This is the second part of the "Getting to Know" series, where information will be provided on guys that we drafted this year in June. I will be looking at guys like Espinosa and Hicks (earlier picks), once they sign, because I would not want everyone to get their hopes up on some guy that we do not even end up getting. I figure that picks such as Aaron Crow and Destin Hood have been covered enough already and do not really warrant a much closer look than what has already been provided. My intention, from the start, has been to unearth useful information on guys that could end up being the next John Lannan or Adian Alaniz, guys who are not as well known, but still may end up being key guys one day for us in the future. Today we will be looking at former University of South Carolina pitcher Will Atwood.
Atwood is a lefty with a decent frame at 6'2 and 195 lbs that currently sports two fully developed pitches: a fastball (high 80s-low 90s) and a solid changeup. He has not yet developed his breaking ball (his curveball has low velocity at around 72 MPH and very little spin), this will be something I am sure he will work on at Vermont, like many other pitchers do during the short season. He was able to improve his control considerably in his three years at college. Here is the full scouting report on him from PGCC:
Atwood produced more of the same results this spring as he did in his first two years in college, but he was used as a starter and his stuff and command were noticeably better. He never had a consistent breaking ball in the past, but he was able to throw his curve effectively to both left- and righthanded batters. His fastball was consistently 90-91 mph, and he held his velocity deeper into games. Entering SEC tournament play, Atwood was 5-3, 4.98 with 29 walks and 59 strikeouts in 72 innings.
AND from 2007, when he was rated as the 90th best prospect in the Cape Cod summer league. Many college players participate in the Cape Cod league during the summer and in 2007, there was around 200 former Cape Cod players on Major League rosters. Atwood was twice a Cape Cod league all-star:
Atwood is raw at this point in his development, despite posting impressive 2-0, 1.29 numbers in 16
relief appearances. He produces an 89-91 mph fastball from an overhand slot with a good downward plane on his pitches. He is still developing other aspects of pitching, but could be a good one once he learns how to pitch.
Atwood may be familiar to a few of you guys, especially if anyone watched the regional portion of the College World Series (the four teams in this region were South Carolina, North Carolina State, James Madison University, and Charlotte). South Carolina was able to make it to the final game of the bracket against North Carolina State, a game which Atwood was the starter. Atwood took the loss in the game, but was able to retire the first 10 batters in the Wolfpack's lineup. In the fourth inning, he let up a home run that eventually would become the game winner. A rain delay caused Atwood to get pulled (1:30 minute delay). All and all, Atwood had a very good performance in a very big game, but came up short. In full disclosure, I am a bit bitter towards South Carolina, as they eliminated my Dukes from the CWS, but it is understandable as USC had a great team this year. Also, USC coach Ray Tanner is, in my opinion, a great coach and has conceivably done everything to prepare Atwood for the possibility of a pro career.
At USC, during his Freshmen and Sophomore years, Atwood appeared in games as a reliever. His stats for those two years were as follows: 2006 [2-2, 4.91 ERA, 55 IP, 41 SO, 19 BB] and 2007 [4-2, 5.47 ERA, 49.1 IP]. This season, he finally had a chance to show his worth as a starter (12 GS in 16 appearances, even pitching a Complete Game). He posted a 5-4 record (all five victories coming against SEC opponents), pitching 82.1 innings. He posted a 5.25 ERA and a WHIP of 1.41, while maintaining a BB:SO ratio of 1:2. Batters were hitting .266 against him this season and he has proven to be more a pop-up pitcher than a ground ball guy.
Looking at his illustrious high school career at Greenville HS, he was 2004 and 2005 South Carolina All-State team, even being named as South Carolina AAA player of the year in 2005. He was both a batter and a pitcher during high school, and was one of the leaders of a team that went to the AAA State Championship game in 2005. An interesting tidbit, he and another Nationals draft pick, Danny Espinosa (3rd Round) competed in the Phil Nevin National Home Run Derby together in 2005, which Atwood was runner up in (below is a picture).
Espinosa (black) and Atwood (red) are the two guys standing next to each other in the middle.
Atwood signed with the Nationals only two days after he was selected. He has already pitched once for Vermont, giving up one hit in 2.0 scoreless innings of relief and striking out a batter. From what I have read, he seems to be a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders and to close us out, I leave you from some quotes by him (when he was deciding to sign or not):
"I like the Nationals. I like what they have to offer. It's about being in an organization that's going to be fair with you and where you might have an opportunity to move up," he said.
"Obviously you don't want to get drafted to a team where you're sitting behind 25 other guys before you really get your first crack. Money helps. But it's a combination of things."
Ill be back in a couple days with the third installment of "getting to know." Please feel free to leave comments, as well as to add any information that I have missed on.
BP's quick little blurb about Atwood, a good summation of what to expect I suppose:
Round 12. Will Atwood, LHP, South Carolina: A consistent lefty with a three-pitch mix who could turn into a back-end starter.
