Aaron Pribanic
| IP | 482 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.66 |
| WHIP | 1.295 |
| BB/9 | 2.427 |
| SO/9 | 4.519 |
- Full name Benjamin Aaron Pribanic
- Born 09/01/1986 in Fairfax, VA
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Nebraska
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Drafted in the 3rd round (98th overall) by the Seattle Mariners in 2008 (signed for $390,000).
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Pribanic showed a strong arm at Hutchinson (Kan.) CC in 2007, but he didn't have enough command or secondary pitches to attract any draft interest. That won't be the case this time around, as Pribanic has shown some of the best stuff among Sunday starters in college baseball. Strong and physical at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he sits at 91-94 mph and tops out at 96 mph with his fastball. His arm works very well and it's fresh, because he redshirted his first year at Hutchinson and has pitched roughly 160 innings since leaving high school four years ago. Pribanic has developed some feel for a splitter that he uses as a changeup. He's still fiddling with both a curveball and a slider, and while they're not reliable, both breaking pitches have decent shape. The curve is the better of the two breaking balls, though it still has a long ways to go. He has thrown more strikes but still has bouts of inconsistency. He loses balance in his delivery, a fixable problem that could lead to further improvements. The grandson of former all-star pitcher Jim Coates, Pribanic won't rush through the minors but could deliver a nice payoff to a team that can clean him up. He was making inroads on the sandwich round at one point, but a late-season slump could knock him down to the third or fourth round.
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The Pirates got Pribanic as part of the five-player package they received in the 2009 trade-deadline deal that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to the Mariners. The organization is generally reluctant to allow sinkerballers to lean on their best pitch at the lower levels, insisting that all prospects first demonstrate superior four-seam command. Pribanic's sinker was too good to stifle, though, and he was allowed to strut it. He has consistently maintained at least a two-to-one groundout-to-airout ratio in the minors. His pure stuff is fairly ordinary. His fastball sits at 87-92 mph, peaks at 94 and comes with solid command. His "old-school" sinker, as one scout described it, comes from a fluid delivery, and it arrives with a heavy sink. To continue advancing, however, Pribanic will have to get his secondary pitches into better shape. He has used both a curveball and slider, and both are sloppy, and he has shown little feel for a changeup and struggles to throw it for strikes. His delivery also makes the ball easy for hitters to see. He pitched in relief in the Arizona League, but he will remain a starter for now, likely with Altoona in 2011. -
The grandson of former Yankees all-star righthander Jim Coates, Pribanic transferred from Hutchinson (Kan.) CC to Nebraska for his junior year and became one of college baseball's better No. 3 starters. The first Cornhusker drafted in 2008 when the Mariners made him a third-round pick, he signed him for $390,000. A physical 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Pribanic has plus arm strength, sitting at 91-94 mph and topping out at 96 with his fastball. His arm is fresh, too, because he redshirted during his first year at Hutchinson. Of course, that also means he's rawer than most college pitchers. Pribanic throws both a curveball and a slider, but neither is reliable at the moment. He does have some feel for a splitter he uses as a changeup. He threw just 42⁄3 innings in the Arizona League after signing at the end of July. The Mariners worked with Pribanic in instructional league to help him maintain balance over the rubber so that he wouldn't drift and could better incorporate his lower half in his delivery. The adjustments should allow him to get better extension and plane on his pitches. Pribanic could wind up either as a No. 3 or 4 starter or as a power reliever, and he'll pitch in the rotation this year in Class A.
