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Ben Lively

Born: 03/05/1992 (Age: 23)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 190
Mechanics
3/4 arm slot; balanced delivery; low energy expending; consistent timing from start to finish; lands in good position; some drop and drive; could use more lower body explosion; hides all offerings from hitters - ball shows very late in release; 1.26-1.31 from stretch; will shorten up with runners on base.
Evaluator Chris Mellen
Report Date 05/24/2015
Affiliate Reading Fightin Phils (AA, Phillies)
Dates Seen 05/24/2015
OFP 50
MLB ETA 2015
Video No
Pitch Type Future Grade Sitting Velocity Peak Velocity Report
Fastball 55 89-91 92 Demonstrates some arm-side movement, especially when in lower tier of the zone; deceptive - ball comes out of hand at last instance; will get late swings; sneaky fast; capable of missing a bat when being strategic; can throw to all four quadrants; looks to work offering on outer third to both righties and lefties; better spotting to glove-side; shies away from coming inside; not going to overpower multiple times through a lineup; will need to stay out of upper tier against advance hitters to be successful; solid-average command; likely to play up in shorter bursts due to deception; more finesse than power pitch.
Slider 50 83-86   Flashes late horizontal break when finishing with wrist above the ball; tended to wrap with offering and rush through throwing it; lacked glove-side action; needs tightening to evolve into legit weapon; spun more often than not in this viewing; does show feel and knowledge of what pitcher is trying to accomplish; can stand to throw for a strike more often glove-side; needs more of an identity to miss bats at the highest level.
Curveball 45 74-75   Tended to roll in outing, but could emerge as viable offering down the line; 12/6 shape, with turnover late in break when staying on top of the ball; used as chase pitch later in the count; ability (or willingness) to throw for a strike earlier in sequences is necessary to put pitch in batters' minds more frequently; may just end up as occasional change of pace.
Changeup 40 81-84   Mild arm-side fading action; mostly showed as fastball pitcher is taking something off of; while arm-speed was there, feel for grip appeared inconsistent; floated in strike zone when delivered it; needs more confidence and trust in pitch to work into sequences effectively.
Overall

Athletic arm, with body and delivery to last deeper into outings over the course of a long season; however, stuff presently on the bland side as a whole for a long-term starter; deceptive release and command profile leads me to believe fastball can play up in shorter bursts; can be more effective when seeing chunk of lineup once as opposed to multiple times through where hitters showed adjustments to release; one of the breaking balls needs a step forward to start advanced bats more often; feel is that slider has best chance to pair with fastball; advancement of multiple pieces of arsenal can lead to an innings eater at the back of a rotation, but gut feel says this arm is more of a bridge reliever role that hands off to the later inning relievers.

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