Duncan
Russell

It was my first look at Russel and he had an outstanding performance with 12 K in 6.0 IP allowing 0 ER. Russel used a FB/SL/CH mix in his performance and his stuff has tons of movement behind good tunneling while getting ahead in counts. His power FB sat 91-93 (T94) using his arm side run on a right handed dominant lineup. Arm angle was a ¾ slot while his front foot landed straight on towards the plate. FB played well above the zone and he consistently hit the top inner half to force swing and miss. The SL displayed a tight horizontal break that came out of the hand looking like a FB. Spin on the pitch allows a tight break that comes from Russel’s deep extension into the zone. At the top of his release, he does a great job being set before delivery that allows him to fire from his backside straight to the plate. Long term profile, Russel can stick at the front end of a staff the more he can feel comfortable throwing a CH in his mix. Not only can this produce more outs, but it goes along with his fundamentally sound windup and ability to tunnel his pitches.