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Sean Marshall
Ht: 6'6
Wt: 205lbs
B/T: L/L
DOB: 7/30/1982
Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia
Here is one of fast and rising pitching stars of the Cubs system. Taken in the 6th round (163rd overall) of 2003 draft. His brother Brian was taken in 5th round (144th overall) in the same draft. One of the highest twin tandums ever to have been drafted in the same MLB draft. Both are tall imposing lefties with good control, Brian throws harder, but Sean has more life to his pitches, and has more strength to his arm. Chalk that up to being a starter throughout college while Brian was converted to a closer due to a less impressive arsenal. Coming out of college, Sean was revered as a "soft-tossing" lefty starter while his brother Brian was a harder thrower and considered the more projectable of the two talents. It has taken Sean no time at all to surpass his twin in terms of prospect status. Sean has added more weight to his frame thus adding more velocity. For a general rule of thumb, each 15 pounds (of mainly muscle) added to a pitcher's body they tend to gain 1-2 mph on their pitches. Sean has been the receiptent of that, as he has added 25 lbs since being drafted by the Cubs. As he continues to develop and grow into his body, he might add another 25 pounds to his 6'6 - 6'7 stature.
The Virginia Commonweath has been another very popular area for the Cubs drafting in the past few years, such as Jason Dubois, Josh Arteaga, Anthony Granato, Danny Lopaze, and Nick Jones. In college, Sean was one of the most dominating pitchers in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association), helping lead VCU to two Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003 as well as three NCAA regionals in 2001, 2002 and 2003. And it seemed he always brought his "A" game in pressure situations, his record in the CAA tournaments was 3-0 going 21 IP, giving up 11 hits, 6 er, 6 bb, 27 k.
In 2001 he was selected the CAA Rookie of the Year, named on the 2nd Team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and 1st team Freshman by Collegiate Baseball. In 2002, he set a CAA tournament record by striking out 17 batters in 12 IP and Baseball America named his curveball the best in the CAA and finished the season really strong, at one point recording back to back 11 K preformances, and was phenomenal in his final 5 starts (1.31 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 6 BB, 27 K). In 2003, he was overshadowd by teammate Justin Orenduff whom was selected by the Dodgers in the first round (33rd overall) in the 2004 but still made 2003 second team CAA tournament team.
Virginia Commonwealth University
In 2001 as a freshman, he posted a 9-4 record while appearing in 21 games and 10 of those being starts. He threw 72 IP, giving up 65 hits, 27 earned runs, 5 hrs, 30 bb, 69 k, 3.38 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .237 BAA
In 2002 as a sophomore, he had a 3-4 record, appearing in 19 games, 15 as a starter, throwing a complete game and notching up a save. He threw 85 IP, giving up 99 hits, 42 earned runs, 1 hr, 26 bb, 90 k, 4.45 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, .288 BAA
In 2003 as a junior, he posted a 7-2 record, appearing/starting in 15 games. He had 2 complete games with one being a shutout 86 1/3 IP, giving up 77 hits, 25 earned runs, 4 hrs, 29 bb, 95 k, 2.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .239 BAA.
The Cubs signed him early and had him pitching for the Boise Hawks that same season and he even appeared in one game at Lansing. Baseball America named him the 6th best prospect in the Northwest League.
2003 Boise (short A)
He appeared/started in 14 games, posting a 5-6 record, going 73 IP, giving up 66 hits, 21 earned runs, 1 hr, 23 bb, 88 k, 2.59 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .232 BAA
2003 Lansing (low A)
In 1 start, he got the win, going 7 IP, giving up 5 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, 11 k.
In 2004, he opened up the season in Lansing and dominated, of the 201 batters he faced only 38 got on base, thus earning a callup to West Tennessee, completely bypassing Daytona. He didn't make a smooth transition to AA though and was stopped midseason due to a torn tendon on his middle finger of his pitching hand. To get him some more work, the Cubs had him pitch in the Arizona Fall League before his reaggrevated his finger injury.
2004 Lansing (low A)
In 7 starts, he was 2-0 with a complete game shutout. Hen went 48 2/3 IP giving up 29 hits, 6 earned runs, 1 hr, 4 bb, 51k, 1.11 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, .171 BAA
2004 West Tennessee (AA)
In 6 starts, he was 2-2 going 29 IP, giving up 36 hits, 19 earned runs, 2 hrs, 12 bb, 23 k, 5.90 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, .293 BAA.
2004 Arizona Fall League
In 5 starts, he was 0-1 going 18 1/3 IP, giving up 21 hits, 8 er, 2 bb, 16 k, 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .284 BAA
The Cubs saw the error of their ways the previous season and started Sean off in Daytona where he earned a spot on the All Star team in the Florida State League. With nothing left to prove in the FSL (high A) the Cubs promoted him to West Tennessee in late June. Before experiencing shoulder soreness, Sean was quite marvelous in the Southern League (AA). But as soon as Sean mentioned some shoulder soreness after his dominating preformance (8 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) on July 9th against one of the top teams in the Carolina Mudcats, the Cubs took no chances and shut him down.
2005 Daytona (high A)
In 12 starts, he went 4-4 with a complete game, while going 69 IP, giving up 63 hits, 21 earned runs, 7 hrs, 26 bb, 61 k, 2.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .233 BAA
2005 West Tennessee (AA)
In 4 starts, he was 0-1, going 25 IP, giving up 16 hits, 7 earned runs, 1 hr, 5 bb, 24 k, 2.52 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, .176 BAA
Pitching: Marshall's not going to overpower the competition with blazing speeds but he hits his spots very well and he has mastered changing speeds. For most of the 2005 season, his fastball was sitting 89-91 mph but touched 95 several occasions. It's probably better that he keeps his fastball in the lower 90's as it adds more sink to it. Something the Cubs have been doing lately is draft pitchers who keep the ball on the ground and in the park, and Marshall is a perfect example. Although he did give up an uncharacteristically 7 homers in Daytona, with most given up very early in the season as he was still rebounding and rebuilding arm strength from his previous finger injury.
In addition to his sinking fastball, he throws two other plus pitches in a curveball and a changeup and is tinkering with a slider, due to his finger injury, he hasn't been able to throw his plus splitter. His most notable offspeed pitch is his curveball, it's filthy and he spots it so well. Put this into consideration, Sean is a control artist, he's constantly around the plate yet he has thrown 24 wild pitches in 251 2/3 IP(9 WP in 94 IP in 2005), almost all on curveballs. Add in a changeup that he works well into his pitches, and Sean can be deadly. When I saw him in West Tennessee this year against the Hunstville Stars, he pitched admirable but was outdueled by fellow sinkerballer Dana Eveland. In 6 innings, Sean gave up 4 hits, 3 being doubles, 3 ER, 2 bb, 8 k. Sean was carving up batters throughout the game, in one account against a batter, he started him off with a curveball outside, threw a changeup inside, and came back inside with a fastball to get the strikeout. He had other similiar works against Star players, and was very impressive at points. His only bad stretch was to start the third when he gave up back to back doubles (both on hanging curves), and a stolen third base that led to two runs.
Durability: Last year's 94 IP between Daytona and West Tennessee was the most he's ever thrown in a professional season before. Sean has missed significant time the last two seasons. In 2004, his season was shut down in June due to a ruptured tendon on the middle finger on his pitching hand. In 2005, he suffered some soreness in his biceps and deltoids that caused him to miss significant time. The Cubs are being very cautious with the him, and rightfully so. There aren't too many big lefties with control out there.
Biggest Strength: Command
This kid could hit a dime from 60 feet away. His highest BB/9 was this season between Daytona and West Tenn with 2.96 which is still extremely good. Not only can he pinpoint his sinker but he can lock in his curve and change whenever need be. He needs to keep that control in order to be an effective future major leaguer. With his solid mechanics, he shouldn't have to worry about his control faultering that much though.
Biggest Weakness: Holding runners
Sean doesn't hold runners on too well especially for being a lefty. His pickoff move to first is below average, and he tends to forget about runners when they reach second. It's something that he needs to work on and has enough time to develop a better move. Not only does Marshall need to watch the runners more but he needs to prove to management that he can be counted on to go every 5th day for the majority of the season.
Keys to Success: Staying healthy
As was mentioned earlier Sean hasn't pitched a full season since being signed by the Cubs. After his finger injury in 2004 the Cubs babied Marshall in 2005 and when he mentioned some soreness after a start the Cubs immediately shut him down. He definately could have pitched more but the Cubs took a very conservative approach as they have with most of their young arms in the past few years. Next season is big for Marshall in that the organization is expecting big things from him, and he's expected to pitch more in 2006 than he ever has professional.
MLB Comparison: Mark Mulder
Both have a similiar size, and Marshall is still likely to get bigger in the coming years. I saw Mulder pitch at Michigan State, but never got the chance to face him. He was absolutely filthy though and completely dominated the Big 10 in 1998. Marshall's stuff isn't as good as Mulder's but their repetoire is the same, at least it was before Sean wasn't able to throw his plus splitter due to the tendon finger injury. Sean might break the splitter back out in 2006 but not heavily. Both pitchers have a good sinker, effectively spot it, induce groundballs and keep the ball in the yard.
Bob’s Bottom Line: The Cubs are very high on Marshall and they feel he is on the verge of a breakthrough season in 2006. In all likelihood he will start the season in West Tennessee. He could make a great jump like Rich Hill did last season. Hell, Marshall's 2005 season made the Cubs feel confident enough to deal Renyal Pinto, whom management never loved too dearly. If Marshall has another outstanding season, he could see time in Iowa or even the MLB late in the season. In fact he could leapfrog Hill and make him expendible next season as his stuff is better and he locates his pitches more effectively than Rich does. Without question Marshall is the Cubs minor league pitcher to keep your eye on next season.
Next Scouting Report: Geovany Soto
Ht: 6'6
Wt: 205lbs
B/T: L/L
DOB: 7/30/1982
Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia
Here is one of fast and rising pitching stars of the Cubs system. Taken in the 6th round (163rd overall) of 2003 draft. His brother Brian was taken in 5th round (144th overall) in the same draft. One of the highest twin tandums ever to have been drafted in the same MLB draft. Both are tall imposing lefties with good control, Brian throws harder, but Sean has more life to his pitches, and has more strength to his arm. Chalk that up to being a starter throughout college while Brian was converted to a closer due to a less impressive arsenal. Coming out of college, Sean was revered as a "soft-tossing" lefty starter while his brother Brian was a harder thrower and considered the more projectable of the two talents. It has taken Sean no time at all to surpass his twin in terms of prospect status. Sean has added more weight to his frame thus adding more velocity. For a general rule of thumb, each 15 pounds (of mainly muscle) added to a pitcher's body they tend to gain 1-2 mph on their pitches. Sean has been the receiptent of that, as he has added 25 lbs since being drafted by the Cubs. As he continues to develop and grow into his body, he might add another 25 pounds to his 6'6 - 6'7 stature.
The Virginia Commonweath has been another very popular area for the Cubs drafting in the past few years, such as Jason Dubois, Josh Arteaga, Anthony Granato, Danny Lopaze, and Nick Jones. In college, Sean was one of the most dominating pitchers in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association), helping lead VCU to two Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003 as well as three NCAA regionals in 2001, 2002 and 2003. And it seemed he always brought his "A" game in pressure situations, his record in the CAA tournaments was 3-0 going 21 IP, giving up 11 hits, 6 er, 6 bb, 27 k.
In 2001 he was selected the CAA Rookie of the Year, named on the 2nd Team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and 1st team Freshman by Collegiate Baseball. In 2002, he set a CAA tournament record by striking out 17 batters in 12 IP and Baseball America named his curveball the best in the CAA and finished the season really strong, at one point recording back to back 11 K preformances, and was phenomenal in his final 5 starts (1.31 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 6 BB, 27 K). In 2003, he was overshadowd by teammate Justin Orenduff whom was selected by the Dodgers in the first round (33rd overall) in the 2004 but still made 2003 second team CAA tournament team.
Virginia Commonwealth University
In 2001 as a freshman, he posted a 9-4 record while appearing in 21 games and 10 of those being starts. He threw 72 IP, giving up 65 hits, 27 earned runs, 5 hrs, 30 bb, 69 k, 3.38 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .237 BAA
In 2002 as a sophomore, he had a 3-4 record, appearing in 19 games, 15 as a starter, throwing a complete game and notching up a save. He threw 85 IP, giving up 99 hits, 42 earned runs, 1 hr, 26 bb, 90 k, 4.45 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, .288 BAA
In 2003 as a junior, he posted a 7-2 record, appearing/starting in 15 games. He had 2 complete games with one being a shutout 86 1/3 IP, giving up 77 hits, 25 earned runs, 4 hrs, 29 bb, 95 k, 2.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .239 BAA.
The Cubs signed him early and had him pitching for the Boise Hawks that same season and he even appeared in one game at Lansing. Baseball America named him the 6th best prospect in the Northwest League.
2003 Boise (short A)
He appeared/started in 14 games, posting a 5-6 record, going 73 IP, giving up 66 hits, 21 earned runs, 1 hr, 23 bb, 88 k, 2.59 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .232 BAA
2003 Lansing (low A)
In 1 start, he got the win, going 7 IP, giving up 5 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, 11 k.
In 2004, he opened up the season in Lansing and dominated, of the 201 batters he faced only 38 got on base, thus earning a callup to West Tennessee, completely bypassing Daytona. He didn't make a smooth transition to AA though and was stopped midseason due to a torn tendon on his middle finger of his pitching hand. To get him some more work, the Cubs had him pitch in the Arizona Fall League before his reaggrevated his finger injury.
2004 Lansing (low A)
In 7 starts, he was 2-0 with a complete game shutout. Hen went 48 2/3 IP giving up 29 hits, 6 earned runs, 1 hr, 4 bb, 51k, 1.11 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, .171 BAA
2004 West Tennessee (AA)
In 6 starts, he was 2-2 going 29 IP, giving up 36 hits, 19 earned runs, 2 hrs, 12 bb, 23 k, 5.90 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, .293 BAA.
2004 Arizona Fall League
In 5 starts, he was 0-1 going 18 1/3 IP, giving up 21 hits, 8 er, 2 bb, 16 k, 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .284 BAA
The Cubs saw the error of their ways the previous season and started Sean off in Daytona where he earned a spot on the All Star team in the Florida State League. With nothing left to prove in the FSL (high A) the Cubs promoted him to West Tennessee in late June. Before experiencing shoulder soreness, Sean was quite marvelous in the Southern League (AA). But as soon as Sean mentioned some shoulder soreness after his dominating preformance (8 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) on July 9th against one of the top teams in the Carolina Mudcats, the Cubs took no chances and shut him down.
2005 Daytona (high A)
In 12 starts, he went 4-4 with a complete game, while going 69 IP, giving up 63 hits, 21 earned runs, 7 hrs, 26 bb, 61 k, 2.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .233 BAA
2005 West Tennessee (AA)
In 4 starts, he was 0-1, going 25 IP, giving up 16 hits, 7 earned runs, 1 hr, 5 bb, 24 k, 2.52 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, .176 BAA
Pitching: Marshall's not going to overpower the competition with blazing speeds but he hits his spots very well and he has mastered changing speeds. For most of the 2005 season, his fastball was sitting 89-91 mph but touched 95 several occasions. It's probably better that he keeps his fastball in the lower 90's as it adds more sink to it. Something the Cubs have been doing lately is draft pitchers who keep the ball on the ground and in the park, and Marshall is a perfect example. Although he did give up an uncharacteristically 7 homers in Daytona, with most given up very early in the season as he was still rebounding and rebuilding arm strength from his previous finger injury.
In addition to his sinking fastball, he throws two other plus pitches in a curveball and a changeup and is tinkering with a slider, due to his finger injury, he hasn't been able to throw his plus splitter. His most notable offspeed pitch is his curveball, it's filthy and he spots it so well. Put this into consideration, Sean is a control artist, he's constantly around the plate yet he has thrown 24 wild pitches in 251 2/3 IP(9 WP in 94 IP in 2005), almost all on curveballs. Add in a changeup that he works well into his pitches, and Sean can be deadly. When I saw him in West Tennessee this year against the Hunstville Stars, he pitched admirable but was outdueled by fellow sinkerballer Dana Eveland. In 6 innings, Sean gave up 4 hits, 3 being doubles, 3 ER, 2 bb, 8 k. Sean was carving up batters throughout the game, in one account against a batter, he started him off with a curveball outside, threw a changeup inside, and came back inside with a fastball to get the strikeout. He had other similiar works against Star players, and was very impressive at points. His only bad stretch was to start the third when he gave up back to back doubles (both on hanging curves), and a stolen third base that led to two runs.
Durability: Last year's 94 IP between Daytona and West Tennessee was the most he's ever thrown in a professional season before. Sean has missed significant time the last two seasons. In 2004, his season was shut down in June due to a ruptured tendon on the middle finger on his pitching hand. In 2005, he suffered some soreness in his biceps and deltoids that caused him to miss significant time. The Cubs are being very cautious with the him, and rightfully so. There aren't too many big lefties with control out there.
Biggest Strength: Command
This kid could hit a dime from 60 feet away. His highest BB/9 was this season between Daytona and West Tenn with 2.96 which is still extremely good. Not only can he pinpoint his sinker but he can lock in his curve and change whenever need be. He needs to keep that control in order to be an effective future major leaguer. With his solid mechanics, he shouldn't have to worry about his control faultering that much though.
Biggest Weakness: Holding runners
Sean doesn't hold runners on too well especially for being a lefty. His pickoff move to first is below average, and he tends to forget about runners when they reach second. It's something that he needs to work on and has enough time to develop a better move. Not only does Marshall need to watch the runners more but he needs to prove to management that he can be counted on to go every 5th day for the majority of the season.
Keys to Success: Staying healthy
As was mentioned earlier Sean hasn't pitched a full season since being signed by the Cubs. After his finger injury in 2004 the Cubs babied Marshall in 2005 and when he mentioned some soreness after a start the Cubs immediately shut him down. He definately could have pitched more but the Cubs took a very conservative approach as they have with most of their young arms in the past few years. Next season is big for Marshall in that the organization is expecting big things from him, and he's expected to pitch more in 2006 than he ever has professional.
MLB Comparison: Mark Mulder
Both have a similiar size, and Marshall is still likely to get bigger in the coming years. I saw Mulder pitch at Michigan State, but never got the chance to face him. He was absolutely filthy though and completely dominated the Big 10 in 1998. Marshall's stuff isn't as good as Mulder's but their repetoire is the same, at least it was before Sean wasn't able to throw his plus splitter due to the tendon finger injury. Sean might break the splitter back out in 2006 but not heavily. Both pitchers have a good sinker, effectively spot it, induce groundballs and keep the ball in the yard.
Bob’s Bottom Line: The Cubs are very high on Marshall and they feel he is on the verge of a breakthrough season in 2006. In all likelihood he will start the season in West Tennessee. He could make a great jump like Rich Hill did last season. Hell, Marshall's 2005 season made the Cubs feel confident enough to deal Renyal Pinto, whom management never loved too dearly. If Marshall has another outstanding season, he could see time in Iowa or even the MLB late in the season. In fact he could leapfrog Hill and make him expendible next season as his stuff is better and he locates his pitches more effectively than Rich does. Without question Marshall is the Cubs minor league pitcher to keep your eye on next season.
Next Scouting Report: Geovany Soto
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