Bobby Basham Stats & Scouting Report

IP	378
ERA	3.714
WHIP	1.349
BB/9	1.881
SO/9	7.69

Full name Robert Wayne Basham
Born 03/07/1980 in Raleigh, NC
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Richmond
Drafted in the 7th round (216th overall) by the Cincinnati Reds in 2001.

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Basham projects among the draft's first 100 picks, though he posted a horrific 0-7, 6.39 record for Richmond. He's a radar-gun pitcher all the way, and Colonial Athletic Association coaches acknowledge his raw stuff was the best in the conference. He has shown spurts of pitching ability but generally is erratic. Everything he throws is hard, including a fastball clocked as high as 95 mph and a slider at 84. Basham lacks confidence in his stuff because he's had little success as a college pitcher. He went to Richmond as a quarterback and has limited baseball experience. He also nursed a muscle strain this spring. Because he can't sustain his stuff for long periods, he projects as a closer. He has the right mentality, as he's an intense competitor who welcomes pressure situations.

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Among the several Cincinnati pitching prospects who have been hampered by injuries, Basham has had the quickest rise and fall. After his dominating performance in low Class A in 2002, several Reds officials considered him the system's top pitching prospect. But his velocity and his once-dominating slider disappeared in 2003. An MRI found no damage, though eventually he was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder. He has surgery to repair that tear and to remove bone spurs, sidelining him for the entire 2004 season. When he returned to the mound last year, the former Richmond backup quarterback showed steady progress. He built up arm strength, working at 87-90 mph for most of the season and touching 92-93 mph in his later starts. He had a 90-93 mph fastball before he got hurt. His slider wasn't as nasty as it once was, but it was showing signs of being at least an average pitch. His changeup is usable, and he threw strikes with his usual ease. Basham pitched well in Double-A in the second half, earning his first shot at Triple-A in 2006.
After Basham capped a 2002 breakout campaign with a shutout in the California League playoffs and a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League, many Reds officials said he was the system's top prospect. The former Richmond backup quarterback did nothing to dissuade them by tossing 41⁄3 scoreless innings in big league camp last spring. But by May, Basham's velocity was down and he was getting hit hard. His fastball dipped from 90-93 mph to as low as 83, and his slider--his out pitch--lost its sharpness. Basham was shut down with a tired arm in July. Doctors didn't discover any structural damage but also couldn't find an answer for the lack of life in his arm. Scouts saw a change in his mechanics, especially his arm action, which wasn't working as fluidly. When he's right, Basham shows a lively fastball with sink and tail, plus a hard slider with depth. He did manage to develop a decent changeup. Cincinnati expects him to return to the mound in spring training, and he'll likely repeat Double-A before advancing cautiously.
A former backup quarterback at Richmond, Basham posted an ugly 0-7, 6.39 record as a Spiders junior but showed enough the previous summer in the Cape Cod League to intrigue the Reds. They've allowed him to attend spring classes in each of the last two years, so he didn't report to Dayton until late May last year. He hurled three consecutive shutouts at Dayton--including two 78-pitch outings--and finished the year with a dominating performance in the high Class A California League championship game. Basham has made a rapid transition from raw thrower to pitcher. He had a two-week spring training but showed tremendous aptitude by incorporating mechanical adjustments on the fly. He fills the zone with a lively 90-93 mph fastball, devastating two-plane slider, plus knuckle-curve and fosh changeup. He has a slightly complex delivery, so Basham will have to work hard to maintain consistency. He worked with Dayton pitching coach Ted Power to correct his flaws. Basham will start the year at Double-A Chattanooga. After an encouraging trip to the Arizona Fall League, he could get through the upper levels in a hurry.