Kevin Olsen

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Miami Marlins #14 prospect in 2002
  Granted a pair of late-season starts after a September callup from Double-A, Olsen impressed the Marlins brass with 13 straight scoreless innings before reporting to the Arizona Fall League. At 25, Olsen was older than Ryan Dempster, A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny and Josh Beckett--and wiser in some ways as well. While those four brandish fastballs that hum into the mid-90s, Olsen relies on an 89-91 mph sinker. He shows no fear and locates his fastball on both sides of the plate with pinpoint accuracy. Olsen posted a 144-21 strikeout-walk ratio at Portland, where he credited pitching coach Jeff Andrews with revamping his changeup, which now features more down action, and giving him a backdoor slider as yet another weapon against lefthanders. A 26th-round pick out of the University of Oklahoma in 1998, Olsen was signed for $1,000 on the recommendation of former crosschecker David Chadd, now the club's scouting director. If the cost-conscious Marlins deal a starter this winter, Olsen could move into the rotation. If nothing else, he has forced his way into the spring mix.