Written by Greg Fertel
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10 January 2008
- Age: 22
- Height: 6?3?
- Weight: 215
- Position: Starting Pitcher
- Throws: Right
Scouting Report: George Kontos is a power pitcher with power stuff. He sits at 93-95 mph with heavy sink. His best secondary pitch is a plus slider, which he gets most of his strikeouts on. His changeup and curveball are coming along, but they aren't there yet. His control has improved so much since his shaky college days that its now a genuine strength.
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 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 pitched strongly for three months following the injury, and finished at 94 innings with a 4.02 ERA, with 15 home runs allowed, 101 strikeouts, and 30 walks. To make up for lost time, he spent another 34 innings in Hawaii, pitching with an ERA of 3.71, with 42 strikeouts, 10 walks, and a 1 home run allowed. The final rates were 1.05 HR/9, 10.05 K/9, and 2.81 BB/9 in 128 innings.
Outlook and Movement: He'll be at Trenton to start the season. He'll be a part of probably the most intriguing rotation in the Yankee system next year - which I'll profile at a later time - but he will be in the rotation. His future still projects as a starting pitcher as long as the Yankees keep him in that role. He's way behind Ian Kennedy, Steve White, Alan Horne, and Jeff Marquez (and maybe even Danny McCutchen) in the depth charts, so don't expect him in the majors any time soon.
Ranking: I ranked Kontos at 25, and Eric at 17. With a little more thought, I think that we both are low. Don't look at Kontos' ERA - I'm going to wager that its a product of luck. 4.02 is very high for the Florida State League, but his BB/9 and K/9 very much resembled a top pitching prospect along the lines of Alan Horne. Kontos allowed an unusually high number of home runs - but neither his G/F indicators nor his history point to a pitcher who should be giving up a lot of home runs. Since he started throwing to wooden bats, Kontos has pitched like an absolute stud. Now, there still is evidence to suggest that he would be better off in the bullpen - lefties hit .307/.387/.549 off him. Pitchers that struggle with opposite-side batters very often make it to the majors as successful starters (Chien-Ming Wang struggled terribly against lefties almost until his major league debut) but its a big concern. He's got plenty of time though, since he doesn't turn 23 until June.
