Blake King Stats & Scouting Report

IP	433
ERA	4.344
WHIP	1.582
BB/9	7.483
SO/9	10.663

Full name Blake Matthew King
Born 04/11/1987 in Tulsa, OK
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Eastern Oklahoma State College
Drafted in the 44th round (1,334th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

When King signed it was big news, but not because he was an endangered draft species due to the end of the draft-and-follow process. He's related to Mickey Mantle, and that baseball legacy brought a phalanx of family to his signing. King cuts the figure of a country slinger, complete with the husky frame and hard stuff. The Cardinals drafted him out of high school, and he got a year in at Eastern Oklahoma State before going pro. King has been considered one of the better relief arms in the system, but his progress has been slow because consistency and command have eluded him. His 93-94 mph fastball and a sinister slider are both plus pitches. His command of the fastball is flighty, partially because the over-the-top delivery that benefits the vanishing, downward break of his slider can cause his release point for the fastball to waver. He also throws a curveball and changeup, though both are average and inconsistent. King has the right mix of pitches, and establishing a consistent delivery and command in Triple-A will put him on the brink of the big leagues. St. Louis added him to the 40-man roster in November.
When King signed with the Cardinals as a draft-and-follow in 2006, he was surrounded by family and it was big local news because of a famous relative--he's the great-nephew of Mickey Mantle. King turned pro after leading national junior college pitchers with 123 strikeouts in 86 innings at Eastern Oklahoma State. He's still striking people out in pro ball, but he's also walking too many batters, which is why he has yet to taste success in a full-season league. He opened last year in low Class A but went back to Batavia after walking nearly a batter per inning. King can push his fastball into the mid-90s and has developed a hard slurve that resembles a slider more than a curve and arrives in the mid-80s. He throws his breaking ball with the same force as his fastball, and it's as effective as it is deceptive. He has no changeup to speak of at this point. King has called himself effectively wild, while scouts call him just plain wild. The stuff is there for him to advance, but he won't make it far until he establishes better control. He'll give low Class A another shot this spring.

Minor League Top Prospects

King led national junior college pitchers in strikeouts (123 in 86 innings) and ranked seventh in ERA (1.05), prompting the Cardinals to sign him as a draft-and-follow before he could re-enter the 2006 draft. He made quick work of Appy League hitters with a deceptive maximum-effort delivery. Before coming to the plate, he turns to face the outfield and then delivers the ball over the top. King pitches up in the zone with a low-90s fastball, reaching 94 at times, keeping the ball in the park because hitters don't see it well coming out of his hand. His late-breaking slider is an above-average pitch already and it generated lots of swings because it looks like a fastball until it breaks late at the plate. He ranked second in the league in strikeouts (74) but also walks (29), and opponents hit just .167 against him.