Scott Elbert Stats & Scouting Report

IP	96
ERA	3.563
WHIP	1.344
BB/9	3.938
SO/9	8.813

Full name Timothy Scott Elbert
Born 08/13/1985 in Joplin, MO
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Seneca
Debut 08/29/2008
Drafted in the 1st round (17th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 (signed for $1,575,000).

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The consensus top high school lefthander in the nation entering the season, Elbert struck out 17 in his first start and never looked back. His fastball has sat at 90-93 mph all spring and features plenty of sink, as does his changeup. He has scrapped his curveball in favor of a slider, which has reached the mid-80s. He's polished for a prep pitcher and could pass Vanderbilt's Jeremy Sowers to become the first southpaw drafted, with several teams picking in the top 10 interested in him. A Missouri recruit, Elbert has an athletic frame at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds. He's also among the state leaders in home runs this spring and was the state's top running back as a junior. He ran for a state-best 2,449 yards and scored 36 touchdown in 2002, carrying Seneca to the state Class 3 semifinals, but gave up football last fall to focus on baseball.

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Coming off a 2009 season in which he spent four separate stints in the majors and made the Dodgers' postseason roster, Elbert had a forgettable 2010. The 15th overall pick in the 2004 draft, he made a single appearance for Los Angeles on May 29 and left Albuquerque for personal reasons shortly after being sent back down. He made up for lost time with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he got a chance to audition for new Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, who piloted Elbert's AFL squad. Elbert has been a starter for most of his minor league career, but his big league future looks to be in the bullpen. He attacks hitters with riding fastballs that sit at 93-94 mph and can reach 96 mph. His 87-88 mph slider gives him a putaway pitch with tilt and depth. He also has a solid-average changeup, though he doesn't use it much. A star running back in high school, Elbert still has a football mentality. His aggressiveness leads him to rush his delivery, causing his fastball to miss up in the zone and his slider to flatten out. Some club officials believe Elbert has the repertoire to be a starter, but he's expected to make the big league bullpen in 2011. With better command, he could emerge as a dominant two-pitch reliever.
Completely healthy for the first time since he had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in 2007, Elbert won the organization's minor league pitcher of the year award last season. The Dodgers called him up four separate times and placed him on their National League Championship Series roster. The 15th overall pick in the 2004 draft, he signed for $1.575 million. Elbert has regained the stuff he had before he had scar tissue removed from his labrum. His fastball sits at 92-94 mph and reaches 95. He complements it with a latebreaking, mid-80s slider that lefthanders find unhittable. His changeup keeps righthanders at bay. Though Elbert has enough pitches to start, he may not have the command or durability to succeed in that role. There's some effort in his delivery, he overthrows at times and shoots for strikeouts too often. All of that leads to walks and high pitch counts. Using him as a reliever may be the best way to keep him healthy. With George Sherill, Hong-Chih Kuo and Brent Leach, the Dodgers have enough big league lefty relievers to allow Elbert to start 2010 in Triple-A. His long-term role still remains to be determined.
A 2004 first-round pick who signed for $1.575 million, Elbert had scar tissue removed from the labrum in his shoulder in 2007. The shoulder issues also forced him to spend much of the past three seasons in Double-A, but when he jumped to the majors last August, he struck out five of the first seven hitters he faced. He spent 2008 as a reliever because the Dodgers wanted him to work his way back more slowly. Elbert still has a live arm, and his fastball was back up to 90-94 mph in 2008. He has a hard, two-plane curveball at 83-86 mph and runs it under the hands of righthanders. His changeup is also a plus pitch at times. He usually operates in the bottom of the strike zone. A former all-state running back, Elbert has a football mentality on the mound, resulting in a high-effort delivery and a tendency for his front side to fly open when he rushes. Missing most of 2007 didn't help his mechanics, and there's some thought he may not be able to go back to starting because he can't repeat his delivery. He pitches away from contact, leading to erratic control and command. If Elbert makes the Dodgers out of spring training, it will be as a reliever. If not, he'll probably return to starting at their new Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate. If he can't reassert himself in that role, he'll still be valuable as a late-inning reliever, perhaps even a closer.
Elbert entered 2007 among the minors' elite pitching prospects, but he made just three starts before being shut down with a shoulder injury in April. He had surgery to remove scar tissue from his labrum in June and missed the rest of the season. He was throwing at 75 percent up to 70 feet off flat ground by November. A talented athlete who was an all-Missouri running back in high school, Elbert has outstanding arm strength and two plus pitches. When he's healthy, his fastball sits at 90-92 mph and touches 96. His two-plane curveball has the spin, shape and deception of a legitimate wipeout pitch against both lefties and righties. His work ethic and competitiveness should aid in his recovery effort. Elbert's delivery has some effort and his mechanics may cause stress on his shoulder. He has a tendency to rush through his windup, which causes his arm to drag and contributes to below-average command. His secondary stuff is inconsistent, and he needs to improve the feel of his changeup. He had displayed durability in the past and his mechanical flaws are correctable, so there's reason to believe Elbert will recover his status. He profiles as a No. 2 or 3 starter, and he could wind up as a top-flight closer if moved to the bullpen. If he's healthy, he'll begin 2008 in Double-A.
Elbert grew up less than 10 miles from where assistant GM Logan White went to grade school. He was an all-Missouri tailback as a high school junior, amassing 2,449 yards and 36 touchdowns before giving up football. The first prep lefty drafted in 2004, he signed for $1.575 million and reached Double-A last year at age 21. The fiercest competitor in the system, Elbert attacks both sides of the plate with his 90-92 mph fastball, which has late life and can reach 96. His two-plane curveball has hard, sharp break. He's merciless against lefthanders, who hit just .156 off him in 2006. He's athletic and durable. Elbert doesn't consistently repeat his delivery and overthrows, which leads to below-average command. He'll power through his curveball, which causes it to flatten out. He hasn't needed his circle changeup much, and it lags behind his other two offerings. Dodgers manager Grady Little could be tempted to add him to the big league bullpen in 2007, but Elbert has the stuff to develop into a workhorse No. 2 or 3 starter. He'll probably head back to Double-A to start the season.
As a running back, Elbert amassed 2,449 rushing yards and scored 36 touchdowns as a junior before giving up football. The first prep lefty drafted in 2004, he signed for $1.575 million. After getting knocked around in his pro debut, he rated as the No. 1 prospect in the low Class A South Atlantic League in 2005. Elbert's stuff, body and makeup resemble Billingsley's, plus he's lefthanded. Elbert isn't as polished, but he has a live 88-93 mph fastball, a two-plane breaking ball and future-average changeup. He still was touching 94 in instructional league after his first full pro season. He has outstanding mound presence and an aggressive approach. Elbert's breaking ball, which lies somewhere between a curve and a slider, has inconsistent break. He tends to rush his lower half during his delivery and yanks his arm across his body, getting around and under the ball. He's still refining his circle changeup. While some scouts envision Elbert's power repertoire profiling best at the back of a bullpen, others believe his athleticism will allow him to repeat his delivery and become a frontline starter. He'll open 2006 at high Class A Vero Beach.
Elbert, who grew up less than 10 miles from where Dodgers scouting director Logan White went to grade school, was considered the top prep lefthander in the 2004 high school draft class. Elbert was also an all-state running back as a junior, rushing for a Missouri-high 2,449 yards with 36 touchdowns in 2002 before giving up football. His athleticism translates well on the mound. His arm works loose and easy, creating effortless 90-94 mph velocity on his hard, sinking fastball. He scrapped his curveball in favor of a mid-80s slider that has plus potential, and his changeup also has late, diving action. He projects to have above-average control and command. Elbert didn't pitch as aggressively in his pro debut as he did as an amateur, leading to high pitch counts and too many walks. He needs to throw his changeup more frequently. With two developing plus power pitches, Elbert could profile as a closer down the line. The Dodgers will continue to develop him as a starter. He needs innings and will make his full-season debut in the low Class A rotation in 2005.

Minor League Top Prospects

Elbert punched a quick ticket out of high Class A by dominating the FSL in June and early July, allowing three earned runs in his final 30 innings before his promotion. He was the most impressive lefthander in the league, showing a strong arm and a nasty, heavy fastball. Elbert pounded the zone with a 91-93 mph fastball that showed good sink. He also threw a hard curveball that seemed closer to a slurve. He did a good job of maintaining consistent arm speed with his changeup, though he might need to alter his grip because he throws it too hard. Elbert's command is still a work in progress. He struggles to repeat his delivery, which leads to too many walks. It hasn't hurt him too much yet, as he has an aggressive approach and the stuff to get out of jams. If he doesn't improve his ability to locate, his bulldog mentality would serve him well as a power lefty arm out of the bullpen.
Arguably the top lefthanded pitching prospect in the game, Elbert showed flashed of dominance in the Southern League but also was inconsistent, hampered by minor flaws in his delivery. When he's on, he has good movement on his 90-93 mph fastball, locates his slurvy breaking ball to either side of the plate and gets his changeup to dive straight down out of the strike zone. Elbert has outstanding presence on the mound, but his control suffers when he rushes his mechanics. He often shows maximum effort, especially in his lower half, and has a slight wrist hook on the backside of his delivery, costing him effectiveness on his offspeed pitches. "These are all very correctable things," a scout from a National League club said. "It's just a matter of him getting comfortable and staying within himself. Not rushing through it, but being more free and easy, not maxing out that delivery."
The Dodgers sent Columbus both of their 2004 first-round picks, Elbert and third baseman Blake DeWitt, and SAL observers were impressed with both. Elbert finished the season in such strong fashion--he went 5-1, 1.96 in his final 12 starts--that he earned top billing on this list as an athletic lefthander with quality pitches and enough control to dominate with them. As the year progressed, Elbert showed increased ability to harness his 88-93 mph fastball and his power curveball with plenty of depth. His curve doesn't have 12-6 break and sometimes has more sweeping action like a slider, but it's a swing-and-miss pitch that locked up even experienced hitters. His changeup made great strides and is average at times. One American League scout saw command issues with Elbert's secondary stuff and a mechanical breakdown that left him leaving those pitches up in the zone, but the consensus was that he has the athletic ability to refine and maintain a sound delivery. "He made quick bats look like palm trees through peanut butter," Greenville manager Chad Epperson said. "He had velocity, mound presence and composure. Early in the year he started to open his shoulder a little, but he cleaned it up, and if he stays in his delivery he has a very bright future."
As with DeWitt, the Dodgers drafted Elbert in the first round out of a Missouri high school. The first prep lefty selected this year, Elbert didn't make as smooth a transition as DeWitt. He didn't pitch as aggressively as he did as an amateur, leading to high pitch counts and too many walks. There's still plenty to like, however, and Elbert should improve his approach following a stint in instructional league. He has good life and movement on his mid-90s fastball, decent feel for a slider he began throwing regularly for the first time this year, and an average changeup. His arm works loose and easy, and the ball explodes out of his hand.