Michael Stutes Stats & Scouting Report

IP	85
ERA	4.024
WHIP	1.294
BB/9	4.235
SO/9	7.624

Full name Michael Christopher Stutes
Born 09/04/1986 in Metairie, LA
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 185 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Oregon State
Debut 04/25/2011
Drafted in the 11th round (346th overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.

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Stutes rallied late to lower his ERA to 5.32, salvaging some of his draft stock. He has shown excellent velocity, hitting 94 mph at times and sitting at 89-92 mph. Even after four years of school, he's still more thrower than pitcher, however, lacking fastball command and a feel for pitching. He threw more sliders this year than in the past and throws a curveball and changeup. At times all four are average pitches. His lack of consistency might push him back to the same range of the '07 draft, when the Cardinals took him in the ninth round.

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The Phillies jumped three of their 2008 college draft picks to Double-A last season. Stutes and Vance Worley began the year in Reading, while Mike Cisco joined them in August. A member of Oregon State's back-toback national championship teams in 2006-07, Stutes threw five scoreless innings in his Double-A debut but endured an up-and-down season. His best pitch is a plus slider that he throws in the low 80s. He also flashes an above-average fastball, sitting at 89-93 mph with his two-seamer and peaking at 95 with his four-seamer. He's a long-toss devotee who has regained some of the arm strength he lost by throwing too many breaking balls as a college senior. His changeup is below-average, and he doesn't change speeds or locate his pitches well. Those shortcomings hurt him against lefthanders, who batted a .307/.393/.512 against him in 2009, and he'll have to address them to remain a starter. Most scouts think he's better suited to focusing on two pitches and working as a reliever. He'll remain in the rotation in Triple-A this season.
Stutes transferred from Santa Clara to Oregon State just in time to play a key role for the 2006 and 2007 College World Series champions. He won eight games for the '06 team as a fourth starter/swing man, then was the ace of the '07 champs, going 12-4, 4.07. The Cardinals drafted him in the ninth round, but he didn't sign and returned for what proved to be a disastrous senior season. Stutes never got into a rhythm and threw too many breaking balls, plummeting to 4-7, 5.32. The Phillies snagged Stutes in the 11th round, signed him for $5,000 and got him to work more off his fastball. The results were staggering. Stutes dominated, averaging 10.85 strikeouts per nine innings while pushing his way to Lakewood. His fastball consistently reached 94 mph and sat around 91-92. His slider can be a plus pitch, and he throws a curveball and changeup. They all played up when he threw his fastball more, and one club official described a late Lakewood outing as "electric," saying Stutes has the highest ceiling of any of the club's 2008 pitching draftees. Stutes has an average feel for pitching and he needs polish on his defense and holding runners. His power, fastball-first approach got him out of his senior-year doldrums, and with him throwing four pitches for strikes, the Phillies see him as a potential mid-rotation starter. He'll join Vance Worley in the high Class A rotation.