A scout's take on Matt Bywater

O's scout Gil Kubski was the area scout for O's third-round draft pick Dan Klein of UCLA and also for seventh-round pick pitcher Matt Bywater, who agreed to terms with the club tonight. Here is Kubski's take on Bywater: "He's a 6'3", 6'4" left-hander, real lean. I think he's going to get bigger and stronger when it's all done. He's not a flame thrower, about 87 and will touch 90. "But he's got an outstanding change-up. If there's a better change-up in the country this year as an amateur, I'd be surprised. It's anywhere from 79 to 81 and just disappears at home plate. It's an amazing swing and miss pitch for him. "He also throws a slider that is his third pitch and needs some improvement and he's well aware of it. I think it's going to be an average pitch for him." Kubski says Bywater scores high in what some scouts call pitch-ability, the ability to set up hitters and mix his pitches and so forth. "Extremely high. He's got a real good understanding of how to pitch with his fastball. A lot of guys when they have a great change or breaking ball can fall in love with it. He knows that the more he uses his fastball, the more effective his secondary stuff is. And, he commands his fastball extremely well to both sides of the plate. He really has an understanding of how to succeed with his tools out there." Kubski said he was not at the game back in February when Bywater pitched a four-hit shutout with ten strikeouts this year vs. a top ten rated Cal-State Fullerton team that had two first-round picks in its lineup. "Joe (Jordan) was there and our scout out of Orange County, Mark Ralston was there. He was outstanding the whole game through and what a way to start the season. Joe actually also saw him in an intrasquad scrimmage two weeks before that. That was really beneficial to having him have those good looks." Bywater is expected to join Aberdeen and pitch some late this season. "He's never gotten out of shape," Kubski said. "He's been active and is probably a week plus from being in game shape."