Bobby Doran
| IP | 559 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.894 |
| WHIP | 1.417 |
| BB/9 | 2.85 |
| SO/9 | 6.005 |
- Full name Robert Michael Doran
- Born 03/21/1989 in Oklahoma City, OK
- Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 235 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Texas Tech
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Drafted in the 4th round (123rd overall) by the Houston Astros in 2010 (signed for $236,700).
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Pitching in the shadow of Chad Bettis at Texas Tech, Doran has been the Red Raiders' best starting pitcher this spring. After going winless in the first half of the season, he won five of his next six starts, highlighted by a 16-strikeout effort against Missouri. His stuff has kicked up a notch, matching what he showed last summer when he ranked as the top pitching prospect in the Jayhawk League. Not only is he pitching at 90-92 mph and topping out at 94, but he's also commanding his fastball to both sides of the plate. He also has a hard 77-78 mph curveball with late break, as well as a serviceable changeup. He's athletic for a 6-foot-6, 240-pounder, and his arm works easily, enabling him to throw strikes. He spent the first two years of his college career at Seward County (Kan.) CC, where the Pirates drafted him in the 36th round last year. He'll get picked more than 30 rounds earlier this time around.
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Doran pitched at Seward County (Kan.) CC for two seasons before turning down the Pirates as a 36th-rounder in 2009 in order to transfer to Texas Tech. A year later, he signed with the Astros as a fourth-rounder. He had an injury-plagued, disastrous 2011 season at high Class A Lancaster, but he returned there last year and conquered perhaps the minors' toughest pitcher's park. Doran has one of the harder fastballs among Houston's minor league starters, sitting comfortably at 90-94 mph and touching 95 with his four-seamer. His fastball tends to straighten out when he throws at the top end of the register, so he has come to rely more on a low-90s two-seamer. He also uses a changeup, a short slider and a curveball, but none grades out as more than fringy on a consistent basis. He needs to improve against lefthanders, who abused him during his short stint in Double-A. He keeps a good tempo, pitches aggressively and throws strikes. Doran's ceiling is as a No. 4 starter, and his fastball velocity might play better in the bullpen. He figures to return to Double-A to start 2013.
