Prospect of the Day: Drake Britton - 美國職棒

Prospect of the Day: Drake Britton

http://t.co/yMzxmTBORS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9hykWnAKRSI (影片)

As the Boston Red Sox move forward with their pennant charge, having a strong
bullpen is paramount. Rookie left-hander Drake Britton has made an early
positive impression coming out of said bullpen, throwing nine shutout innings
to open his big league career. He was finally touched for some runs in two of
his three most recent outings, but overall he's had a strong debut, with 2.08
ERA and a 11/4 K/BB in his first 13 major league innings. Britton's
performance as a prospect was uneven, so let's take a gander at his past,
present, and possible future.

當紅襪帶著保衛龍頭的拼勁，有個強力牛棚是一件很棒的事情。菜鳥左投Drake Britton
從牛棚出發後的表現令人驚艷，生涯前九局沒有失分，直到最近三場才有兩場掉分。不過
總觀來看成績很棒，13局2.08 ERA、11/4 K/BB。對於蔡鳥來說，這樣的成績是很強的，
所以我們來瀏覽他的過去、近況和未來的展望。

Britton was drafted by the Red Sox in the 23rd round in 2007, from high
school in Tomball, Texas. He was considered a third-round talent but fell in
the draft due to a Texas A&M commitment. Under the old draft rules, Boston
was often aggressive with over-slot bonuses and Britton was one of their
guys, earning $700,000 to pass up college. He promptly blew out his elbow and
had Tommy John surgery, not pitching much until 2010.

2007年紅襪在第23輪選進Drake Britton─德州高中生。大家認為他有三輪實力但因為他
很有可能要去念德州農工的關係，而在選秀會中一路下滑。紅襪時常用超過標價的價碼積
極爭搶球員，而Britton正是紅襪當時的目標─最後以$700K簽下。他的手肘在不久後爆炸
，動了TJ─在2010年之前沒投多少比賽。

He thrived that season, with a 2.97 ERA and a 78/23 K/BB in 76 innings for
Low-A Greenville in the South Atlantic League, a performance that placed him
highly on Boston prospect lists. Unfortunately 2011 was much different: he
went 1-13 with a 6.91 ERA in 26 starts for High-A Salem, with an 89/55 K/BB
in 98 innings, with 111 hits allowed. Command was an obvious difficulty, with
mechanical issues and problems with pacing and confidence also evident.

他在2010年球季開始嶄露頭角，在Greenville的76局繳出2.97 ERA、78/23 K/BB的成績，
讓他出現在紅襪新秀排行榜的前段。2011年則是悲劇年，在Salem的98局(26場) 1-13
、6.91 ERA、89/55 K/BB、被打111支安打。他的控球陷入麻煩，姿勢、節奏和信心都出
了問題。

2012 was better, although results were mixed. He posted a 5.80 ERA for Salem
with a 42/19 K/BB in 45 innings, but was more effective after moving up to
Double-A Portland, with a 3.72 ERA and a 76/38 K/BB in 85 innings. Returned
to Portland for 2013, he marked a 3.51 ERA with an 80/36 K/BB in 97 innings.
He made one start for Triple-A Pawtucket, giving up 10 hits in 5.1 innings
with five strikeouts, and as noted he's now in the major league bullpen.

2012年好一些，雖然還是有好有壞。在Salem的45局5.80 ERA、42/19 K/BB，不過在升上
海狗後成績提升了─85局3.72 ERA、76/38 K/BB。2013年開季後重回海狗，97局3.51 ERA
、80/36 K/BB；接著在Paw Sox只投5.1局(五次三振、被打十支安打)後，成為紅襪隊牛棚
的一員。

As you can see, Britton's minor league performance was spotty, but this
wasn't for lack of stuff: he hit 96 MPH at times in the minors and works
consistently in the 90-94 range with his fastball. He used to throw a
curveball as his main secondary pitch, but has supplanted this with a slider.
He has a changeup, but it is behind the fastball and slider in quality. He
showed more confidence last year after significant problems in that
department in '11. He also made progress cleaning up his mechanics.

不難看出Britton在小聯盟的表現起起落落，不過不是因為缺乏stuff─時常飆出96mph，
快速球平常也都穩定落在90~94之間；他過去都用曲球當成主要的第二球種，但是後來被
滑球取代。他也有changeup，不過品質不如直球和滑球。不同漁困境重重的2011年，他在
去年秀出更高的信心，他也在姿勢修正上有了長足進步。

Britton's development as a prospect was far from linear, and it remains to be
seen if he'll show the necessary command to take a key long-term role in the
bullpen. Nevertheless, he's improved over the last year, and lefties with
live arms have long lives. Most observers see Britton as a reliever, coming
in to overpower hitters with his fastball and slider in short doses. I agree
with that and I don't think he profiles as a starter long-term.

Britton的發展曲線並非線性，我們也還要更多的時間觀察他的控球能維持多久，是否能
成為長期牛棚解答。無論如何，他在去年有了很大的進步，而新鮮左手牛的生命通常很長
。大多數人將Britton歸類為牛棚投手，上場就用快速球和滑球，在短局數之內電打者。
我同意這個看法，我並不認為他在長期時間之後依然擔任先發投手。

If the command holds up, he'll be quite valuable down the stretch. If it
doesn't, he could end up with mop-up work. Given his wildly oscillating track
record, your guess is as good as mine for which Britton we see.

如果她的控球能維持住，接下來的時期將會成為很有價值的投手；反之則會成為敗處。
根據他激烈震盪的歷史紀錄，你我都對接下來會是哪種Britton一樣好奇吧。


--
＊Athletic frame.
＊High baseball IQ. Xander
＊Smooth, fluid swing. Bogaerts
＊Elite batspeed. #01
＊Strong and explosive hands.
＊Above-average-to-better power ceiling, potential 30 home run bat.

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