Signability issues pushed Jered Weaver to the 12-spot in the 2004 entry draft, but the kid exploded right out of Long Beach State and into the Angels’ lap. Funny that a guy with a 1.63 ERA and 213:21 K:BB in his draft year would last 12 picks after winning the Golden Spikes award - NCAA player of the year - in ‘04, yet teams were worried about that signing bonus. Guess what, he’s a Scott Boras client. And clubs were a little wary of that $10 million chunk the SoCal kid wanted out of college.

But Weaver got his cash and settled into the minors in ‘05, going 7-4 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.24 WHIP between A+/AA. He struck out 46 and walked 19 in 43 IP, giving up 43 hits. Not great numbers for a college pitcher at that level, but still OK.

Then he shows up at AAA Salt Lake in ‘06, going 6-1, with a 1.99 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 77 IP, striking out 93 and walking 10. That’s what you call an adjustment. With the huge statistical improvement Jered forced himself into the Angels rotation, pushing his brother, Jeff, to the scrap heap. Now he’s 7-0 with a 1.51 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in the majors, with a 44:13 K:BB in 53 IP. Where does he go from here? Well, given his huge debut, you shouldn’t be looking for a statistical improvement.

Weaver features a low-90s - 92/93 - fastball that he seems able to spot right on the outside corner. The pitch doesn’t move, but he hides the ball out of his hand making it very tough to hit on the black. His slider’s the unconventional 12-9 kind, moving down-and-in to lefties and away from righties. It’s a tough pitch that lefties shouldn’t be able to handle. He also throws a curve and a change that are both solid but unspectacular. He’s a fastball/slider pitcher who’ll mix in his other pitches for variety.

A lot of his effectiveness has to do with the fact that he’s 6′7, throwing everything on a downward plane.

Projecting Weaver’s future seems pretty easy. Just take a look at Mike Mussina and draw your line curve through his stats. Both employ deception in their deliveries and both are control pitchers with low-90s fastballs and slider/curve out pitches. Weaver has Mussina’s pedigree, and right now he’s sharing his hot start. At 6′7, 205, Weaver isn’t likely to flame out from wear-and-tear, but he might have a little hiccup with his delivery every once-in-a-while.

It’s only a matter of time before guys start to hit him better, but as long as he maintains his command he’ll post his share of quality starts.

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