Joe Savery
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| Joe Savery on the mound. Photo from C-USA site. |
LHP/1B, Rice (profile)
HT: 6'3" WT: 215 lbs.
2005 Pitching Stats: 19 APP, 17 GS, 2 CG, 1 SV, W-L 8-5, 118 2/3 IP, 104 H, 43/32 R/ER, 37 BB, 129 K, 2.43 ERA, .235 BAA
2005 Hitting Stats: 63 GP/GS, .382 BA, .471 OBP, .559 SLG, 204 AB, 49 R, 78 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 43 RBI, 35 BB, 35 K, 7 SB
2006 Pitching Stats: 13 APP, 11 GS, W-L 5-1, 62 IP, 55 H, 21/19 R/ER, 24 BB, 62 K, 2.76 ERA ERA, .240 BAA
2006 Hitting Stats: 69/68 GP/GS, .335 BA, .442 OBP, .528 SLG, 254 AB, 61 R, 85 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 66 RBI, 50 BB, 45 K, 7 SB
Bio: David Price, Nick Schmidt and Joe Savery are all top starters in college baseball but only Savery will not be a Friday starter for his team. In a recent college chat at Baseball America with Aaron Fitt, Fitt said he spoke to Rice's head coach Wayne Graham who offered up this bit of info: Savery will start Sunday so his arm will be fresh. Savery also doubles as the first baseman and designated hitter for the Owls so by pitching on Sunday his bat won't be affected for the first two games of the series.
According to most reports Savery pitch, his fastball is usually between 92-94 MPH and a slider that can occasionally reach 90 MPH (this site backs that claim up, as well as this one). He also has the potential to throw a "dominant" curveball, according to Patrick Ebert of Brewerfan.net.
After his All-American Freshman season in 2005, Savery pitched for Team USA during the summer where he held batters to a .235 BAA and struck out 13 in nine innings. He did not pitch during the 2006 summer because of a combination of an earlier shoulder injury and surgery.
His bat also works well though it's not at an elite level. He has some power potential but nothing compared to some of the big sluggers in the Majors. Might some team want to draft Savery as a hitter? Certainly, but he would need a severe drop off in performance as a pitcher in order for that to happen. Or there is the reverse John Van Benschoten case: most regard him as a pitcher and then some team drafts him as a hitter after excelling at both positions.
Important Games:
2/9/07: Savery won't pitch against Vandy's David Price, but it should be an interesting hitter-pitcher matchup.
2/16/07-2/18/07: vs. Long Beach State.
2/24/07: vs. Nebraska.
3/2/07-3/4/07: at Cal State Fullerton.
4/13/07-4/15/07: at Houston.
4/17/07: at Texas.
5/11/07-5/13/07: vs. Tulane.