Scouting Notes: Aumont Dazzles, but Unheralded Yankee Hurler Steals Show

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- When the Phillies traded Cliff Lee to Seattle, getting a blue-chip pitching talent in return was absolutely pivotal. Phillippe Aumont was that guy, and he proved once again on Wednesday why he is so highly regarded. He was dominant against the Yankees' Double-A squad, but as impressive as he was, he was outdone by New York prospect Christian Garcia.

In an outstanding matchup of two right-handers with plus stuff, Aumont and Garcia were both dazzling on the fields behind Bright House Field. Both of these pitchers could give their respective organizations something they badly need -- frontline-caliber pitching prospects at the upper levels of the minors.

All About Aumont

The best way to describe Aumont when he's on his game? He's a force of nature. With one of the best sinking fastballs in professional baseball, there are points in the game where Aumont can use that pitch almost exclusively and completely dominate a lineup. On Wednesday, the 6-foot-7 right-hander had it all working. He got through the first couple of innings primarily with his devastating 92-94 mph sinking fastball. Aumont reached 96 mph once in his second inning of work and hit 95 several times throughout.

Aside from the plus raw velocity and movement, he has a lot of deception on his side. He works from a high three-quarters arm angle and has a slow, easy delivery. This makes his mid-90s velocity play even harder, and he's able to get a lot of very late swings. Aumont breaks bats, induces groundball after groundball, and, at least on Wednesday, seemed to show an understanding of just how much movement he has on his fastball. With that in mind, he attacks the heart of the plate and lets his two-plane two-seam action take over. This isn't a little sinking or tailing action either. This a two-seamer with boring movement that buries itself on the hands of hitters from the right side and also has the big downward action.

With one of the best sinking fastballs in professional baseball, there are points in the game where Aumont can use that pitch almost exclusively and completely dominate a lineup. So, how about the secondary pitches? What I like about Aumont is his awareness of what kind of pitcher he is and his confidence in his fastball. Let's not discount the fact that he has a plus breaking ball that grades out as a 6 offering on the 2-8 scouting scale either. He threw it at 76-80 mph on Wednesday, showed good 11-5 action and flashed the ability to back-door it against left-handed hitters and bury it against the righties. Aumont is not often a pitcher who knows how to set hitters up for the strikeout. He seems to simply pound the zone with his sinker and get quicker outs.

Because of that sinker, we don't get to see that breaking ball all that often. He also didn't use his changeup much on Wednesday, but it showed the makings of a usable pitch. At 83-84 mph, he has a solid differential off the fastball, with some good arm-side fade. His feel for the changeup has a ways to go yet, and he's not nearly as comfortable with it as his best two pitches. Right now, it's a fringe-average pitch with a chance to be an average offering.

There's some debate as to whether Aumont will start or relieve long-term (he started and tossed four strong innings Wednesday). But something to keep in mind on that topic: Aumont's stuff was a shade off from where it was at the beginning of the game by his fourth inning of work. His command was not quite as sharp and the velocity had dipped to around 91-92 mph.

It's not a concern at this stage in spring training, but it is something to keep an eye on if he continues to start. In either role, this is a guy with dynamic stuff, two plus pitches, improving command and big durable body to be a force at the big league level.

Say Hello to Christian Garcia

Unless you are a dedicated follower of Yankee prospects, chances are you're unfamiliar with right-hander Christian Garcia. Once upon a time, Garcia was selected near the top of the same Yankees draft class that brought Phil Hughes to the organization. Most scouts agreed at the time that while he wasn't the polished, complete package that Hughes was, he probably had the superior stuff of the two.

Since then, it's been a mess of injury woes for Garcia and he's had a hard time simply getting a season off the ground. In 2009, however, he finally seemed to be on his way back as he strung together five dominant starts with Double-A Trenton. It seems he has carried that over into spring training this year, looking close to untouchable in Wednesday's action.

Garcia came out of the gate locating and pounding the strike zone with a heavy, 90-92 mph fastball. By the end of his four-inning stint, he was living around 92-93 mph and reaching 94 on a couple of high fastballs. He has some deception in his delivery, hiding the ball well and coming right over the top, creating excellent downward plane. When he was at his healthiest, Garcia could consistently get it up into the mid-90s with good movement, and it looks like we are slowly seeing that come back. As it sits, he has plus velocity and plus movement, so if his arm strength does continue to improve as he gets some innings under his belt, then he could become an ever scarier proposition for hitters.

He's plenty scary right now though, and he has a lot more going for him than just his fastball. Garcia is a complete, three-pitch pitcher, and that is with three plus pitches. I don't like to throw around plus grades often, so to see a pitcher with three plus pitches is a real rarity. It's never been about stuff with this big right-hander; it's always been about his health.

Garcia's signature pitch is his hammer curveball at 79-82 mph. The best comparison for his breaking ball is A.J. Burnett's. Like Burnett's curveball, his action is late and very tight. As Jayson Werth learned on Wednesday, working out with the Phillies' Double-A squad, Garcia has the type of curveball that's close to unhittable even if you are expecting it in an 0-2 count. Werth struck out swinging twice against Garcia, both on breaking balls following high fastballs that he also swung through. His curveball grades out easily as a 7 pitch on the 2-8 scale. He made a lot of good hitters look lost on Wednesday, and he's going to produce a lot of swings and misses at the next level if he keeps spinning it with that type of command and action.

The arsenal doesn't end there. Garcia also showed off a plus changeup at 80-83 mph, which he was able to use very consistently against left-handed hitters. Also very impressive were the swings and misses he got with this pitch. You don't often see that with a pitcher that could easily just rely on his devastating breaking ball. His changeup grades out as a 6 on the 2-8 scale.

Consider the arsenal Garcia showed off on Wednesday. His plus fastball with good movement produces a huge amount of groundballs and broken bats. His curveball is an elite, swing-and-miss type pitch. And, he has a changeup he can locate with excellent consistency with a 10-14 mph differential from his fastball. The main complaint about the Yankees farm system from a pitching perspective is that they lack a hurler with frontline upside in the upper levels of their system. If Garcia is on the field and throwing like he did on Wednesday, that won't be the case for long.

Frankie Piliere spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.