Blake Hawksworth Stats & Scouting Report

IP	183
ERA	4.082
WHIP	1.388
BB/9	3.295
SO/9	6.098

Full name Blake Edward Hawksworth
Born 03/01/1983 in North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Bellevue College
Debut 06/06/2009
Drafted in the 28th round (854th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 (signed for $1,475,000).

View Draft Report

Hawksworth and Sisco formed a powerful tandem for Eastlake High, but Hawksworth stumbled out of the gate this year. He showed above-average stuff later in the season but didn't dominate as he should have. His fastball touched 92-93 mph and his curveball showed steady improvement. He also has a circle change. Some clubs still like him as high as the third round, but most see him in the going between the fifth and 10th rounds. He has a commitment to Cal State Fullerton.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Hawksworth signed for $1.475 million in May 2002, the third-highest bonus ever as part of the now-extinct draft-and-follow process, and ranked No. 1 on this list two years later. Then ankle and shoulder problems ruined his 2004 and '05 seasons and required surgery, and he missed time in '07 (toe) and '08 (knee) with other ailments. He stayed healthy in 2009 and emerged as a surprise boost for the big league bullpen. Hawksworth's fastball can still cook in the low 90s with late movement. His changeup gives him a second plus pitch. He has a hard-won and battle-tested poise along with a quick, consistent delivery. Hawksworth is best when he's aggressive, though he has lapses of confidence as a starter that lead to command trouble. Because he doesn't have a reliable breaking ball, he becomes changeup-happy when he decides he can't trust his fastball. He'll need a third pitch if he's going to make it as a starter. Though the Cardinals need a starter and may give Hawksworth a look in that role in spring training, some club officials believe he should remain in the role in which he blossomed. As one coach said, "We never saw him this good as a starter."
If 2006 was Hawksworth's chance to show he was healthy and back in the prospect picture, 2007 was a reminder of how far he had to go. The $1.475 million draft-and follow had an erratic year in his first taste of Triple-A, floundering through the middle of the summer. He described himself as hesitant, even timid, and the results showed it. He feathered his fastball instead of firing it, even though it has returned to its pre-surgery low-90s velocity. He leaned heavily on a changeup that's among the best in the system, but it can't be his only reliable weapon. He gave up 24 home runs and lefthanders torched him for a .518 slugging percentage. To combat better hitters, Hawksworth will have to sharpen either his curveball or slider. After pitching just 25 innings in 2004-05 because of bone spurs in his right ankle and a partially torn labrum, he has made 52 starts during the last two seasons. He gave up just 10 runs over his final four outings in 2007, and the Cardinals hope that's a sign that he'll be able to solve Triple-A this season. Getting stronger and more aggressive would help.
After signing for $1.475 million as a draft-and-follow in 2002, Hawksworth ranked as the Cardinals' top prospect heading into 2004 before serious injuries knocked him off track. He totaled just 25 innings in 2004-05 because of bone spurs in his right ankle and a partially torn labrum. He returned to work 163 innings last year after totaling 188 in his first four pro seasons. Hawksworth's velocity has returned to the low 90s. He also regained the touch on his changeup, which has graded as one of the best in the system for years. He uses both a curveball and a slider, with the curve the more consistent of his breaking pitches. He retained his control and savvy after his convalescence, and he finished the season strong. Before he got hurt, Hawksworth had the potential to be a frontline starter. To get there, he needs to develop a stronger breaking ball that he can rely on. He had occasional issues with fastball command in the past, and they cropped up again after his promotion to Double-A. His durability is still somewhat a question, though everything went well last year. Hawksworth went a long way to make up for lost time in 2006. Now he'll join the Triple-A Memphis rotation and be just one step from the majors.
Little has gone right for Hawksworth since he was rated as the Cardinals' best prospect before the 2004 season. Signed as a draft-and-follow in May 2002 for $1.475 million, he started off quickly before injuries derailed him. He had bone spurs in his ankle in 2003, but a more serious problem cropped up in 2004 when a shoulder injury limited him to 11 innings. He had surgery that July to repair a partially torn labrum and remove loose cartilage. The Cardinals were cautious with him and brought him along slowly, and his arm strength never came around in 2005. He kept breaking down with nagging injuries and struggled to put consistent starts together, finally getting shut down after 15 innings in the short-season New York-Penn League. The Cardinals put him on a throwing program and encouraged him to rest because they thought he tried to do too much in his rehab. When healthy, Hawksworth had a fastball that sat in the low 90, one of the best changeups in the system and a good curveball. He had the stuff to pitch at the top of a rotation, but whether he can recover that stuff is now a huge question. He'll get a fresh start in spring training and just try to prove he's healthy enough to break camp with a full-season club.
The Cardinals gave Hawksworth a $1.475 million bonus as a draft-and-follow right before the 2002 draft, making up for their lack of a first- or second-round pick that year. He missed time in 2003 because of bone spurs in his ankle, then pitched just 11 innings last year because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. Hawksworth offers a complete package if he's healthy. His best pitch is probably his changeup, but he also works with a fastball that sits in the low 90s and can touch 96 mph, as well as a good curveball. Injuries have kept Hawksworth from getting on the fast track as St. Louis had hoped. He had surgery to clean up his shoulder last May, though doctors found no structural damage. In addition to proving he's healthy, he needs to polish his breaking ball and improve his command. A year ago Hawksworth was the organization's top prospect. Now he's its most significant question mark. The Cardinals expect him to be at 100 percent in spring training and will send him back to high Class A.
He pitched just 87 innings in his first full professional season because of persistent ankle problems, but Hawksworth established himself as the organization's brightest light. He was a prominent prospect in high school, pitching on the same 2001 Eastlake High (Sammamish, Wash.) staff with Andy Sisco, a second-round pick that year who has emerged as one of the best prospects in the pitching-rich Cubs system. He fell to St. Louis in the 28th round because of a perceived strong commitment to Cal State Fullerton. At the last minute, though, he decided to enroll at nearby Bellevue CC, so the Cardinals retained his rights. They signed him the next May as a draft-and-follow for $1.475 million, making up for their lack of a first- or second-round pick that year. Hawksworth earned a promotion to high Class A Palm Beach last year after just 10 starts at low Class A Peoria, still enough to rank him as the Midwest League's top pitching prospect. He had a small spur in his ankle that bothered him all season and limited his running. He tried to pitch through it and did for the most part, but the Cardinals finally decided to shut him down at the end of July so he could have the spur removed. He should be at full strength for spring training. Hawksworth has the highest ceiling of any St. Louis pitching prospect since Rick Ankiel. His fastball usually ranges from 90-92 mph, but it was clocked at 96 in the seventh inning of one start. He could pitch at 92-94 consistently as he fills out, and he has started pitching off his fastball consistently after relying too much on his offspeed stuff as an amateur. Both his curveball and changeup are potential above-average pitches. His curve has good rotation and his changeup has good fade. Hawksworth also has a good approach to pitching and admirable toughness. He makes pitches when he needs to, and when he gets ahead of hitters he puts them away. Fastball command is Hawksworth's biggest need, as it lags behind his control of the curve and changeup. Again, that's a function of his younger days, when he dominated hitters with his offspeed stuff and used his fastball sparingly. He can pitch to all four quadrants of the strike zone but doesn't always do so consistently. In part that's because, while his mechanics are smooth, his release point varies. Hawksworth needs to pitch a full season, not only to prove he's healthy but also to soak up the experience that only innings can bring. Because the ankle injury slowed him down, Hawksworth could return to Palm Beach to start the 2004 season. But he'll likely spend a good portion of the season in Double-A Tennessee. One Midwest League manager said Hawksworth would be in St. Louis in no more than two years, and that's not an unreasonable prediction. He projects as a front-of-the-rotation starter in an organization that desperately needs pitching help.
A high school teammate of Cubs pitching prospect Andy Sisco in Sammamish, Wash., Hawksworth fell in the 2001 draft because of his commitment to Cal State Fullerton. But he decided to stay close to home and go to junior college instead. He improved significantly and the Cardinals gave him a $1.475 million bonus to keep him from going back into the draft, where he was a likely first-round pick. The Cardinals call Hawksworth a potentially special pitcher. He has a power arm and already has command of three potentially plus pitches, including a fastball that ranges from 90-92 mph and a developing curveball. He's mature for his age, both physically and mentally, and he has a good feel for pitching and accepts instruction well. Hawksworth's changeup is off the charts, but it's so good that it causes him to pitch backward. Cardinals scouts saw him throw 75 pitches in one amateur start, and they estimated 55 of the pitches were offspeed. With his arm, he's clearly better off establishing his fastball first. It's not clear yet what Hawksworth's ceiling might be. He'll open his first full season at Peoria but could move fast. He should make up for the Cardinals' lack of a first- or second-round pick last year.

Minor League Top Prospects

The parent Cardinals always seem to be desperate for pitching, and Hawksworth may be able to help them soon. Signed for $1.475 million as a draft-and-follow in 2002, he needed just 10 starts to earn a promotion to high Class A. The only glitch in his first full season came when he injured his right ankle in late July. He has the highest ceiling of any St. Louis pitching prospect since Rick Ankiel. Hawksworth has a 92-93 mph fastball that was clocked at 96 in the seventh inning of one start, and he backs it with a sharp curveball and good changeup. He can locate his pitches in all four quadrants of the strike zone, and his arm action and delivery are flawless. "He's the best pitcher in the league for me," Cedar Rapids manager Todd Claus said. "He has three plus pitches. Two years max, and he's in St. Louis--and I said the same thing with Dontrelle Willis last year."
Hawksworth earned a lot of headlines shortly before the draft, when he received a $1.4 million bonus from the Cardinals as a draft-and-follow. He backed up that investment in his pro debut, showing uncanny ability for a teenager. Though he's still learning to pitch, Hawksworth throws three pitches for strikes. He works off an explosive fastball with good movement that has been clocked as high as 94 mph and sits in the 91-92 range. His out pitch is an above-average changeup. The changeup has good downward movement, and Hawksworth has excellent deception in his delivery. His 12-to-6 curveball requires the most work of his three offerings, yet it possesses a big break and freezes batters when at its best. "He's still trying to trick batters instead of trusting his pitches," Johnson City manager Brian Rupp said. "Once he develops consistency and confidence is all of his pitches, he's going to be tough to beat."