers and Marlins also had scouts on hand at the workout, which didn’t draw the enormous crowds that some Cuban showcases had, but had several top evaluators there.

On Friday, the lanky 6-foot-3 Gutierrez threw around 75 pitches, with around 30 pitches to warm up on the mound, then another 45 or so split over three innings of a simulated game against low-level hitters from the Phillies’ extended spring training squad. Reports on Gutierrez’s velocity generally ranged from 93-96 mph, consistent with what he showed at his previous showcase last month. That’s an increase from what Gutierrez was throwing in Cuba, and he’s hit 97 mph recently in private showings.

Gutierrez also impressed scouts in attendance with his curveball, showing sharp bite and tight spin, though while he generated a lot of weak contact, he didn’t get much swing-and-miss. Gutierrez was mostly a two-pitch guy in Cuba, and while he occasionally flashed an average changeup there, his changeup got mixed reviews today, and he sprinkled a slider in as well that wasn’t as good as his curve.

While Gutierrez’s fastball command did waver at times, he threw more strikes Friday than he did in previous outings. Scouts have pointed out that there are a lot of moving parts in his mechanics that he has to sync up, showing more control once he simplified his delivery pitching from the stretch, but that those are tweaks he could smooth out with professional instruction.

Teams were told this would be the final showcase for Gutierrez, who is a free agent and will likely make a signing decision soon, though he might wait until July 2 to officially sign since some teams would prefer to have him fall under their 2016-17 bonus pools.

Gutierrez was one of the top pitching prospects in Cuba, ranking as the No. 12 player on the island in Baseball America’s August 2014 rankings. He left the Cuban team at the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico last year in February in the midst of a strong 2014-15 season in Serie Nacional in which he had a 2.45 ERA in 51 1/3 innings with 49 strikeouts and 19 walks. With his Pinar Del Rio team having a strong starting rotation at the time, Gutierrez pitched out of the bullpen. The previous season (2013-14), Gutierrez was the Serie Nacional rookie of the year. He also pitched for Cuba’s junior national team at the 18U World Cup in Taiwan in 2013.

In Cuba, Gutierrez threw 88-93 mph with a plus curveball, occasionally flashing an average changeup but mostly having success of his fastball and curveball. Gutierrez became a free agent last summer, but he left scouts puzzled with uninspiring workouts where his stuff looked flat and his mechanics weren’t right.

He has resuscitated his stock since then, starting with a showcase last month in Florida at the Astros’ complex in which he threw 92-96 mph with his trademark sharp curveball.

“I stopped throwing the curveball to throw the slider, which was a mistake,” Gutierrez told BA’s J.J. Cooper after his showcase last month. “I started working on the slider and forgot about the breaking ball, now I went back to what made me.”

“Back then,” Gutierrez added, “my mechanics were off. I was only using my top half. My mechanics are better and you can see the difference in my velocity.”