Standing tall at 6 feet 5 inches, 21 year old Minnesota Twins pitching prospect, Tyler Robertson, is quite the presence on the mound.  Any pitcher with that kind of height is going to blow hitters away with 95 MPH fastballs, right?  Not so fast, Robertson’s fastball consisently radars in between 85-90 MPH.

Without the Backyard Baseball “Fireball” in his arsenal, Robertson knows that he must come fully prepared every 5th day. So far, he is everything the Twins were expecting and more when they drafted him out of high school in the 3rd round of the 2006 Amateur Draft.  Besides the upper-80’s fastball with good action, Robertson also mixes in a changeup, slider, and curve.

Prior to the 2008 season, Robertson was striking out an amazing 28 percent of all the hitters he faced.  Unfortunately, he has only managed to strike out 18 percent of hitters since that time period.  Has Robertson hit the “lefty wall” at Single-A?  I would like to say no. Robertson was shut down for half of the 2008 season due to bicep tendinitis.  Small injuries like this are usually more of a setback then a long term problem.  I think we will only see Robertson’s arm strength and confidence improve as the season progresses, resulting in statistics closer to the pre-tendinitis era.

If Robertson can regain the control he had prior to the tendinitis setback, then the ceiling would appear to be a #2 starter, with #3 or #4 being likely.  Many people fear the worst with Robertson’s sketchy mechanics.  I am not an expert at pitch mechanics, so I am just hoping that is in the past, and Robertson can focus on reaching his middle of the rotation potential.

Comparable Pitchers: Manny Parra, Ted Lilly

MLB ETA: 2011

2011 Projection

Games Started: 22
Win-Loss: 7-7
ERA: 4.46
WHIP: 1.40
IP: 140
K’s: 118
BB: 56

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