David Huff Stats & Scouting Report

IP	20.1
ERA	11.51
WHIP	2.56
BB/9	3.1
SO/9	6.64

Full name David Gregory Huff
Born 08/22/1984 in Huntington Beach, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: S / Throws: L
School UCLA
Debut 05/17/2009
Drafted in the C-A round (39th overall) by the Cleveland Guardians in 2006 (signed for $900,000).

View Draft Report

While his repertoire has earned comparisons to Tom Glavine's, Huff has more in common with Barry Zito. Like Zito, he pitched for John Savage, UCLA's head coach and Zito's pitching coach in 1999 at Southern California. Huff was with Savage in 2004 at UC Irvine, then (like Zito) transferred as a sophomore to a junior college to test the draft waters. After a year at Cypress (Calif.) Junior College, Huff was drafted by the Phillies but turned down a reported $500,000 bonus to pitch for Savage (as Zito did), this time for the Bruins. Pitching on Saturdays, Huff dominated Pacific-10 Conference foes, tossing three complete games in his first six starts. Like Zito, Huff works with average velocity for a lefthander, having bumped his fastball from a pedestrian 84-87 mph last summer to 86-89 mph this year, touching as high as 91. He's lengthened his stride and improved the balance in his delivery, lifting the quality of his stuff. He has developed solid-average command of his fastball. Unlike Zito, Huff's best pitch is a changeup, rather than a big curve. Huff's change ranks among the best in the country, thrown with the same arm speed as his fastball, and has above-average late sink.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

After signing for $950,000 as a supplemental first-rounder in 2006, Huff appeared poised to rise rapidly through the system. Instead, elbow soreness shut him down in May 2007, though he was able to avoid surgery. He bounced back in 2008, breezing through the upper levels of the minors. Huff is athletic and repeats his excellent delivery to pound the zone with each of his pitches, the best of which is a plus changeup. He commands both sides of the plate with his 87-92 mph fastball. He improved his slider in 2008, and it's now a reliable third pitch. Huff also has a curveball, but it's more of a show-me pitch. He won't overpower anyone with velocity, though he has more on his fastball than fellow Indians lefthanders Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers. After his elbow woes, the Indians kept him on a short leash in 2008, so he still has to prove he can pitch effectively the third time through the lineup against big league hitters. Huff will compete for a role in Cleveland's rotation during spring training. He has the potential to develop into a No. 3 or 4 starter.
Huff attended UC Irvine, Cypress (Calif.) JC and finally UCLA before signing with the Tribe for $900,000 as a supplemental first-rounder in 2006. Coming out of the draft, the Indians compared him to Jeremy Sowers for his ability to command four pitches, but Huff may have better mound presence. His first full season was a disappointment after elbow soreness shut him down in May, but he returned for the Arizona Fall League. Huff's major strength is the ability to command all parts of the strike zone with a full arsenal of pitches. He can pound the bottom of the zone with an upper-80s sinker that tops out at 91 mph. The sink and depth on his changeup are well above average, and he showed a little cut slider and a deeper curveball during his AFL stint. Huff's velocity is fringy. His secondary pitches still aren't consistently effective against lefthanders, who raked him at a .314 clip in high Class A and then hit .360 against him in the AFL. His changeup can keep lefties off balance, but he can't put them away. Huff's elbow troubles set off an alarm for the Indians, who didn't want to risk any further injury. He could return to high Class A to begin 2008, though Double-A is a more likely destination.
Huff spent his college career at three schools, going from UC Irvine to Cypress (Calif.) JC to UCLA. A 19th-round pick of the Phillies in 2005, he turned down a reported $500,000 after a solid summer in the Cape Cod League. That decision paid off, as he got $900,000 as Cleveland's top pick in the 2006 draft. Tribe officials compare Huff to Jeremy Sowers for his ability to command and control his entire arsenal. Another thing the two lefties have in common is fringe-average fastball velocity, as Huff works in the high 80s and tops out at 91. His top pitch is his changeup, which may have been the best changeup in the '06 draft. He uses the same arm action as with his fastball, and it has plus late sink. He has excellent balance in his delivery and creates good deception with his arm angle, especially against lefthanders. Huff also throws a slurvy breaking ball, but it lacks consistent depth and tilt. Without a solid breaker, he has no obvious pitch to combat lefthanders. Huff will start his first full season in high Class. A. He could move quickly, just as Sowers did, if he adapts well to the pro game and sharpens his breaking ball.

Minor League Top Prospects

Huff pitched just 59 innings in his first full pro season before elbow soreness shut him down in May 2007. He made up for lost time this year by logging 146 innings and finishing the season in Triple-A. He thrived by showing the ability to throw four pitches for strikes. Huff's best pitch is his changeup, and his fastball sits at 87-91 mph, touching 92. He also throws a curveball and slider, both of which improved this season. His superior fastball velocity gave him an edge over former Akron teammate Scott Lewis, who pitched 14 scoreless innings over his first two big league starts in September. "I like how he pitches inside to both sides of the plate," said Leiper, whose Altoona club faced Huff four times in April and May. "He pays attention to details and makes in-game adjustments."
Elbow soreness limited Huff to 59 innings in 2007, but he bounced back to blow through Double-A and reach Buffalo in early June. The Indians kept him on a strict pitch count, but he showed enough to indicate that he's a potential mid-rotation starter. Huff has sound mechanics, good mound presence and strong command of four pitches. He has picked up a few ticks on his fastball since college, as he now sits at 90-92 mph with a two-seamer that gets on batters quickly because of the natural deception in his delivery. He's not afraid to work inside to righthanders with his fastball, and his plus changeup gives him an out pitch against them. He had more trouble against lefthanders in the past, but he has improved in that regard after sharpening the bite on his curveball and slider.