Sunday, May 4, 2008

The Joba Replacement Program
Candidate #2 - JB Cox

From The Thunder Blog, comes the member of the Tommy John quartet who's closest to the majors - J.B. Cox. [The rest of the TJ foursome includes Humberto Sanchez, Mark Melancon and darkhorse Christian Garcia]

Take a look at his patented outpitch, a consistently devastating slider:



Meanwhile, Cox was excellent over 41 appearances at AA in 2006. The former Texas University closer [and Huston Street's successor] logged 77 innings, allowing 54 hits, 24 walks, striking out 60 to accompany a 1.75 ERA and 1.01 WHIP during his first stay at Trenton. In a small sample-size this year - a mere 10 innings - Cox allowed 10 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Assuming his stuff has returned to pre-Tommy John levels, Cox utilizes a fastball at 88-92 mph which has extremely heavy sink and movement. His best pitch, however, may be his hard biting slider which is generally 83-85 mph. The development of his changeup may be a key cog in his progress towards the big leagues.

The somewhat sidearm delivery Cox uses, as well as the power slider he commands so well, often draw comparisons to a dominant former Yankees setup man in Jeff Nelson. If Cox could ever mimic Nelson's efficiency in the 7th or 8th inning, the Yankees would be exponentially more comfortable with the prospect of Joba Chamberlain joining the rotation.

No comments: