Jacob Turner and Jordan Danks, Scouting the Unknown

One of my favorite young arms in the minors. Turner has the perfect frame to continue developing into a power pitcher. He throws both a two and four-seam fastball sitting between 92-94 MPH and peaking at 96 MPH with heavy sink. In addition, there is a 12-to-6 curve that continues to be refined into a hammer-curve, along with a changeup that projects to be slightly above average. Mechanically speaking, he has a smooth, clean and fluid delivery. Able to mix pitches well and throws with polish expected in more experienced veterans. He’ll need to continue to fill out his frame and develop stamina to pitch late into games. At the current time, there isn’t any concerns about his injury history. Projects as a high-ceiling number one or two starter.

Career Stats (inc. 2011): 7.8 K/9 | 1.9 BB/9 | 168 2/ IP | 3.04 ERA | 1.09 WHIP | .6 Hr/9 | 7.9 H/9
2011 Stats (AA): 7.4 k/9 | 2.0 BB/9 | 53 1/3 IP | 2.53 ERA | 3.75 FIP | 1.01 WHIP | .7 Hr/9 | 7.1 H/9 | .250 BABIP

I’ve compared him to a mini-Verlander in the past, both for his frame and power pitching prowess. That might be stretching the truth just a bit. Turner has the frame to be a workhorse, the repertoire for a dominant starter, the mechanics to ward off significant injuries and, most importantly for us, strikeout potential. A career 7.8 K/9 isn’t fantastic, but combined with his 1.9 BB/9 career walk rate and young age (20 as of last Saturday), he has the skills to be another Roy Oswalt or, at worse, Dan Hudson. Statistically speaking, he’s been fairly lucky with the percentage of balls in play that have fallen for hits and limiting runners from scoring. This year alone, his left-on-base rate is 81.9%. There are not any Home/Road splits, or LHB or RHB splits to note. His ETA is September 2011 at the earliest. The Tigers have several options before him in the minors. Most likely ETA is June 2012.

The younger brother of John, Jordan has not had the same success. Jordan, coming out of high school when he was drafted, was projected as big-power bat. Initially, scouts saw a player that could utilize the entire field with gap-power and good pull-power. The power has yet to be shown in games. Until this year, he has struggled hitting advanced pitching – Double and Triple-A. Struggles with pitch recognition and strikeouts (~30% strikeout rate). Danks plays quality defense in center field along with an average arm and plus-speed. His skills have yet to develop into tools; quickness and plus-speed have not translated onto the bases. Frame projects to have more power potential than what has been displayed. His current skills — strong defense, great speed and struggles to consistently hit advanced pitching — leads scouts prior to the 2011 season, to project Danks as a reserve outfielder. With continued refinement to his hitting approach, Danks plausibly could be an option as a third/fourth outfielder playing good defense with an adequate bat. Very well could be a late bloomer.

Career Stats (inc. 2011): .259/.339/.418 | 1057 AB | 98 XBH | 27 Hr | .169 ISO | 32/10 SB/CS | 309:117 K:BB
2011 Stats (AAA): .262/.349/.546 | 130 AB | 19 XBH | 9 Hr | .284 ISO | 4/0 SB/CS | 39:17 K:BB | .305 BABIP

There have been a few mulled rumors that Danks may get a chance to play in the majors this year for the White Sox. They are pretty quiet rumors at this point. There are a few points that should be raised. First off, he looks to be a better candidate for a platoon. His slash against LHP in 45 at-bats this year is .222/.327/.356 as opposed to hitting .284/.366/.636 against RHP in 88 at-bats. Additionally, he has hit better at home, which slightly favors pitchers historically, albeit a park that rates as an easy place to hit home runs. Danks power this year has been on display at home and on the road. After starting the year cold, in May he has turned it around. The strikeouts are still a concern (39 in 130 at-bats), but the power appears to be peaking. The small sample size, 130 at-bats, is not enough to draw large conclusions, however, these are some good signs. He’s starting to hit advanced pitching with more success. I believe his statistical ceiling could be another Colby Rasmus if he continues to hit like he has this year.