Scouting Reports on Rocky Road Cherry and Darren O'Day

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*Rocky Cherry*
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Cubs Hub Link (April 2007)

CubsHub? Well, it rhymes...thought I'd come up with a totally unique name, oh well...

Entering the 2006 season, 39 of 48 Cherry’s career appearances were as a starting pitcher. But following Tommy John surgery after just three starts in 2005, Cherry was put in the AA bullpen to regain his arm strength. Not only did Rocky’s velocity comeback but in short bursts, he was able to throw harder and his slider became even more devasting.

Pitching: Cherry has always had a strong fastball but now as a reliever, he’s able to cut it loose and give it his all. It’s usually around the mid 90’s with reports that he topped the gun at 97 mph last year in West Tennessee (AA), so far in his stint with the Cubs, he’s been around 89-91 mph. To complement his fastball, Cherry sports a great biting slider (79-81 mph) that is one of better ones in the system. Like many young pitchers, Rocky does have a changeup but it was only in early stages of development as a starting pitcher, and he’s reportedly scraped it all together now that he’s a one inning guy. As a reliever one can get away with having just two pitches, as long as one the two is a plus pitch, Cherry has two of them. In terms of his control, Rocky limited his walks this past season, turning in his lowest walk rate of his career (professional or college). Being able to throw the fastball for strikes is key to Cherry’s success.

Biggest Strength: Groundballs
When watching Rocky pitch the first thing that is noticeable is that slider but watching him closer, one becomes in awe of how many groundballs this man produces. Throughout his career, it’s one of his his biggest trends, keeping balls out of the air and onto the ground. By doing so, Cherry induces doubleplays and keeps his homeruns allowed low, vital for any reliever to survive.

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*Darren O Day*
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Angels Win Blog Link (February 2008)

Darren posted a sparkling 0.75 ERA with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 24 games with his submarine delivery, baffling opposing CAL League hitters. He was promoted mid-season to Arkansas where he found it to be a little tougher, but still posted a respectable ERA (3.99) and when the season was over he finished with a .195 BAA.

O'Day describing his stuff: Last year I worked at 86-89, occasionally touching 90 or 91. I throw a 2 and 4 seam fastball, slider, and changeup.

O Day is hurt and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2009 season. Rule V rules for injured players are:

To prevent the abuse of the Rule 5 draft, the rule also states that the draftee must be active for at least 90 days. This keeps teams from drafting players, then placing them on the disabled list for the majority of the season. For example, if a Rule 5 draftee was only active for 67 days in his first season with his new club, he must be active for an additional 23 games in his second season to satisfy the Rule 5 requirements.