Zwierzynski: Scouting B-Mets RHP Brian Bannister
…Joe Zwierzynski, financial analyst by day, minor league
obervationalist by night, offers up the following scouting report on
B-Mets RHP Brian Bannister, after attending the B-Mets game against
Trenton on Friday, May 27…
…Zwierzynski writes…
While
attending the Binghamton Mets game against the Trenton Thunder last
Friday night, I had the pleasure of meeting a scout assigned to follow
the Mets organization. This scout was extremely helpful and
honest and has helped to enhance my scouting report on Brian
Bannister. I would like to publicly thank him – he said he wanted
to check this site out on a regular basis when I told him of the
content – as he was the easiest scout to talk to that I’ve ever met…
Brian Bannister…
Bannister
took to the mound versus Trenton sporting numbers that were dominant, a
6-1 record and a sub 2.00 ERA. Bannister throws between 87-89 mph
consistently and touched 90 mph once…maybe twice. His four-seam
fastball is straight, but he locates it well. It is an average
pitch, at best, due to its lack of velocity…
Bannister’s best
pitch is his cut fastball. It comes in at about 85-86 mph with
late movement. He used it well against hitters from both sides of
the plate. His changeup is decent, and compliments his other
pitches very well. It doesn’t fade very much, but with it being
80 mph, it does its job…
His two breaking pitches – a curveball
and slider – need quite a bit of refinement, with the slider possibly
being scrapped altogether. The curve has a ’10 to 4′ break, and
it isn’t sharp and he never threw it for a strike – though, I’ve read
that he usually does. Its an average pitch if he throws it for
strikes, and nothing more than a throwaway pitch if he can’t. His
slider doesn’t move sharply and is flat. With his curve
not working, though, I’d prefer it over the slider…
The
unidentified scout thought Bannister could be a backend guy in the
Major Leagues at best. There is, however, a decent chance
Bannister could get to the Majors because of his confidence, overall
command, pedigree, and ability to throw different pitches to keep
hitters from sitting on his fastball, the scout said. And I agree…
However,
with the nature of the Mets organization, I wouldn’t give Bannister
much of a chance to ever pitch at Shea on a regular basis. He
might be a backend guy somewhere else, of course. I could see him
moving to Norfolk for a year and becoming an emergency call up, but
currently he has Jae Seo and Aaron Heilman, who are better and also
more experienced, ahead of him…
If Bannister is used in a trade this summer, it wouldn’t upset me at all…
