KARSTEN WHITSON

6-4     210 LBS    Throws:  R  Bats:  R

Chipley  HS   (Chipley, FL)    Senior   DOB: 8/25/91  (18 yr  10 months)

Committed to the University of Florida Gators

The profile of Karsten posted previously on this site lists his weight at 190 lbs. A recent interview with Whitson updates that to 210 lbs. as a result of weight lifting during the previous winter.  He concentrated on his legs and upper body and is still in a growing phase. That is good news for the Padres. As is the fact that his recent fastball was clocked at 96 mph with still room to improve. He is currently sitting between 93-95 mph with the same sharp slider reported previously and an improvement on his circle change during this last season. He also uses a two-seam sinker at times and is working on improving it. He throws from a ¾ arm angle with a loose, live arm.

Although his control is pretty consistent currently, some tweeks to his delivery should improve both his control and his velocity. Several scouts have reported a couple glitches that should be relatively easy to fix. These include: hooking his wrist on occasion, throwing slightly across his body, and stiffenning his landing knee in his follow-through. With some changes in those areas, his velocity should improve and his control ought to be more consistent. It should also make for a more healthy arm in the future. The adjustments might add up to 3 mph to his velocity.

Karsten is an athletic and strong pitcher with a repeatable and basic delivery. His high leg kick prompts comparisons to Nolan Ryan or Trevor Cahill. He is very polished for his age with excellent mound presence and an aggressive attitude. One of his strengths is that not only can he produce swings and misses, but is also able to induce ground balls in a consistent fashion.

Scouts consider him to have a special arm with a good feel for all his pitches, developing better command and was recently ranked as the 2^nd best arm in the draft for a prep player. He projects as a top of the rotation starter, even an ace.

His senior stats:  7-3 record, 123 K in 55 innings

He pitched in the AFLAC All-American Classic last year at Petco Park so is already familiar with the Padres home park.

On the personal side, he has tremendous make up with advanced maturity. From  Bartow, Fl, Whitson was also a prep basketball player who stopped playing his senior year to focus on baseball. A Braves fan as a kid, he currently watches Josh Beckett, A J Burnett, Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson for inspiration. Burnett would also be a good comparison for his style of pitching.

Although committed to Florida (the alma mater of both his parents) he is not considered a tough sign for the Padres. There has not been any talk of him demanding above slot.

More information will come over the next few days and there will be updates here as the information comes in.  Feel free to comment and join in the discussion.