Brandon League Stats & Scouting Report

IP	532
ERA	3.654
WHIP	1.325
BB/9	3.13
SO/9	6.344

Full name Brandon Paul League
Born 03/16/1983 in Sacramento, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Saint Louis School
Debut 09/21/2004
Drafted in the 2nd round (59th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001 (signed for $660,000).

View Draft Report

Hawaiians play in obscurity much of the year and tend to be drafted a round lower than their talent warrants. League may be the exception. He got exposure last summer as a dominant member of the Team USA junior squad and, if anything, has gotten stronger this year. He was used erratically as both a starter and reliever, making it difficult for scouts to schedule trips in to see him. League throws from a three-quarters slot and gets excellent action on a fastball that usually hovers at 90-91 mph and has been clocked as high as 96. He also throws a curve, circle change and slider, but his low arm slot makes it difficult to execute those pitches. His change has good diving action.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

No. 1 on this list a year ago, League saw his progress stall after his callup to Toronto at the end of 2004. He made the Jays' Opening Day roster in 2005, struggled in the majors and never got back on track in Triple-A. Switching roles from starter to reliever and back probably hasn't helped his development. League has a special arm. He throws everything hard. He popped 101 mph on the radar gun in the big leagues and typically sits at 94-96 mph with diving action in the strike zone when he's on. His hard slider clocks in at 88-91 mph. League's changeup has sinking action and is thrown so hard (88-92 mph) it looks like a two-seam fastball. League gets in trouble when he can't locate his pitches. He can't get away with pitching up in the zone because his stuff flattens out. He doesn't consistently repeat his low three-quarters release point and is far more hittable than he should be with his stuff. The club still thinks League will one day close in the majors. They believe that with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg and a veteran staff, they have the support system in place to facilitate his growth.
Though the Blue Jays now shy away from spending early picks on high school righthanders, League is the third in recent years to top this list, joining Roy Halladay (1997-99) and Dustin McGowan (2003). Coming out of high school, League was committed to Pepperdine before the Blue Jays persuaded him to sign for $600,000. Toronto initially took a slow-track approach as it did with McGowan and didn't let League make his full-season debut until his third year as a pro. Yet he still managed to reach the majors at 21 and didn't look intimidated in his debut. He entered his first game at Yankee Stadium with two outs, the bases loaded and Gary Sheffield at the plate. He overpowered Sheffield, getting a harmless grounder, and worked 1 1⁄3 scoreless innings. After working almost exclusively as a starter before 2004, League responded to a move to the bullpen. The Jays hoped to accelerate his timetable by shifting him to relief, and he highlighted his breakthrough campaign by hitting 102 mph on the stadium radar gun at the Eastern League all-star game. League is one of the hardest throwers in the minors, and he has the potential to become either a frontline starter or dominant closer, depending on what Toronto wants. He features a heavy fastball that sits at 95-97 mph. The lively sink and running action on his heater make the pitch difficult for hitters to center. He generates his velocity and life with a lightning-quick arm and throws from a whip-like, lower three-quarters arm slot. Former Blue Jays pitching coach Gil Patterson says the movement on League's fastball reminds him of Halladay's. League works down in the zone and generated a 2.7 groundball/flyball ratio in Double-A. His 87-89 mph slider is also a plus pitch. He has developed an effective third pitch in his changeup, so scouts say he won't have to be limited to short-relief work. League's work with pitching instructors Dane Johnson and Rick Adair contributed to his rise, but he has further adjustments to make. He needs to maintain his arm slot. He tends to over-rotate in his delivery and drag his arm, which keeps him from staying on top of his slider. Scouts did note that League's delivery was much improved in 2004, as he looked cleaner and used less effort. For a guy with such an electric arm, he doesn't blow away as many hitters as might be expected. After earning MVP honors in the Eastern League playoffs, League continued to open eyes with his performance in Toronto. He'll go to spring training with a good chance to make the big league club and figures to get his feet wet in the Jays bullpen in 2005. With no established closer in Toronto, League's power repertoire could land him that role. But he also has enough stuff to project as a quality starter and could be more valuable in that role.
League and Hawaiian prep rival Bronson Sardinha (now with the Yankees) both committed to Pepperdine, but League's power arm proved too tempting for the Blue Jays. League remains one of the hardest throwers in the minor leagues, regularly delivering his fastball in the high 90s, sitting at 93-96 and at times touching triple digits. He throws from a low three-quarters arm slot that gives his hard heater wicked sinking action. His sweeping 87-88 mph slider is at times a plus pitch. He has the makings of a decent changeup. League's stuff usually produces more strikeouts, even for a sinker-slider pitcher. He doesn't command his breaking ball as well as he needs to. He sometimes over-rotates in his delivery and drags his arm, which keeps him from staying on top of his slider. League made progress working on his delivery with Dunedin pitching coach Rick Langford. His upside as a starter remains huge, and his fastball makes relieving a legitimate option if starting doesn't work out. He'll rejoin Dunedin's rotation at the outset in 2004.
The Blue Jays continued their trend of taking it slow with high school pitchers, sending League to the short-season New York-Penn League in 2002 rather than full-season ball. His season almost ended before it started when he was hit in the right arm by a line drive during an exhibition game. He escaped with nothing more than a bruise. League has an electric, quick arm and one of the organization's best fastballs. He hit 97 mph at times in 2002 but pitched consistently from 94-96 mph, with natural sinking action generated by a low three-quarters release point. He also improved his changeup and showed a resilient arm, maintaining his stuff throughout the season. League has to stay on top of his slider, which tends to flatten out. He also needs to get stronger to keep his velocity deeper into games. Other refinements, such as improved fastball command and pitch efficiency, will come with experience. League should get his first shot at full-season Class A in 2003. If he improves his slider and trusts his fastball more while nibbling less, he could have a breakout year.
League, who helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championship, planned on becoming part of Pepperdine's Hawaii pipeline before the Blue Jays signed him for $660,000. His high school pitching coach was former big leaguer Carlos Diaz. League challenges Dustin McGowan as the best arm in the system. He generates excellent sinking and running movement on his fastball from a three-quarters arm slot, as well as above-average velocity. League touched 96 mph in high school and as high as 99 in instructional league. He has shown the ability to throw his curveball, circle changeup and slider for strikes. League's release point keeps him from staying on top of his breaking stuff consistently, so he doesn't always find the strike zone. While he has a good feel for his changeup, he'll need to throw it more for it to be effective. His curve and slider sometimes blend together into a rolling slurve. Departed assistant GM Dave Stewart liked League as a future No. 1 starter. He has plenty of time to develop and should start his first full season pitching with McGowan in low Class A.

Minor League Top Prospects

League has been able to hit triple digits on the radar gun for a while, but it wasn't until he found a consistent arm slot and added a splitter that he became reliable on the mound. He made so much progress this season that the Blue Jays entrusted him with eighth-inning work down the stretch. League usually throws his sinker at 95-96 mph, and he gets incredible angle on the pitch considering he stands 6-foot-2. His 5.8 ground-fly ratio attests to the power of his sinker, and he gave up just nine extra-base hits (all doubles) in 55 innings at Syracuse. His high-80s slider is an above-average offering, and the addition of the splitter finally gave him a trustworthy offspeed offering.
When the season started, League filled an odd role for a pitcher with his upside. He pitched in long relief, as the Blue Jays looked to develop him as a future reliever. Scouts believe he has starter-type stuff, though, and the organization finally moved him into the rotation for the season's final month. His fastball tops out at 99 mph, sits between 95-97 mph and was rated as the best in the league at midseason. When he stays on top of the pitch, it has above average sink and is devastating. He gets into trouble when he doesn't repeat his delivery. He pitches from a high three-quarters arm slot but has a tendency to drop down, causing his pitches to flatten out and his control suffers. His slider has good depth and tilt and his changeup has potential to be a third plus offering.
League had the best fastball in the league and is learning how to manipulate it to get less of the heart of the plate, and to develop a put-away pitch. His fastball sits in the 94-97 mph range with armside sink and run. He throws from a low three-quarters slot that makes it difficult for him to stay on top of his 87 mph slider. "He was phenomenal," the NL scout said. "His stuff was good enough to have performed at the major league level. He has some issues with his delivery, but they are minor concerns mechanically. "I wouldn't be surprised to see him pitching late in ballgames. His stuff was so explosive; I couldn't help but think maybe he could close. He had closer stuff for eight innings."
When McGowan moved to Double-A New Haven, Dunedin dropped League into the rotation after the hard-throwing righthander had ripped through the Sally League. As with McGowan, League's gas is his calling card. He topped out at 99 mph and usually sits in the 94-96 mph range with explosive late movement. He complements his fastball with a second plus pitch, an 87-88 mph power slider. League throws from a low three-quarters slot that occasionally borders on sidearm, which testifies to his pure arm strength but also allows lefthanders to see his pitches well. They hit .366 against him and took advantage of his changeup, which he often throws too hard to be effective.
League followed in the footsteps of Dustin McGowan, who showcased his live arm for Auburn in 2001 a year after the Jays drafted him in the first round out of high school. League, who in high school against Bronson Sardinha, the league's No. 4 prospect, is a couple steps ahead of where McGowan was last season. Both still need to harness their mid-90s heat. "He was up to 96 mph against us with a pretty good breaking pitch," Batavia manager Ron Ortegon said. "He was a little inconsistent with his command." League generates 93-97 mph velocity with plus movement from a low three-quarters release point. His two-plane slider is a potential out pitch.
Medicine Hat had the youngest team in the league this summer, which played a major factor in its 20-56 record. Despite the difficulties faced by his club, League stood out. His velocity increased during his first taste of pro ball. He reached 98 on several occasions, and was consistently in the 93-95 mph range. League's fastball is particularly tough due to its hard sinking action, thereby making it difficult for hitters to lift. He also throws a curveball, slider and circle change, all of which possess above-average movement. He lacks consistent command. "He's going to be an outstanding pitcher, a potential top-of-the-rotation guy," Carey said. "He's got an easy, dynamite arm and good size. His curveball also has a sharp break and is going to really complement his fastball."