Some good reviews for a few Illinois boys.
Best Fastball: Atlanta signed five pitchers who can reach the mid-90s. Devine leads the way with a fastball that tops out at 97, followed by RHP Jeff Lyman (2), who gets up to 96. LHP Beau Jones (1) and RHPs Mike Broadway (4) and Tyler Bullock (6) all can touch 95. Broadway’s fastball has the best life among that group.
Best Fastball: Hansen has a wicked 93-95 mph sinker that can reach 97. RHP Michael Bowden (1) also has heavy life on a consistent 92-93 mph fastball. Buchholz usually pitched at 93-94 mph in the late innings at Angelina, though he worked more at 88-92 during the summer.
Best Breaking Ball: Hansen's slider is a swing-and-miss pitch but wasn't at its best in his first pro summer. Bowden has a legitimate power curveball, while Buchholz throws both a hard slider and a good curve.
Best Pro Debut: OF Josh Flores (4) made the Rookie-level Appalachian League all-star team by batting .335-8-25 with 20 steals and a league-best 83 hits. The Astros sent OF Eli Iorg (1) to the same Greeneville club so he could nurse a foot injury close to his home in Tennessee. Old for the league at 22, Iorg hit as expected, batting .333-7-34 with 12 steals.
Best Athlete: Flores, who's making the transition from shortstop to center field, has top-of-the-line speed and some power. 3B Billy Hart (5) was a backup quarterback on Southern California's 2003 and 2004 national championship football teams.
Fastest Runner: Flores gets down the first-base line from the right side of the plate in 3.9 seconds, and he always runs hard.
Best Fastball: Though he was worn out after doubling as a starting pitcher and outfielder on Tulane's College World Series team, LHP Brian Bogusevic (1) still threw some 95 mph fastballs while working as a reliever after signing. He usually works at 89-93 mph when he's in the rotation. RHPs Ryan Mitchell (20) and Brandon Stricklen (42) both can touch 94.
Best Breaking Ball: Bogusevic's curveball can be nasty at times. It's a harder curve than LHP Cory Lapinski's (11), which helped him lead NCAA Division III with 16.0 strikeouts per nine innings for Illinois Wesleyan during the spring.
Closest To The Majors: As a lefthander with a plus fastball and a curve and changeup he throws for strikes, Bogusevic should advance rapidly.
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