Adam Ottavino Stats & Scouting Report

IP	56
ERA	4.34
WHIP	1.29
BB/9	3.7
SO/9	11.25

Full name Adam Robert Ottavino
Born 11/22/1985 in New York, NY
Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 246 / Bats: S / Throws: R
School Northeastern
Debut 05/29/2010
Drafted in the 1st round (30th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 (signed for $950,000).

View Draft Report

Ottavino was the America East Conference pitcher of the year in 2005 and followed that up with a 2-2, 1.76 summer in the Cape Cod League, but he really burst onto the 2006 draft landscape when he held then-No. 1 Georgia Tech hitless through six innings in his first start of 2006. He struck out 12 Yellow Jackets over seven innings, despite losing 2-1. His best start of the year came a month later, when he threw a no-hitter while striking out 14 against another of the nation's highest-scoring teams, James Madison. Ottavino's best pitch is a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 95, and he complements it with a power slider that could become a plus offering. He also throws a slurvy breaking ball that projects as an average pitch if he can clean it up, and a changeup that is just a show pitch. Ottavino has a loose, easy delivery and could add velocity as he continues to fill out his lanky frame. Mechanically, Ottavino has a little tilt in the back of his delivery that causes him to get under the ball sometimes, but his arm is strong enough to compensate. His current stuff, his projection and his calm mound demeanor make for an attractive package.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

There was a growing sense late in the 2011 season that the best move for Ottavino and the Cardinals would be a separation. Like longtime roommates, both sides had grown irritated. The first sign of an armistice came in November when St. Louis returned him to the 40-man roster a year after irking him by leaving him off. The 30th overall pick in the 2006 draft and recipient of a $950,000 bonus, Ottavino remains an attractive though beguiling talent. His frame and stamina are carbon copies of the starters the Cardinals rely on in the majors. He has a low-90s two-seam fastball and a four-seamer in the mid-90s. His slurvy breaking ball and sinking changeup aren't particularly sharp. Cursed by inconsistent mechanics early in his pro career, Ottavino has improved but start-to-start inconsistency still foils his advancement. He has spent the last three seasons in Triple-A, missing much of 2010 with a sore shoulder. That July, St. Louis announced he would require surgery to repair a torn labrum. He sought a second opinion and decided to follow advice that the irritation would subside with rest and rehab. Ottavino has advocates in the organization and some think a move to the bullpen could unlock his potential. The Cardinals will give him a look as a reliever during spring training.
The Cardinals announced in July that Ottavino would need surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder--which came as news to him. The strong-armed righthander had been pitching through discomfort in his shoulder for awhile, and he lobbied the Cardinals to give non-surgical treatment a try. After an extended rest he was activated--but not used--for the final weekend of the season, and the Cardinals outrighted him off the 40-man roster in November. The injury interrupted a season when Ottavino had taken a significant step forward. No longer sabotaged by a Quixotic search for mechanics, he pitched well in the Memphis rotation. He has become comfortable with a two-seam fastball that hums in the low 90s, and he can still crank his four-seam fastball in the mid- to high 90s. His sinking changeup has become an effective weapon, and his command has improved with a consistent, easier delivery. His slurvy breaking ball lags behind his other pitches. The condition of Ottavino's shoulder will loom over his every throw early this season, but if he's healthy he could get a big league opportunity. He intrigued pitching coach Dave Duncan enough last spring that he shifted briefly to relief, and while the organization still views him as a starter long-term, he could serve an apprentice role in the major league bullpen at some point in 2010, the same path used to groom Adam Wainwright.
Ottavino progressed nicely in his first three seasons after signing for $950,000 as a 2006 first-round pick. But he has been hammered in the upper minors the last two years, and some Cardinals coaches wonder if he bought too much into the organization's emphasis on a natural, fluid delivery and became too undisciplined. His 2009 highlight came when he shut out a stacked Venezuela lineup for three innings while pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. With a strong build and quick arm, Ottavino cuts the image of a power pitcher. His four-seam fastball climbs into the high 90s, and he can command it in the mid-90s. He also throws a two-seamer in the low 90s, and he has tightened his once-slurvy breaking ball. Ottavino is experimental to a fault. He has tinkered with his delivery each year, adding a high hand swing, then subtracting it, speeding his leg lift, then slowing it, and so on. All of that has contributed to erratic command and the stunted development of his other pitches, such as his changeup. He's running out of believers who think he can stick in a big league rotation. After the Cardinals staged a delivery intervention, Ottavino showed improvement down the stretch, and was added to the 40-man roster after the season. He'll return to Triple-A in 2010, which is probably his last chance to prove he can cut it as a starter.
Before the start of major league spring training last year, the Cardinals invited a select group of pitching prospects to what they called a "classic mechanics" mini-camp. Ottavino, the 30th overall pick in the 2006 draft and recipient of a $950,000 bonus, was a willing student. He threw himself into the program, which included scanning tapes of pitching greats and rediscovering what coaches called a "natural rhythm." Yet he may have gotten into it too much, as the power pitcher with the power build got powerfully out of whack and lost confidence. He got hit hard in his first Double-A experience, and the Cardinals shut him down for a couple of stints in May so he could rest a sore shoulder and try to regain confidence in his stuff. He pitched better later in the season, but his mechanics were never consistent all year. Ottavino has a four-seam fastball he can throw at 94 mph, and a two-seamer he has embraced that goes in the 90s. His slurvy breaking ball would be more effective if he used it more, and his changeup still needs work. But teetering mechanics can sabotage all of his pitches. The Cardinals gave him a break to reset and sent him to Arizona Fall League, where his mechanics looked better but he still compiled a 6.17 ERA in 23 innings. He ditched the high hand swing and went to a more compact delivery. He will return to the Springfield rotation in hopes of a bounceback year, and reaching Triple-A would put him back on schedule.
Ottavino broke the Northeastern single-season strikeout record as a sophomore and again as a junior before signing for $950,000 as the 30th overall pick in 2006. He has ditched the rose-colored sunglasses that were his signature in college, but he has continued to produce. Sent to high Class A Palm Beach for his first full season, he ranked second in the Florida State League with 12 wins and third with a 3.08 ERA and 128 strikeouts. Ottavino has a power mindset and a power build, and he blazed through college with a four-seam fastball that he can still fire in the mid-90s, reaching as high as 94 mph in the late innings. At the urging of the Cardinals, he also has dusted off a running two-seamer in the low 90s. He confidently works both sides of the plate. He has a tight slider and gained traction with his curveball in 2007. He can get carried away with his fastball and becomes too reliant on trying to overpower hitters up in the strike zone. His breaking ball is still slurvy, and his changeup is still a pitch in progress. He needs to become more efficient and cut down on his walks and high pitch counts. Ottavino will begin 2008 in the Double-A rotation. There once was talk of turning him into a reliever, but those plans have shifted to the back burner.
Ottavino caught scouts' attention with several notable performances during the spring. He held his own against the Red Sox in an exhibition game, no-hit Georgia Tech for six innings and later completed a 14- strikeout no-hitter against James Madison. He broke the Northeastern single-season strikeout record in each of the last two years before going 30th overall in the 2006 draft and signing for $950,000. He didn't allow an earned run in his first four pro starts. He can maintain mid-90s velocity on a four-seam fastball throughout a game, but Ottavino downshifted to a low-90s two-seamer at the Cardinals' request and excelled. He can get strikeouts with his slider and also mixes in a changeup and slurvy curveball. Ottavino tends to tilt back in his delivery, causing him to get under his pitches and leave them in the strike zone. He's still figuring out how to harness his stuff on a consistent basis. His changeup will need to improve if he's going to remain in the rotation. Ottavino will continue to start for now, moving up to high Class A. But his fastball/slider combination could make him a dynamic reliever.

Minor League Top Prospects

Ottavino's approach is simple yet effective. He relies on a 92-93 mph fastball featuring good armside run and a tight slider, as the fastball rides in on righthanders while the slider runs away from them. His command isn't very polished, but he gets enough movement that he can simply aim for the middle of the plate and relying on the run on his fastball and the tilt on his slider to hit the corners. Ottavino got FSL hitters to chase his slider out of the zone, though there's some concern as to whether he can throw it consistently for strikes if more advanced players lay off of it. He also throws a below-average changeup and curveball, and he might wind up in the bullpen down the road.
A Brooklyn native, Ottavino got a kick out of making his fourth pro start at his hometown's KeySpan Park, and he extended his streak without giving up an earned run to 19 2/3 innings with a victory against the Cyclones. He got hit hard in his last two starts but had enough left in the tank for an effective stint in low Class A at season's end. Ottavino mainly worked off his fastball in pro ball, working to command a low-90s two-seam fastball rather than the mid-90s four-seamer he favored in college. His breaking balls remain inconsistent, and he's more successful using his slider rather than his get-it-over, slurvy curveball. At times, his slider is an above-average strikeout pitch. Along with his two-seamer, Ottavino also relied on his changeup more than he did in college. It will have to improve to give him something to combat lefthanders, who hit .313 against him and tagged him for all four homers he surrendered between his two stops.

Scouting Reports

Ottavino progressed nicely in his first three seasons after signing for $950,000 as a 2006 first-round pick. But he has been hammered in the upper minors the last two years, and some Cardinals coaches wonder if he bought too much into the organization's emphasis on a natural, fluid delivery and became too undisciplined. His 2009 highlight came when he shut out a stacked Venezuela lineup for three innings while pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. With a strong build and quick arm, Ottavino cuts the image of a power pitcher. His four-seam fastball climbs into the high 90s, and he can command it in the mid-90s. He also throws a two-seamer in the low 90s, and he has tightened his once-slurvy breaking ball. Ottavino is experimental to a fault. He has tinkered with his delivery each year, adding a high hand swing, then subtracting it, speeding his leg lift, then slowing it, and so on. All of that has contributed to erratic command and the stunted development of his other pitches, such as his changeup. He's running out of believers who think he can stick in a big league rotation. After the Cardinals staged a delivery intervention, Ottavino showed improvement down the stretch, and was added to the 40-man roster after the season. He'll return to Triple-A in 2010, which is probably his last chance to prove he can cut it as a starter.
Ottavino caught scouts' attention with several notable performances during the spring. He held his own against the Red Sox in an exhibition game, no-hit Georgia Tech for six innings and later completed a 14- strikeout no-hitter against James Madison. He broke the Northeastern single-season strikeout record in each of the last two years before going 30th overall in the 2006 draft and signing for $950,000. He didn't allow an earned run in his first four pro starts. He can maintain mid-90s velocity on a four-seam fastball throughout a game, but Ottavino downshifted to a low-90s two-seamer at the Cardinals' request and excelled. He can get strikeouts with his slider and also mixes in a changeup and slurvy curveball. Ottavino tends to tilt back in his delivery, causing him to get under his pitches and leave them in the strike zone. He's still figuring out how to harness his stuff on a consistent basis. His changeup will need to improve if he's going to remain in the rotation. Ottavino will continue to start for now, moving up to high Class A. But his fastball/slider combination could make him a dynamic reliever.