Erik Cordier Scouting Report (2008)
Cordier is a former 2nd round pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 2004 draft. He was dealt to the Braves for Tony Pena Jr. prior to the 2007 season. In his young career, Cordier has already missed two full seasons due to a knee injury and Tommy John surgery. With only 104 career inning pitched in 4+ years as a professional, his career prospects have dimmed some. At 22, he will need to stay healthy and improve quickly in order to make it to Atlanta. After learning more about his injury history, I'm a bit more bullish on him than I was during the outing;
While I don't see him as a future starter based on time lost to injury and unimpressive secondary offerings, I'd give him another year before writing him off entirely as a failed prospect. If he can gain a couple of more ticks on his fastball post surgery and improve his secondary offerings, he could find himself in Atlanta as a quality middle reliever/spot starter type.
- Looked about 6'1", not his listed height of 6'3"; His listed weight of 214 lbs. looked about right
- First pitch of the game was 93 MPH
- 90-93 fastball MPH throughout; topped out at 94 MPH
- Easy, fluid delivery when at 90 MPH; Visibly strained to get up to 93 MPH
- Flashed 84-86 MPH changeup; Left it up in the zone
- Serious let up on the change; lacked follow through on the pitch
- Curveball in the upper 70's
- Curveball hit hard; lacked bite
- Visibly struggled with curveball feel between innings
- Even keel on the mound; Secondary stuff was lacking, but he worked efficiently and kept attacking
While I don't see him as a future starter based on time lost to injury and unimpressive secondary offerings, I'd give him another year before writing him off entirely as a failed prospect. If he can gain a couple of more ticks on his fastball post surgery and improve his secondary offerings, he could find himself in Atlanta as a quality middle reliever/spot starter type.
