 |
Alai Westerfield
Starting Pitcher | Toronto Polar Bears
Pitching He's got a really stong arm, so he can blow it by you on occasion. He can get groundballs when he needs them in a jam. Westerfield's fastball is a tick above average, in the 90-91 MPH range on most nights. Westerfield also has a decent changeup. The Toronto Polar Bears hope he can work on his control a little bit. Every once and a while one slips away from him and either ends up at the backstop or in the right field bleachers. He's almost as effective against lefthanders as he is versus righthanders.
Defense & Hitting Westerfield has a very good move to first base, and he varies it so that he's extremely difficult to read. He tends to fall off slightly to the first-base side of the mound, making him vulnerable to bunts toward third base. He makes up for that minor flaw by being aggressive in fielding his position. Westerfield is a surpisingly good hitting pitcher. And I'm not sure you can say this about a pitcher, but Westerfield has some pop in his swing. Interesting sidenote, The Toronto Polar Bears have been known to use Westerfield as a pinch-runner on occasion.
2024 Outlook The Toronto Polar Bears signed him to a long-term contract, but don't think they won't drop Westerfield like a hot potato if something better comes along.
-- Emu Nyman, AA/AAA Scout
|
|