Scott Maine
| IP | 46 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 5.674 |
| WHIP | 1.63 |
| BB/9 | 4.891 |
| SO/9 | 9.391 |
- Full name Scott Maine
- Born 02/02/1985 in Jupiter, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Miami (FL)
- Debut 08/27/2010
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Drafted in the 6th round (193rd overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 (signed for $121,000).
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A fourth-year junior who has never fulfilled his potential, Maine could carve out a niche in pro ball because of his low arm slot and deceiving delivery. His fastball ranges from 87-92 mph, and he has a slurvy breaking ball as well as some feel for a changeup. Since being named a third-team BA High School All-American in 2003, Maine had Tommy John surgery and was in a serious car accident. He wore a protective mask most of his sophomore season and pitched fewer than 10 innings before settling into a regular role as a starter last spring. The Rockies drafted him last year in the 23rd round, but Maine elected to return to school.
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Maine projected as a potential sandwich pick in the 2003 draft but went unselected because he was strongly committed to Miami. He had Tommy John surgery, costing him the entire 2004 season, but that was minor compared to what happened to him in August 2005, when he lost control of his truck on the Florida Turnpike in an accident that left him hospitalized for three weeks. Despite spending two days in an induced coma and needing surgery to reduce swelling in his brain and place seven titanium screws in his skull, Maine returned in the spring of 2006 to win 12 games. He turned down the Rockies, who drafted him in the 23rd round that June, and signed a year later as a seventh-rounder with the Diamondbacks. He came to Chicago with first-base prospect Ryne White in a November 2009 trade for Aaron Heilman. The deal seemed like little more than a salary savings for the Cubs last April, when they released White and watched Maine throw 87-90 mph fastballs and ineffective slurves. Fast forward to September, and Maine was one of the big league club's best relievers, weathering a demotion to Double-A and watching his stuff take a huge step forward. His fastball shot up to 93-95 mph and touched 97, and his slider added velocity and bite. He throws from a low three-quarters arm slot while flying open in his delivery and spinning off toward third base, providing deception. It's not always easy to repeat those mechanics or stay on top of his pitches, so Maine has trouble throwing strikes and maintaining a reliable slider. He has an effective changeup but doesn't use it much. If Maine's improved stuff is for real, he'll have a major league job for a long time. He has all but locked up an Opening Day roster spot with the Cubs for 2011.
