Today: FLA Prospect Sean West
A towering 6 foot 8 Cajun with a devasting left arm, Sean West is one of the Florida Marlins top pitching prospects. Drafted out of high school by the Marlins in 2005, he's quickly risen through the ranks to become one of the team's premium young arms.
After blowing through Rookie and low-A ball in 2005, Sean spent the entire 2006 season at Greensboro in the Sally League, making 21 consecutive starts and posting a 3.74 ERA. His strikeout to walk rate was a satisfying 102:40, and he posted an 8-5 record for the Grasshoppers before his season was cut short by a shoulder injury.
| Yr | Tm | Age | Lvl | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | K/9 | WHIP |
| 2005 | GCL Marlins | 19 | R | 2 | 3 | 2.35 | 9 | 8 | 38.1 | 33 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 40 | 9.39 | 1.04 |
| 2005 | Jamestown | 19 | A- | 0 | 2 | 5.73 | 3 | 3 | 11.0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 11.45 | 2.00 |
| 2006 | Greensboro | 20 | A | 8 | 5 | 3.74 | 21 | 21 | 120.1 | 115 | 55 | 50 | 13 | 40 | 102 | 7.63 | 1.29 |
| 2008 | Jupiter | 22 | A+ | 1 | 2 | 4.24 | 5 | 5 | 17.0 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 8.47 | 2.00 |
West's extreme size (he's 6 foot 8) combined with his whiplike three-quarters delivery from the left side brings up obvious Randy Johnson comparisons, and they're not completely unfounded. West's mid-90's fastball has late break that can miss bats, and his slider and slurve look like possible plus pitches.
Sean spent the entire 2007 recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum, but his medical reports since have been nothing but positive. He'll need some time to rediscover his touch, especially on the breaking balls, but as long as he holds up he should remain on top of the prospect charts. He looks like he could break into the Marlins rotation as soon as 2010, though if the team chooses to convert him into a relief role, he might see the big leagues a year sooner than that.
Update: Easing back into a starting role down in high-A Jupiter, Florida, West looks every bit the power pitcher he was before surgery. In five starts, he's struck out 16 batters with his fastball, though his slowly-developing secondary offerings are still a bit raw: he's walked 14. The Marlins are looking for signs of progress as West claws his way back. He should start 2009 in AA as one of the Marlins' very top prospects.
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