Justin Pope
| IP | 483 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.429 |
| WHIP | 1.168 |
| BB/9 | 2.161 |
| SO/9 | 6.224 |
- Full name Justin Lee Pope
- Born 11/08/1979 in West Palm Beach, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 180 / Bats: S / Throws: R
- School Central Florida
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Drafted in the 1st round (28th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 (signed for $900,000).
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Pope is a product of Wellington (Fla.) High, which has produced first-round picks Bobby Bradley and Sean Burnett in the previous two years and has an outside chance at another in Billy Simon. Pope's father Walt is Wellington's pitching coach, and he has trained Justin well. He broke Roger Clemens' Division I record this year with 38 straight scoreless innings. Pope has a 92-93 mph fastball that might be more impressive for its movement than for its velocity. He isn't afraid to work inside, even against aluminum bats. Like his teammate Arnold, he has matured as a pitcher this season, sharpening his slider and changeup. Pope also has a clean delivery. The only knock on Pope is his size (6 feet, 180 pounds). Scouts thought the Trans America Athletic Conference player of the year wore down toward the end of the season, though he continued to win.
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Organization Prospect Rankings
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Pope is a product of Wellington (Fla.) High, which has produced several pro prospects including Pirates lefthander Sean Burnett, and his father Walt is the pitching coach there. He missed more than two months last season after having a bone spur removed from his elbow, but was lights-out whenever he pitched and ended the season with three 10-strikeout games in his last five starts. Pope has average stuff but is a prospect because of his bulldog mentality and advanced approach to pitching. His fastball was 88-89 mph after his injury, though the Cardinals expect it to improve by spring training. He has good control of his slider and changeup and really goes after hitters. What you see is what you get with Pope. He's not going to get much better than he is right now and he's a bit undersized. He needs to continue to polish his overall package and vary the speed on his changeup more. Pope dominated the Midwest League, but at his age and experience level he should have. He'll move up to Palm Beach, where the Cardinals would like to see him dominate again and possibly move up to Double-A during the season. -
Pope comes out of the Wellington (Fla.) High program that produced Pirates pitching prospects Bobby Bradley and Sean Burnett, and employs his father Walt as pitching coach. Pope threw 38 straight scoreless innings at Central Florida last spring and was named TransAmerica Athletic Conference player of the year. He signed for $900,000, the lowest bonus in the first round. Befitting the son of a pitching coach, Pope has moxie and a great idea of how to attack hitters. He works inside with an 88-92 mph fastball that has good movement. His slider and changeup are also advanced. Pope was considered a fringe first-rounder because of his size and lack of overpowering stuff. He succeeds by spotting the ball around the strike zone. After 123 innings at Central Florida, he worked another 69 innings at short-season New Jersey because he signed so quickly, raising more workload questions. Pope will try to build on an impressive pro debut by getting more advanced hitters out at the Class A level. He was clearly tired by the end of last summer, so his stuff could improve in 2002.
Minor League Top Prospects
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Claus described Pope as a poor man's Greg Maddux because he was consistently outstanding if not overpowering. Peoria manager Danny Sheaffer called him a perfectionist in the mold of Todd Stottlemyre. Pope couldn't find much fault in himself other than missing nearly three months after having bone chips removed from his elbow. He never allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 12 starts, and he reached double-digit strikeouts in three of his last five regular-season outings. He touched 91-92 mph with his sinking fastball and could sit there regularly once he regains full strength. His tight slider is his best pitch, and his changeup can be a plus pitch as well. Pope is all about command and movement, and like Haren he made a quick transition to pitching inside. -
After shouldering a heavy workload along with his teammate Arnold at Central Florida in the spring, Pope might not have shown the NY-P the best he had to offer. The Cardinals kept Pope on a strict 75-80 pitch count and watched him get stronger by the end of the season. Pope pitched at 89-90 mph and would jump up to 92-93 on occasion, but his slider is his best pitch. He's also working on a curveball. And he's always around the plate, as shown by his 66-14 strikeout-walk ratio. "But the best thing about him is he is real levelheaded," Rupp said. "He works hard and kept us in the game every time out."
