Scouting Reports - Kevin Ziomek (2010 Draft Class)

Scouted:

WWBA World Championship (Jupiter, Fla.), October 25, 2009 (in attendance)

Frame:

Ziomek has a lean, athletic frame with good room in his upper-body to add some strength. It’s tough to gauge how big his lower-half can get, but there is certainly room for at least some growth. He shows good body control and flexiblity.

Motion:

Ziomek has an understated side-step into his motion, moving into a good leg kick, decent stride and easy follow-through out of a low-3/4 release. His upper-body and arm action should be cleaned-up some, which will allay some fears as to how his arm will hold up. Right now, he breaks his hands high, coming out of his leg kick, and stabs downward as he moves towards his load. He then lifts quickly with his elbow with his arm lacking well behind his body. The result is that he’s still shy of having the ball ready to come forward by the time he’s planted and rotating towards home. His short arm action on the back side helps to catch him up, but he’s adding stress to his elbow and shoulder with this lagging movement. One suggestion would be to break his hands a little lower, cutting down on the distance the ball needs to travel from break to load. Ziomek has a couple of other mechanical tweaks to be made that will improve his overall performance. He tends to hook his arm behind his back after stabbing down -- more advanced hitters will potentially take advantage of this extra look at the ball. He also starts to drift forward as he’s completing his leg kick, rather than centering above the rubber and getting the most out of his drive towards home.

Stuff:

Fastball - Ziomek currently sits upper-80s to 90/91 mph with his fastball, but there is room for more velocity as he fills-in and improves his mechanics. He gets some boring action and does an adequate job of throwing to both sides of the plate. He projects to low-90s velocity (perhaps a bit more) and should get good life with the ball coming out of his low-3/4 slot.

Slider - Ziomek’s slider is currently his best secondary offering, flashing hard bite and good tilt with the potential for above-average depth. He sits upper-70s with the pitch, touching 80/81 mph and commands it better than both his curve and his change. He also comes out of the same arm slot as his fastball, helping the pitch to play-up.

Curveball - Ziomek’s curve is a soft upper-60s offering that can creep into the low-70s. The pitch lacks consistent shape and will need to be tightened-up for it to be an effective offering as he progresses. For now, it suffices as a change-of-pace offering that can alter the hitter’s eye-level.

Change-up - A mid- to upper-70s pitch, Ziomek’s change sits with solid velo differential from his fastball. It’s still an inconsistent offering, but the lefty shows some feel for it and it can flash depth down in the zone. While not as effective as his slider, it’s a slight step ahead of his curve on the secondary offering pecking order.

Nick's Notes:

Ziomek’s short arm action on the back side helps his ball to get in on a hitter quickly -- an advantage that will play-up if he can learn to avoid his arm wrap and better hide the ball after his hands break. He’ll also likely add some velocity as he learns to consistently center over the rubber and as he continues to get stronger. In a class short on lefty prep arms, Ziomek is probably the top prep lefty-arm on a fair number of boards, at this point. The potential is there for him to emerge as a top 100 pick in June if he’s able to show the same upper-80s to low-90s velocity this spring, paired with his potential plus slider. He may be best served ultimately scrapping his curve and focusing on his slider/change -- each of which probably play a little better out of his arm slot. Committed to Vandy, if Ziomek isn’t convinced to start his pro career, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him develop into one of the top arms in the 2013 Draft Class.

Projected Position: Back-end to Mid-rotation Starter

Suggested Draft Slot: 3rd to 5th Round

Updates:

11/5/2009 - Ziomek was selected in the 4th Round of PnR Scouting's "WWBA World Championship Draft". The lefty went four innings down in Jupiter, striking out six and allowing four hits while walking one.

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