Dan Cortes Stats & Scouting Report

IP	16
ERA	5.063
WHIP	1.563
BB/9	5.063
SO/9	5.063

Full name Daniel Adam Cortes
Born 03/04/1987 in Pomona, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 235 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Garey
Debut 09/24/2010
Drafted in the 7th round (215th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2005 (signed for $115,000).

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Cortes has a raw approach to pitching because he had little instruction until this year, but his fastball ranges from 89-93 mph and he has learned to throw a spike curveball to complement it.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Acquired by the Royals from the White Sox in a 2006 trade for Mike MacDougal, Cortes established himself as Kansas City's top pitching prospect entering 2009. But after he was arrested for public intoxication that July, the Royals sent him and lefthander Derrick Saito to the Mariners for Yuniesky Betancourt. He took off after Seattle moved him to the bullpen in mid-2010 and ended the year in the big leagues. Relieving suits Cortes and his fastball, which rose from 94-97 mph to a consistent 96-98 and regularly touched triple digits. The pitch explodes out of his hand and comes in on a sharp downhill plane thanks to his height and high three-quarters arm slot. His hammer 12-to-6 curveball and sharp slider give him a pair of power breaking pitches, but he throws more strikes with the slider. He mostly scrapped his changeup in his new role, but can still pull one out of his back pocket to keep hitters off-balance. His biggest weakness is his below-average control and command. Cortes' brief but impressive major league stint has him in line to make the Mariners' Opening Day bullpen.
Cortes was the Royals' top-ranked pitching prospect entering the 2009 season, but his stuff seemed flat by comparison when he repeated Double-A. An arrest for public urination in July was the final straw for Kansas City, which traded him for Yuniesky Betancourt, who had fallen out of favor in Seattle. Cortes pitched much better for West Tenn after the trade, striking out a batter per inning and going 1-2, 2.70 in his final six starts. In some ways, Cortes resembles Phillippe Aumont as a tall, physical righthander who boasts arm strength and intensity on the mound. At his best, he sits at 92-94 mph with late life down in the zone. He reels off a hard, sharp curveball for his finishing pitch, and also mixes in a loopy slider as a get-me-over offering. He has developed more feel for an average changeup. Cortes came to the Mariners with a max-effort delivery and didn't consistently throw strikes. He toned down his mechanics, and his composure and strikeout rate improved noticeably. He still walks too many batters, handing out 5.7 walks per nine innings last season. He already has been traded twice, a rare trick for a pitcher with such a good arm. Cortes' command has to take a major step forward for him to profile as a starter, but even with fringy command he has the weapons to work as a late-inning reliever. After two full seasons in Double-A, he's ready for Triple-A.
The throw-in in the Mike MacDougal deal with the White Sox has become the prize now that lefthander Tyler Lumsden has crashed and burned in Triple-A. The Royals got more than they bargained for in Cortes, who has added height, strength and velocity in the two years since he was traded. Cortes has a 91-93 mph fastball that touches 96 mph, but his out pitch is his plus 12-to-6 curveball. He used to throw a slider with the White Sox, but showed his aptitude by quickly picking up the curve with the Royals. Some believe he could move rapidly with a move to the bullpen, where his fastball could play up to 96-97 mph. He has the personality to handle the pressure of working as a setup man or closer. Cortes' changeup isn't very effective and he doesn't trust it much. He needs to improve it to handle lefties, who hit .285/.396/.455 against him in 2008. His command needs more polish. When he gets in trouble, he tends to speed up his delivery, which causes him to leave his pitches up in the zone. Cortes could pitch in Kansas City's bullpen right now, but he'll likely work out of Triple-A Omaha's rotation instead. He still has significant work to do but has the ingredients to become a frontline starter.
Cortes has passed lefty Tyler Lumsden as the best prospect the Royals received from the White Sox in the Mike MacDougal trade in mid-2006. No player in the system made a bigger leap in 2007 than Cortes, who has grown an inch and added 20 pounds since changing organizations. He was held back in spring training to work on slowing down the tempo of his delivery and steadily progressed after joining high Class A Wilmington at the end of April. Slowing down Cortes' delivery resulted in his fastball velocity increasing from 89-92 to 93-96 mph, and it seems to jump out of his hand. His heater has late life, currently grades as a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale and has the potential to get better. He mixes in a sharp, 12-to-6 curveball that could become a dominant strikeout pitch. For a pitcher of his age and size, he does a good job of throwing strikes. Cortes still has a tendency to be quick in his delivery and will sometimes overthrow his fastball and curveball. He relies heavily on those two pitches and is hesitant to mix in his changeup, which lags well behind in his repertoire. The Royals envision Cortes as a frontline starter and will send him to their new Double-A Northwest Arkansas affiliate in 2008.
Acquired from the White Sox along with Tyler Lumsden in exchange for Mike MacDougal last July, Cortes offers more projection than most pitchers in the Royals system but is still very raw. He committed to San Diego State out of high school, but a three-inch growth spurt as a senior added 5 mph of velocity and earned him a $115,000 signing bonus as a seventhrounder. Cortes operates at 87-92 mph with his fastball but once he fills out his lean frame he should add more velocity. The Royals took away his slider and moved him to the thirdbase side of the rubber when they acquired him. Though his ERA ballooned to 6.69 after the trade, they were pleased with the progress of his curveball, an 82-83 mph bender with hard 12-to-6 break. Though Cortes has an outstanding pitcher's frame, he uses too much effort in his delivery and tries to hard to light up radar guns. He lands on his heel too often and his pitches have a tendency to fade to the right when he does. He needs to improve his changeup and command. He's certainly a work in progress, but Cortes' upside is significant. He might have to repeat low Class A to start 2007.
San Diego State baseball coach Tony Gwynn thought he had found a sleeper recruit in Cortes. But after signing his letter of intent, Cortes grew three inches to 6-foot-5 and saw his fastball velocity jump by 5 mph. That got him drafted in the seventh round last June, and he signed for $115,000. Internally, the White Sox compare him to Jon Garland. Like Garland, Cortes has a long, lanky pitcher's body and has polished a curveball to go with his fastball, which parks at 88-91 mph and peaks at 94. Chicago believes his velocity will increase as he continues to develop physically, which could make him a real steal. A good student, he's extremely coachable, which will help him in his attempt to pick up a changeup. He has the maturity to handle a jump to low Class A at age 19.

Minor League Top Prospects

Cortes always has stood out with his power arm, but he also has attracted attention with his off-field antics and the Royals finally traded him to the Mariners in July in a deal for Yuniesky Betancourt. Cortes' actions do fall more toward immaturity (charges including public intoxication) than malice, so Seattle is betting that as he grows up, he'll tap into his talent. Not surprisingly, TL observers reported wildly inconsistent results from Cortes, with some saying he had the best curveball in the league. "I saw him last year and you could see the potential," one manager said. "This year I thought he took a step back; he was not as sharp." Cortes' potential still gets him noticed. He pitched more in the low 90s this year after working in the mid-90s last year, and he struggled with command as well. He'll wind up in the bullpen if he can't put it all together.
The Royals dispatched Cortes and several of its other best pitching prospects, including Blake Wood and Julio Pimentel, to their new TL affiliate eager to see how they might challenge each other. Cortes strained his left quad in mid-April and struggled for much of June and July, but he finished with a 4-0, 2.18 flourish in August. Cortes put away more experienced hitters with his fastball and curve. His lively heater sat at 91-93 mph and touched 96 mph, though he needs to command it better. His 12-to-6 curveball is a legitimate strikeout pitch. He's still working to trust his changeup.
One of four Wilmington starters to finish in the top 10 in ERA, Cortes more held his own as a 20-year-old in high Class A. At 6-foot-5, he works downhill and creates good angle with his fastball, which climbed to 92-93 mph this season. He also features a hard-breaking curveball in the low 80s, and his changeup showed enhanced life. Cortes gets around on his curveball at times, leaving it up in the strike zone. While he repeats his delivery well, he often lands hard on his left heel, which throws off his command. After making an adjustment in late July to stay more upright and increase his stride, Cortes' secondary pitches improved drastically and he went 5-0, 0.66 in the final month.