Chris Marlowe Stats & Scouting Report

IP	165
ERA	3.873
WHIP	1.461
BB/9	5.236
SO/9	8.291

Full name Chris Arnold Marlowe
Born 10/26/1989 in Nacogdoches, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 175 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Oklahoma State
Drafted in the 5th round (177th overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2011 (signed for $145,000).

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Burch Smith (then at Howard JC) and Marlowe (Navarro JC) ranked as the top junior college prospects in Texas last year, and now they're the best college prospects in Oklahoma. Marlowe averaged 17.3 strikeouts per nine innings at Navarro, a rate that would have led all juco pitchers had he worked enough innings to qualify. He has been just as devastating at Oklahoma State, and his 15.5 whiffs per nine in the regular season would top NCAA Division I if he had enough innings. Both his fastball and curveball can be plus-plus pitches at times, though he relies on the latter too much. He pitches at 92-95 mph and tops out at 97 with his fastball, and he throws his curve at 83-84 mph. Though he's athletic, Marlowe isn't physical at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds. He has some effort in his delivery, which hampers his ability to throw strikes, and isn't as sharp when used on consecutive days. A 21st-round pick of the Blue Jays a year ago, Marlowe should be one of the first relievers drafted in 2011.

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Marlowe's calling card is a 12-to-6 curveball that gets some 80 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale. "It's hard and late and he can make hitters look really bad with it," pitching coordinator Bert Bradley said. The key in his first full pro season was developing fastball command to get into counts to use his curve as a finishing pitch. Marlowe, who signed for $145,000, made some progress on that front, moving to a three-quarters arm angle that he could repeat better while adding velocity. He was up to 93-94 mph by the end of the season but command is another matter, attested by his 16 wild pitches and 6.4 walks per nine innings last year. Marlowe throws a slider as well that he used to overpower Big 12 hitters at Oklahoma State. The Giants used Marlowe both as a starter and in relief in low Class A, sliding him to the bullpen after July 4 in part to manage his workload. He's a good, wiry athlete whose frame, stuff and delivery draw some comparisons to Tim Lincecum. Marlowe might be the best-fielding pitcher in system. He'll have to fill up the strike zone this spring to earn a promotion to high Class A.
Marlowe uses an athletic delivery to get the most out of his smallish frame, he throws a cartoonish breaking ball and posted flat-out ridiculous college strikeout totals--all of which inspired one heck of a comparison by a Giants official who saw him in instructional league: "He's got a lot of things going on, like Tim Lincecum." Marlowe is a much more of a project than Lincecum was when he entered pro ball, though. A 21st-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2010, Marlowe transferred from Navarro (Texas) JC to Oklahoma State rather than turn pro. He struck out 71 in just 41 innings as the Cowboys' closer last spring, but he also walked 34, hit eight batters and threw seven wild pitches. San Francisco drafted him in the fifth round and signed him for $145,000. Marlowe's best pitch is a breaking ball that has the velocity of a slider (81-84 mph) and the big break of a curveball, and it's alternately described as both. He relies on it too much and will be under orders to throw more fastballs as a pro. There's no reason for him to avoid his heater, which sits at 92-95 mph and has been clocked as high as 97. Though Marlowe struggled when asked to pitch on consecutive days in college, any concerns over his stamina were assuaged when scouting director John Barr saw him strike out 12 in five innings against Texas. San Francisco may use him as a starter in the lower minors to get him innings, but Marlowe's future is in the bullpen. If he can harness his stuff, he could become a big league set-up man or possibly a closer. Though he'll probably open in low Class A, he could move rapidly.