Once again, please accept my humble apologies for not keeping this site updated. With the Hot Stove dying down, I plan on writing here much more. Anyway, way back in October I promised to take a look at Blake King. Without further ado…
If you like bloodlines, not many players have a more interesting one than King, who is the great-grand nephew of none other then Mickey Mantle. King led national Juco pitchers in strikeouts in 2005 (123 in 86) and 7th in ERA (1.05). He was drafted in ‘05 and signed in ‘06, and proceeded to tear up the Appy League.
King was 2nd in the Appy in strikeouts (74 in 63 IP) and 3rd in WHIP (1.05). He struggled with his control, giving up the 2nd most walks in the league with 29.
Scouts report that King has a deceptive, max-effort delivery that comes over the top. His fastball is in the low 90’s, but he can hit 94. He also has a late breaking slider that is his out pitch. He has a tendency to pitch up in the zone, but only allowed 3 homeruns all season in a very hitter friendly park.
King’s been the big fish in some small ponds. It’ll be interesting if he can translate his success in higher levels. I think he could be ready to make the jump to the Midwest League a la Jaime Garcia ‘06. At 19, he as time to harness his command, and his velocity could improve as he gains strength. It will be interesting to see if he can learn keep the ball down, which you know he’ll hear preached night and day in this system.
Filed under: Blake King, prospect profiles
