Jess Todd Stats & Scouting Report

IP	28
ERA	7.714
WHIP	1.964
BB/9	3.857
SO/9	9.321

Full name Jesse Ray Todd
Born 04/20/1986 in Longview, TX
Profile Ht.: 5'11" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Arkansas
Debut 06/05/2009
Drafted in the 2nd round (82nd overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007 (signed for $400,000).

View Draft Report

Arkansas has a weekend rotation made up of pitchers who could go in the first three rounds of the draft: Nick Schmidt, Duke Welker and Todd. Todd has the best stuff of the trio, starting with a 90-94 mph four-seam fastball and a hard mid-80s slider that ranks as one of the best in the draft. He also throws an upper-80s two-seamer and a circle changeup that acts like a splitter. Todd took a circuitous route to Fayetteville, starting his college career at Texas Tech in the fall of 2004 before transferring to Navarro (Texas) Junior College. After two years at Navarro, he planned on attending Texas, but the Big 12 Conference wouldn't allow him to play for another member school without sitting out a year, so he went to Arkansas. He opened the spring as the Razorbacks' closer, and scouts envision him as a late-inning reliever in pro ball. Todd's size (6 feet, 213 pounds) and violent delivery lend themselves more to that role, though he has shown a deep repertoire, command and durability as a college starter. His competitive nature will help succeed in either capacity.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Todd signed with the Cardinals as a second-round pick in 2007, then vaulted to Triple-A as a starting pitcher by the end of his first full pro season. The Cardinals moved Todd to the bullpen in 2009 before dealing shipping him and Chris Perez to the Indians for Mark DeRosa that June. Perez has emerged as one of the game's most promising young closers, and Todd could start setting him up in the future. Todd's basic scouting report largely has remained the same since his college days at Arkansas. He attacks hitters from a three-quarters arm slot with a solid fastball/slider combination. His fastball reaches the low 90s and his slider is a plus pitch that misses bats. He doesn't have a reliable third offering, yet he still has been effective against lefthanders. He missed two weeks in August with shoulder soreness but should be 100 percent in spring training. After pitching briefly in Cleveland in each of the last two years, he'll get the opportunity to stick full-time in 2011.
The Cardinals drafted Todd in the second round 2007, and he cruised through three levels to reach Triple-A in his first full pro season. Converted to a reliever last year, he was dominant before St. Louis traded him and Chris Perez to the Indians for Mark DeRosa in June. Todd soon joined the Cleveland bullpen for the rest of the year, and he got hit hard. He has come largely as advertised out of college, showing a solid fastball/slider mix that profiles well for middle relief. Todd has good control and throws his fastball at 88-92 mph. His go-to pitch is an above-average slider, a swing-and-miss offering with late break and two-plane depth at 83-86 mph. He doesn't have a reliable third pitch yet to combat lefthanders. Though he's not big, his durability is less of an issue in the bullpen and he has the resilient arm to pitch on consecutive days. Todd should compete for a job in the big league bullpen this spring.
Todd had enough fastball to strike out 128 in 93 innings as a junior at Arkansas, including a Southeastern Conference tournament-record 17 in one start. But before 2008, his first full season in pro ball, a friend suggested he shift his grip and try a cutter. In the first two months of the season, Todd was an all-star at two levels; in the third, he pitched in the Futures Game; and in the fourth, he was in Triple-A. Todd augments an attack-dog mentality with tremendous control of three pitches--the cutter, an 88-91 mph sinker and a tight slider. He also can turn to a four-seamer that reaches 94 mph. He has a feel for when to shoot for a strikeout and when to entice contact. A typical outing for Todd was his seventh at Double-A: He needed 83 pitches to get 22 outs, 44 of his 63 fastballs were for strikes, and 17 of the 20 balls in play were on the ground. To some, Todd profiles as a reliever because there's lingering concern his frame isn't built to handle the grind and innings of the long big league season. His repertoire also may be better suited for the bullpen until he refines a reliable changeup. Skyrocketing to Triple-A last year puts Todd on the radar for the majors in 2009, though he'll start the year in the Memphis rotation. He'll prime his pitches for the moment there's an opening in the rotation or bullpen.
Todd set an Arkansas school record with 17 strikeouts in his 10th start, a complete-game win over South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference tournament, after he opened the season as the Razorbacks' closer. He became part of a formidable rotation at Arkansas that featured fellow early-round draft picks Nick Schmidt (first round, Padres) and Duke Welker (second round, Pirates). Todd, who spent the first two years of his college career at Navarro (Texas) JC, led the group with 128 strikeouts in 93 innings before signing for $400,000 as a second-rounder. The stocky righthander has a fastball that zipped from 90-94 mph when he was with Arkansas but touched the lower end of that range in his pro debut at short-season Batavia. His drop in velocity was attributed to a tired arm that caused him to miss a couple of turns in Batavia's piggyback rotation. Todd's heater has nice movement, and while he prefers to jam hitters by cutting it, he also can throw a sinker. He follows the fastball with a plus slider, and he can throw both pitches for strikes. He has little experience with a changeup, though he may not need it if his long-term role is in the bullpen. A clenched-jaw competitor lacking the size to handle a starter's workload, Todd should reach the majors as a late-inning reliever after expanding his game as a minor league starter. He'll likely open 2008 in high Class A.

Minor League Top Prospects

Because he's just 5-foot-11, scouts projected Todd as a likely bullpen guy when the Cardinals drafted him in the second round last year. But he enhanced his stock in 2008 while scaling three levels, and his stint in Springfield showed that he may be able to remain a starter. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in May, outdueled Mazzaro twice in a week and pitched in the Futures Game. Todd picked up a two-seam fastball that sat at 89 mph and generated a lot of groundouts. He has some power to his four-seamer (it reaches 94 mph) and his slider, though his circle changeup remains squirrelly. He does a good job of throwing strikes and keeping the ball down in the zone.
In his first season at Arkansas after transferring from Navarro (Texas) KC, Todd split time as a starter and reliever, finally settling in the rotation and striking out 17 in a Southeastern Conference tournament win against high-powered South Carolina. Like Razorbacks teammate Duke Welker (see No. 14), Todd was drafted in the second round and began his pro career by thriving in the NY-P. Todd showed some fatigue after throwing 93 innings this spring, and he pitched at 88-89 mph for Batavia rather than at 90-94 like he did for the Hogs. His fastball was still effective, because it cuts and sinks and he throws it for strikes. He also showed an excellent slider and a promising changeup that still needs some work. Todd is generously listed at 6 feet, which raises questions about his long-term durability and might ticket him for a bullpen role. He compensates for his lack of size with a fierce competitive streak, which will be a major asset should he end up as a late-inning reliever.