Written by Greg Fertel
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14 June 2007
- Age: 22
- Height: 6'3"
- Weight: 215
- Acquired: Drafted 5th Round in 2006 out of Northwestern
- Position: Starting Pitcher
- Throws: Right
Scouting Report: George Kontos is built like a power pitcher and throws like one. In college, he was primarily a two-pitch guy, throwing a 93-95 mph two seam fastball and a devastating slider. He had trouble staying around the plate against aluminum bats, and fell to the 5th round despite his great stuff. The Yankees got him throwing the 2-seamer a little bit slower, with better location, in Staten Island and made him throw the 4-seamer more. He's still in the 93-95 mph range, but with better location. True to form, the Yankees made Kontos throw a changeup and curveball, although they are allowing him to retain the slider. Both are still works in progress, but he's developing them to the point that they should become usable major league pitches fairly quickly.
History: Kontos did not have a lot of success for Northwestern. In 219 innings, he allowed a 5.49 ERA and 184 strikeouts against 123 walks. However, the Yankees did their homework and drafted him, sending him to Staten Island. He formed the deadly Staten Island 1-2 with Tim Norton to lead the team to the New York-Penn League Championship. Kontos was 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA in 78 1/3 innings, striking out 82 and walking 19. He took to the Yankee mechanical and secondary pitch changes well, and they decided to push him to Tampa.
This Season: Kontos made only three starts to begin the season before missing nearly two months with a shoulder injury. He returned yesterday. The overall results are excellent: a 2.53 ERA and 28 strikeouts (11.8 per 9) and just 6 (2.5 per 9) walks in 21 1/3 innings. He's doing everything right.
Outlook and Movement: Kontos will most likely spend the remainder of the season in Tampa, trying to make up for lost time. The long term position of Kontos will be determined by his secondary pitches. If the changeup and possibly the curveball come along as a reliable third pitch, Kontos will remain a starter and likely a very good one. If they do not, he'll be converted to the bullpen. At this point, the secondary pitches seem strong enough that the bullpen murmurs shouldn't be a huge concern. The bigger concern for Kontos is probably his long term control. In college, he walked a lot of guys, but that hasn't been much of a problem in pro ball. As long as he's throwing strikes, Kontos will be a very successful pitcher with that kind of stuff.
Ranking: This is probably the last time that Kontos will be ranked outside of the top-10. He has the added benefit of being one of the younger college juniors to be drafted, since he just turned 22 this week. He'll need a pinch more seasoning than most college juniors. For now, thanks to the loaded Trenton rotation, we'll have to sit back and enjoy big numbers out of him at Tampa. He's one of my favorite players, but I'll have to wait until 2009 to see him at the major league level. He's going to have to make it to a rotation that Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain are all likely to be competing for spots in. How could he do in the bullpen? He might end up pretty dominant, but the Yankees aren't going to make that move unless they have to.
Next up: Kevin Whelan
