Written by Greg Fertel
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21 January 2008
- Age: 22
- Height: 5?11?
- Weight: 180 lbs
- Position: Relief Pitcher
- Throws: Right
Scouting Report: In college, Robertson threw in the 94-95 mph range, but has settled in throwing what one reader
here describes as a natural cutter closer to 90 since the draft. To quote Jack, "He can't seem to throw the ball straight, which is a good thing." To compliment the fastball, Robertson has a plus power slider, but is doing the Yankee thing and throwing a curveball right now. Robertson struggled with control in college, but has shown above average control in the minors so far.
History: Robertson was a very good closer in college, pitching 127 2/3 innings with a 2.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts and 65 walks. Scouts speculated that his control problems were less the result of poor command of the baseball and more Robertson shying away from the inside part of the plate to aluminum bats. To confirm their theory, Robertson had a phenominal Cape Code League season, earning the Playoff MVP award while striking out the future Yankee draft pick
Brad Suttle to secure the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Soxs championship. He was not scored upon in 15 innings. A draft-eligible sophomore, Robertson was not expected to sign, but the Yankees liked what they saw and offered Robertson a six figure bonus to come and play for them. He signed but was not assigned to the instructional league or winter ball, so no one got a chance to see him until the spring.
This Season: Robertson started all the way down in Charleston, pitching 47 innings in 24 appearances, allowing just a 0.77 ERA, 25 hits, and 15 walks with 67 strikeouts. He found his way to Tampa, where he pitched 33 1/3 innings with an ERA of 1.08, 18 hits, 15 walks, and 37 strikeouts. He finished the season by helping pitch Trenton to its championship, pitching 4 innings at the end of the regular season with one earned run allowed, 2 hits, 2 walks, and 9 strikeouts. All told, he had one of the more dominating relief seasons in my minor league memory, pitching 84 1/3 innings with a 0.96 ERA and a 113/32 (12.09 K per 9, 3.42 BB per 9). For every out in the air, Robertson made batters pound two balls into the ground.
Outlook and Movement: Robertson will start at Double-A, though I'd personally like to see him pushed to Scranton. I'm a TINSAAPP guy, and Robertson has clearly outmatched his competition at every level. He's crossed a vital threshold by pitching a very heavy workload in his first professional season. At this point, all that's left for Robertson is to prove his worth against hitters in the high minor leagues, and that can be best be done in Scranton. We saw last year how weak Eastern League hitters can be when the weather is cold. If the Yankee relief corps blows up (which, considering the group, is entirely possible), and Robertson is pitching very well, we could see him in the majors this season.
Ranking: Eric and I differed again on Robertson. Eric has said that he ranks relief pitchers lower on position, which is very fair, so he ranked him at #24. I've loved Robertson since he was drafted, and I have him all the way up at #9. It's hard to understate how ridiculously good Robertson was this season. His control wasn't great as he was promoted, but I'd wager that he saw some of the same "I over-match hitters so I'm not going to throw them strikes" effect that Ian Kennedy encountered this year, and he still put up average BB/9s. I love to see the strikeout/ground ball combination in a reliever, because that's exactly how you avoid bad luck. To prove my point, he did not allow a home run all season. I think that the term "closer" is a loaded word, but I don't see any reason why Robertson couldn't be better than half the pitchers who got saves in the majors this year. Between Robertson, Cox, Melancon, Whelan, and Sanchez, we should have 2 or 3 very useful relievers in the New Yankee Stadium bullpen.
