Profiles of the Top 22 Pitchers for the 2012 MLB Draft: Lance McCullers

With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft.

I will be presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them.  I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer.  Each profile with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos.

Profile 13: Lance McCullers

Profile/Stats:

Lance McCullers Jr. is a senior at Jesuit High School in Tampla, FL. He throws right handed and is listed at 6'3" and 200. He is the son of former MLB relief pitcher Lance McCullers who has a 28-31 record with 3.25 ERA, 252 bases on balls and 442 strike outs in 526.1 innings pitched in seven MLB seasons with the Padres, Yankees, Tigers and Rangers from 1985 to 1992. Lance McCullers Jr is also a shortstop but will be drafted as a pitcher. This season he pitched 77.1 innings, allowed 30 bases on balls and had 140 strikeouts. His ERA is 0.18 and his opponents hit .106 off him. Here is an interview of McCullers with Scout.com, and here is an older article from his hometown newspaper. He is committed to attend the University of Florida.

Mini Scouting Report:

McCullers is throwing a four seam and a two seam fastball, a slow and hard breaking ball and is working on a changeup. His Fastball is a plus pitch. It averages 94-95 and sporadically hits up to 97-98 mph and has decent movement. It projects as a plus plus pitch. His slow curve is a weak pitch and will probably be scrapped for his slider that can be a plus pitch. It sits at 85-86 mph and has a hard sharp two-plane break. His changeup is a work in progress. His delivery is inconsistent with varying arm slot and needs work. Because of that, his command and control are lacking. It will be corrected in professional baseball with a pro coach.

Videos/Photos:



Here is a scouting Video of McCullers:







Here is a slow motion video of his delivery from stretch position:







Here is a video interview







His Perfect Game Profile Page has 5 additional videos of Lance McCullers.