Read: Five Under-the-Radar Prospects
At NYFS, TJD explains why RHP Brant Rustich, RHP Dylan Owen, 2B Hector Pellot, OF Raul Reyes and RHP Phillips Orta are Five Under-the-Radar Prospects to Watch in 2008.
Of the bunch, only Rustich appeared on the team’s Top 10 Prospect List at Baseball America last November, during which they wrote…
“Healthy in pro ball, Rustich showed a premium fastball…He pitches inside to righthanders and uses his size well…His changeup shows flashes of being an average pitch…Control was a huge problem before and after his finger injury…His splitter was a plus pitch before he got hurt, but he hasn’t thrown it much since the injury…
“Rustich has enough stuff to start, but the Mets most likely will have him join Eddie Kunz on the fast track as a reliever. Rustich could jump to Double-A in 2008.”
Last November, MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin conducted a Q&A with Rustich, which you can read here, during which he had the following to say about his finger injury from 2008…
“Injuries are the toughest thing any athlete has to deal with. It’s far worse than failure. It was very hard on me when I go hurt, cause it was the first time in my life I had to sit out from any sport I’ve played…A finger injury is very significant…every pitch I throw leaves my middle finger. It basically effects everything when it comes to command. Coming back from a finger injury was more difficult than I anticipated. It was tough trying to perform in pain sometimes during my college year. I remember feeling like I let down my teammates when I couldn’t perform like I was capable of.”
In 10 relief appearances for Low-A Brooklyn last season, Rustich allowed just three runs, while striking out 10 batters and walking one through 12.2 innings pitched.
