Jason Hammel Stats & Scouting Report

IP	1810
ERA	4.619
WHIP	1.373
BB/9	2.819
SO/9	7.101

Full name Jason Aaron Hammel
Born 09/02/1982 in Greenville, SC
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Treasure Valley CC
Debut 04/11/2006
Drafted in the 10th round (284th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2002.

View Draft Report

The Mariners and Devil Rays have drafted 6-foot-5 RHP Jason Hammel in his two years at Treasure Valley JC. He became a much better pitcher this season, and the Rays were expected to make a push to sign him. Hammel has the makings of three solid pitches, including a 90 mph fastball that tops out at 94.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

After reaching double digits in victories in both 2004 and 2005, Hammel had a better season than his statistics suggest last year, his first full season at the Triple-A level. He had a seven-start stretch in May and June where he went winless despite posting a 3.64 ERA, part of an overall 11-start victory drought. He did bounce back to pitch his best ball of the year in August, setting a Durham Triple-A franchise record with a 13-strikeout game just before his promotion to Tampa Bay. Hammel can locate his pitches to both sides of the plate and has learned to work off his low-90s fastball. His hard-breaking curveball is also a plus pitch, residing in the upper 70s, yet tends to be inconsistent. His changeup showed significant improvement in 2006 and he also did a better job of using his height to work on a downward plane. Hammel's difficulties arise when he leaves his pitches up in the strike zone. There were some concerns about how hard he was hit in his initial taste of the big leagues, but the Rays believe that was simply the result of relying too heavily on his fastball. He'll get the opportunity to win a job in Tampa Bay's rotation in spring training and profiles as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter.
Tampa Bay failed to sign Hammel as a 19th-round draft-and-follow in 2001, then drafted him again and signed him in 2002. After breaking through in the second half of 2004, he was shelved for the first month of last season with a strained elbow. He didn't miss a start the rest of the way and could have been called up in September, but the Devil Rays didn't want to start his service-time clock ticking. Hammel's lively fastball sits in the 91-94 mph range and gets on hitters quickly thanks to his tremendous extension. He also throws a hard curveball in the 75-79 mph range, and he has shown considerable improvement with his changeup. He has the best command in the system. Hammel's curveball is inconsistent. While his fastball has good life down in the zone, it straightens out when he leaves it up. His projectable frame is filling out, but he still needs to add strength. Hammel will get a shot at earning a job on the major league club in spring training. He should be a significant building block as a middle-of-the-rotation starter in the Rays' building project.
Hammel's 2003 season was cut short when he fell during pregame warmups and injured his right wrist in July. He emerged as one of the system's top pitching prospects during the second half of 2004, posting a 0.25 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his final 36 innings at high Class A Bakersfield. Hammel projects well with his long and lean frame. Possessing a quick arm with outstanding extension out front, he has a plus fastball that jumped from 89-91 to 92-94 mph in 2004. He also throws a sometimes-nasty 12-6 curveball at 76-78 mph. His command is a positive. His changeup is an average pitch at times, but Hammel needs to show more consistency with it as well as his curveball. While he has good coordination and body control for his size, he must maintain his mechanics in order to reach his potential. Hammel made as much progress as anyone in the organization in 2004. His lanky body produces easy heat that continues to improve. A promotion to Double-A is in Hammel's immediate future, and the Rays envision him as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

Minor League Top Prospects

Hammel has pitched well in Triple-A stints for the last three years, but he has yet to break through with the big club. He has more than enough stuff to succeed, but he often lands stiffly on his front leg during his delivery. He spins out and loses his direction to the plate, spraying the strike zone rather than hitting his spots. Hammel seemed to turn a corner in September, when he allowed just 15 runs and nine walks in six big league starts. He delivers his fastball at 90-94 mph with good downward plane from a 6-foot-6, 200-pound frame. Combined with his hard-breaking, high-70s curveball, he has two plus pitches at times. His slider and changeup grade as average.
Few righthanders in the league had better raw stuff than Hammel, who showed off his power repertoire by pitching 8 1/3 innings of a Durham no-hitter in July and posting consecutive double-digit strikeout games in August. He made his major league debut this season but struggled with his location. Hammel has an ideal pitchers' body at 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, and he has good direction to the plate. His 90-94 mph fastball jumps on hitters with late life. His delivery is fluid and repeatable, but when he gets out of sync he rushes toward the plate, resulting in flat pitches up in the zone. Hammel also throws an above-average 12-to-6 curveball and an average changeup. When he misses with his offspeed stuff, he missed down. He surrendered just 11 home runs and kept the ball on the ground, especially against lefthanders. He can get three pitches over and still projects as a No. 3 starter.
It took a while for Hammel to blossom. He couldn't make his high school's varsity until his senior year, and needed most of two full seasons to get out of low Class A after turning pro in 2002. Finally promoted to Bakersfield in mid-July, he was one of the league's best pitchers in the second half, allowing only one earned run over 36 innings in his final five starts. Long, lean, loose and projectable, Hammel pumps 92-94 mph fastballs on a strong downward plane. He also has a tight breaking ball that he throws in the low 80s. His rapidly improving changeup already features good deception. Hammel's pitches are difficult to pick up, because they all come from the same delivery. He can have trouble maintaining a consistent release point at times, leading to control problems, but that wasn't an issue in the Cal League.