The following is a scouting report on the Texas Tech Red Raiders from Aman Reaka who watched them play against Kansas on April 11th-13th. We will continue to bring you scouting looks at certain teams throughout the season.
JR Roger Kieschnick 6’3, 215, RF
Kieschnick is a stud hitter with plus power who should be a first round pick in June. He is a true and legitimate power hitting prospect. He played for Team USA and even tied Pedro Alvarez for the team lead in HR’s. He is hitting .307 with 11 HR, 36 RBI, 10 Doubles, 21 K’s and 26 walks. I will be watching his stance and swing mechanics really close to see if he has many holes in his swing.
TAKE: Kieschnick couldn’t get much going in the cold weather. He went 2-11 with a run scored but never really got a hold of any pitches. He has a nice swing but i think he gets a bit off-balance and leans out over the plate too much during his swing. Its difficult to describe but he just appears to be a bit off-balance when he takes his cuts. Nonetheless, his actual swing looks nice and fluid and i bet his balance can be fixed fairly easy. He also is a solid defender in RF. I see Kieschnick going in the late 1st to early 2nd round.
SR Doug Thennis 6’2, 195, 1B/OF
Thennis is batting .298 with 5 HR, 29 RBI, 11 Doubles, 24 K’s and 26 Walks. He had a great year last year for Tech and i will be anxious to see if his bat will get him very far at the next level.
TAKE: Thennis is a fairly big kid that looks fairly athletic. He had a very nice swing but on occasion swings at bad pitches. He went 4-13 with a double, a HR, 3 RBI and a run scored. He did take some really nice swings and then i saw a few that he swung at some questionable pitches but overall he does have decent bat control and some power to develop. I don’t see him as a “hit for avg” guy at all but i do think he can develop some pretty good power. He also has some pretty decent speed for a bigger kid. He looks like a pick in the 15-20th round area.
JR Willie Rueda 5’7, 138, 2B
Rueda is a very small guy with speed. He is batting .295 with 14 RBI, 14 K’s, 19 Walks and 18 Steals. I will be watching to see if his bat control and on base skills coupled with his speed will get him a decent draft slot in June.
TAKE: Rueda is FAST. Plain and simple. He is super small with a ton of quickness and a very good bat. I think he can hit for a much higher avg. and if he can continue to get on base and run, run, run, he should be drafted at a decent slot. He went 2-8 with a run scored and had 2 RBI. I didn’t get to see how he steals as he didn’t get the opportunity this particular weekend but i can tell he has to be tough to throw out. I see Rueda going in the top 10 rounds.
JR Zach Stewart 6’1, 175, RHP
Stewart is a transfer from N. Texas College. He has a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings with 27 K’s and 7 walks. He is the closer and a strikeout pitcher. His numbers show that he has good control as well.
TAKE: Stewart has the potential to be overpowering at times. He pitched 2.2 innings and gave up 3 hits, walked 2 and had no strikeouts. On this cold day he didn’t appear to have his control but it was obvious he has a lot to offer and i would expect to see him get drafted in the top 5-7 rounds.
JR AJ Ramos 5’10, 200, RHP
Ramos looks to have good stuff but maybe has some control issues. He has a 5.36 ERA in 40.1 innings with 50 K’s and 29 walks.
TAKE: Ramos has a very good slider in the 79-81 range. His curve is avg. and comes in about 73 and his fastball ranges from 88-90 and he hit 91 a couple times. Ramos main issue is his command. He had no control on any of his pitches and had troubles locating them. He only lasted 3.2 innings, gave up 5 hits, 7 walks and struck-out 2. I would hope Ramos sticks around for his senior year to work on his command. I think he can be a very good pitcher, maybe a bullpen guy at the next level. I see him currently as a late round pick.
FR Chad Bettis 6′, 174, RHP
Bettis was drafted in the 8th round in 07 by Houston. That is very early for a HS pitcher so he must really have some potential. As of now, he has a 5.23 ERA in 41.1 innings, with 26 K’s, 19 Walks and has given up 43 hits. He doesn’t have a lot of strikeouts and seems to be very hittable so I am anxious to see what the Astros saw in this young man.
TAKE: Bettis has a fastball in the 91-93 range, so that would explain why he was drafted so high. Right now his heater is straight as an arrow which makes him very hittable. His slider is average and comes in about 85-86. He pitched 5.1 innings, gave up 4 hits, walked 3 and struck-out 2. I liked his mound presence and he looked good out there. I think he will be a very good pitcher in the near future.
SO Nathan Karns 6’3, 210, RHP
Karns was drafted in the 10th round in 06 by Houston. He pitched for NC State last year before coming to Tech. So far this year he has a 9.40 ERA in 29.2 innings with 29 K’s, 27 walks and 32 hits. He looks to be a strikeout pitcher with little control.
TAKE: Karns is a fireballer. He went 2.1 innings, giving up 8 hits, struck-out 4 and walked 2. I was late arriving to this game and Kansas had already chased him so i didnt get to see him personally but I hear he had good stuff, just no control of it.
