Coffey makes solid recovery after surgery
As he approaches the one-year anniversary of having Tommy John surgery, lefty pitcher Cameron Coffey is throwing well and optimistic about the 2010 season.
The 19-year-old underwent the elbow ligament replacement procedure last March 19th, then in June he was drafted in round 22 by the Orioles.
Most everyone assumed Coffey was headed to Duke to play college baseball, but the O's made him an offer he couldn't refuse. On August 13, Coffey agreed to a reported $990,000 bonus, one of the largest ever given a player taken after the tenth round.
Although it's possible Coffey won't pitch with a team until the short-season clubs start in June, he's been in Sarasota for several weeks and his bullpen sessions are going quite well.
"So far, I've thrown well since I've been here since February first. I've been throwing bullpens three times a week for four or five weeks now. My arm has felt fantastic each time. This week has been the best my arm has ever felt.
"I have not had a single setback since the surgery. That is uncommon, usually there is one or two.
"When I signed, I had just started Dr. Andrews throwing program where you start throwing four months out. Once they saw what I was doing they monitored it and since instructional league they've basically considered me a healthy pitcher like anyone else."
The 6'5" southpaw from Houston Christian High School gained the attention of scouts when his velocity increased in his final high school season.
"It's not as drastic as some make it out to be. My junior year I topped out at 91 and my senior year at 95. I was 86, 87, topping at 91 as a junior then as a senior I topped anywhere from 92 to 95.
"I started working out with a really good personal trainer with knowledge of pitching (before my senior year) and I worked hard with him to get stronger and better velocity."
The Orioles were impressed not only with Coffey's talent but also his character.
"My best secondary pitch is my changeup. It's got some good movement when I locate. That's always been a good pitch for me as a lefty and as a kid my dad didn't want me throwing many curveballs. With the O's some of the coaches have helped me with my slider grip and it's become more of a true slider."
Coffey spent some time this winter working out in the Houston area with Scott Kazmir of the Los Angeles Angels.
He remains confident that his velocity will not only return to its pre-surgery level, but that he may find more heat moving forward.
"I don't think I'll know that until I get into games. They've told me they don't even want velocity to be on my mind. Often times, velocity is the first thing to come back and then the feel of the pitches. I definitely feel I may be one of the lucky few that could gain a few miles per hour after this surgery now that I've changed my mechanics and have a stronger ligament in my elbow."
Coffey says he has made some significant changes to his pitching motion to help avoid future injury. We'll have much more on that in a later post.
Some recent Orioles' 22nd-round draft picks:
2008 - RHP Pat Kantakevich
2007 - RHP Colin Allen
2006 - LHP Chris Salberg
2005 - 1B Paul Chmiel
2004 - IF Rob Marconi
2003 - LHP Zach Dixon
You can play against everyone or create your own league - and it's Free!
 |
Categories (click for archive)Orioles News | Steve Melewski |
Steve,
Thanks for the update on Coffey. He kinda fell under the radar last year.
These days, it seems that almost every pitcher is going to get TJ surgery sooner or later. Let's hope Cam all the best. Does he go to Bluefield or stay in FL this season?
_______________________
It sounds like there is a good chance he stays at extended spring come opening day. He could then go to Delmarva maybe at some point or perhaps more likely go to Bluefield or Aberdeen when their season begins in June.......Steve
Steve-
Here is the thing, I think these types of risks are what the O's need to take in order to not just get back to upper echelon, but to stay there. They have got to be able to trade for studs since they can't financially keep up with the Yanks and Sox. Well, we could probably get close to where the Sox are. Thats besides the point.
I like the other kid they took too. That catcher I think in the 10th RD they gave a big payday to. It all worked out great when, well we all thought these big bonuses were the O's writing off signing Givens, then they signed him too and I think that was huge.
The THING I wanted to get to is, I don't understand why they didn't sign Sano.
The O's are really thin in my eyes at position prospects, especially INFIELD position prospects.
Sano signed for basically 1st round money, even less.
Did you hear anything of why the O's didn't make him an offer? Is there something no one knew, injury wise or mental health wise or....?
I just hope this year, after the Hobgood thing, and I am NOT one of those who has written him off like a lot of the publications and fans, but, I hope they really take the BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE.
They seemed to be doing that, which is definitely the way it should be done, in Jordan's first 3 drafts, then last year, I don't think they did.
When you forget about the money in the 1st 5 rounds, your drafts turn out so much better.
Look at 2007. It was probably a last ditch effort to save themselves, so I assume they greenlighted Weiters, Bascom, Arrieta, Mahoney, and Angle. Not 1 of them is a money saver, and look how well its turned out. You got the #2 fantasy catcher in the game, and he hasn't even played a full season, and you got a NASTY power righty who has dominated the minors and will break through at some point. Bascom was set back by injury, but Mahoney and Angle both are really growing as players and getting better.
I don't know. I just think not even offering Sano was a bad move by a franchise thats trying to win and rebuild at the same time.
There are 2 really good arms in this draft slotted in the top 5, 1 is a Boras kid, but they both seem to be looking for big bucks. I just hope the O's don't let the cheddar call the shots this year.
I'm glad to see the O's starting to take gambles like this and offering the young man enough money to sign with the organization. Hopefully a few years down the road Coffey locked up for 6 years of major league service for a million dollar bonus, will be considered a steal.
A few years ago this story would have had much more of a doom and gloom feel to it, coming out of the shadows of Loewen, Penn, Cabrera and Riley; but now it's seems the O's luck has changed for the better and I for one am starting to feel optimistic. Here's hoping Coffey has a great first professional season in Aberdeen.
P.S: Wouldn't be a bad idea to get this kid hanging around and learning from that other special lefty from Texas in our system, Zach Britton.
Great to see the O's takin some chances on high upside players who may have some risk involved. Only way they'll compete in the AL East is to stockpile prospects and then stockpile some more. On another note, do you think Mychal Givens will play at Delmarva this year or will he be at a short season team?
_____________________________
His spring play will determine that. I will guess, because he didn't play much last summer and didn't play for the O's at all or course, that he plays for a short-season club this year............Steve
very interested to see the progress of this lefty. At 6-5, his projectability is limitless. Sky high potential. Will the Os investment payoff? Tune in 3 years from how
Steve, if he were not injured/going to Duke what round would he have been projected?
_________________________
The Orioles feel he is a second-round talent or better. His bonus was equal to what some of the last few picks of the first round got..........Steve
Thanks for the update Steve. I think there is absolutely no reason to rush Coffey. let him play at Bluefield this year and maybe even Aberdeen next before hitting the shorebirds in 2012. We have tons of pitching in the system and there is no reason to rush these guys anymore. let him stay in the low minors and work on his control and secondary pitches.
All of our rotations are going to be stacked this year but the shorebirds could have the most exciting (because of the unknown and untested factor) with guys like Hobgood, Frabizio, Bundy, Moore, Beal, etc... fighting for spots. though it might be better for some of the younger guys to stay in Florida then head to Aberdeen in June.
I am so thrilled with the rebuilding plan and here is the reason. 5 years ago young guys like Arrieta, Patton, Erbe & Britton would of been penciled into the rotation and not given the chance to fully develop. Last years starting 5 in Baltimore was pretty brutal but those wash-ups gave guys like Tillman, Matusz & Hernandez more time in the minors to polish their games. And because of that, The guys in the upper minors now are given the chance to stay in those leagues and succeed there. It's the same idea that went into the O's signing Tejada, Atkins & Gonzalez, now Bell, Snyder, Mickolio & Lebron can spend the year learning in AAA in or in Mickolio's case, less pressure situations out of the bullpen.
______________________
You certainly have a good understanding of how that works with developing players. I like your thoughts on going slower with Coffey. I think, in addition to what you wrote, the fact he had surgery last March is another reason this year they may keep him to a lower innings total and just let him get his feet under him as a pro pitcher. He could be one of the top guys of the next wave as the O's try to hit you with wave after wave of young pitching............Steve
Thanks for the update Steve. Do you know how fast he is throwing now?
_______________________
As he said in the article, they are not looking for him to air it out yet and we won't know more about his velocity until later. He is confident he might get it all back and then some.....Steve
Thanks Steve for the updates. This is something I have been very eager to hear about. Coffey is a very good young pitching prospect and is the type we need more of in our system. Coffey was labeled a supplemental 1st to early 2nd round type talent, but could have improved that if he had a chance to pitch the entire season. For all we know, he could have picked up another tick or 2 on his FB just as he got a bit more loose through the season. Regardless, he will be one of the main SPs in the lower minors who I will follow this season. You gotta love LHP with massive projection in their frame while already having a mid 90 fastball and good changeup. I could definitely see him being a SP who sits in the mid 90's touching 98 or so....
Steve, Kudos on another fine article. I look forward to reading about what changes he made in his delivery post-TJ surgery.
Peter, well stated. I agree.
Ryan, while a appreciate your enthusiasm and knowledge of draftable/signable players, you often make some pretty huge leaps. To spare Steve and other commenters, I won't get back into a long discussion about Sano, but I seem to remember the O's did offer Sano a contract. He just didn't accept it. Why he didn't accept it? Who knows? Did he want more money? Were the O's willing to offer more? Were they given the chance to offer more? These are things we don't know. Asking Steve whether he's heard anything is a step in the right direction, but I would think if he had heard anything, he would have written it. At this point, Sano is a Twin. Let it go.
Your second leap is regarding the "best player available". What is your definition that? You seem to be suggesting that the O's select college players because they are the "best player available". Is it possible that player X is the best player available - just not at that particular time? Let's say for example, player X is a very good college player. Round 1 talent. Player Y on the other hand, has the tools, has the make-up but is just a raw high school senior. Is it not possible that Player X is the best he'll ever be, while Player Y turns into Albert Pujols? Don't you think that the best judges of that would be Joe Jordan, his staff and other scouts - people who have actually seen these players play. Maybe you have. If so, my apologies. I haven't, so I'm going to take the word of the people who get paid to make these decisions and not second-guess them. That, of course, is your prerogative.
And while it's also your prerogative, how can you say "When you forget about the money..."? This isn't some fantasy league. While we know it is just a game, it is also a business and one can't just "forget about the money". That's part of what Joe Jordan and David Stockstill have to consider. I'm just glad they're the ones making the decisions and not you. Nothing personal and I hope you'll continue to be an enthusiastic fan (it goes without saying that you will, but I figured I'd say it anyway), just don't apply for any front office jobs anytime soon (unless you want to go spend the Yankees' or Red Sox's money).
Steve: How about some pictures of these kids so we know who we are talking about? Lots of good young arms down on the farm
_________________
We have run some photos in stories before on the minor lg guys. We don't have everyone covered but I'm sure we'll be getting more............Steve
Love the renewed interest in the minor leagues that seems to have been rekindled with the arrival of Markakis. I do have a question for all the fans that refer to the Hobgood thing, what in the world are you talking about. Jordan has said numerous times publicly that they picked the player that they thought was the best player available. He has earned the right to have his judgment respected many times over. I am quite confused by the qualifications of those who knock this pick and even more intrigued by there lack of explanation as for who should have been picked and why. My best guess is that your all wrong and Jordan is right and I have actually seen him pitch live.
Peter said:
"Hobgood, Frabizio, Bundy, Moore, Beal"
I'm liking this...
"wave after wave of young pitching."
Yeah! I like that.
Come get some!
Imagine the contract negoticiations for the guy that got picked immediately after Coffey in the 22 round. "My client was picked one slot after a player who got $990,000, so I guess I'll settle for $980,000, that sounds fair to everyone right? What do you mean no?" LOL.
Steve-
Speaking of this though, who was that other pick that received a record bonus? I think it was the 11th or 12th round. Another surgery return guy i believe.
Boldin going off next season? SB Champs?
____________________________
It was Micheal Ohlman a catcher they drafted in the 11th round out of a high school in Bradenton, Florida. He got a reported 995-K bonus. The O's like his arm strenght and power potential.............Steve
Joe Jordan deserves a lot of credit. I love how he handles the draft.
Steve,
Excellent article. Really love following the baby birds! And Peter's post above hit the nail on the head. We finally got someone to focus on acquiring players through the draft, and more specifically player development. It's one thing to draft a talented young kid, however it's what you do to aid their development that matters even more so. While Andy MacPhail might be deliberate in player moves at the major league level, he was fairly aggressive in addressing the minors and targeting player development. Rightfully so. We have done a really good job in that area since the Harry Dalton & Frank Cashen eras. Now we need to focus on the infield while adding more pitching depth.
Ryan,
The Hobgood thing? What does that mean? He was a first round talent pitcher and the O's selected him. And please tell me which credible publications have written him off? Heck, I'll make it even easier for you, which credible publications have the kid marked as a bust, or don't like his potential? See Ryan, it's that 2nd comment (potential) that most high school players are targeted for. When drafting HS players you not only pick them for their small sample of work, but how they project down road. This kid obviously has a power arm and power pitcher build, but equally important, what do his mechanics look like. I like Hobgood. So Did Baseball America. yeah they liked some other HS pitchers a little more too. But it's not about what they look like coming out of HS, it's about where they end up, once they are ready to hit the big stage.
Steve,
I really believe in the end, this kid Hobgood will silence the critics. What's not to like? And I take no stock one way or the other in a limited amount of work in the minors after being drafted. This kid wanted to be here, and that counts in my book too.
As for Coffey, I like this pick a lot. And the fact the O's just want him to focus on throwing with clean mechanics and not worry about velocity shows they are handling this correctly. Lots to like at the minor league level don't you think?
Steve,
Thanks for these interviews. I think while you have access, one thing that might be interesting is looking at overslot guys from previous drafts, the good and the bad.
______________________________
An interesting topic, for sure one to look into.........Steve
6'5" lefty that throws 95mph in the 22nd round, Wow! I hope he can locate hit pitches, either way, this was a nice little story to read with my morning Coffee. Thanks Stevo!
_________________
You got it.........Steve
You've been doing a really good job with your reports, thank you!
__________________
Thanks, Jason.....Steve