Top 50 Twins Prospects 2009: #8 Shooter Hunt

2009 Top 50 Twins Prospects | #8 | Shooter Hunt

Position | Pitcher

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born | August 16, 1986 (Westwood, New Jersey)

School | Tulane University

Height | 6'3''

Weight | 200 lbs.

2008 Ranking | Not Ranked




Breakdown
Shooter Hunt was drafted in the Supplemental 1st Round of the 2008 draft. Originally thought to be a top 10-15 pick, the Twins got great value with this pick and is considered by many to be the steal of the draft. Hunt has three above average pitches which make him an instant top 10 prospect by many people's standards. He features an electrifying fastball that generally sits in the low-mid 90's but can touch the mid-high 90's on occasion. He has a hard 12-6 curveball with a good changeup. Hunt's biggest downfall is his lack of command.

His Scouting Report on The Baseball Cube show that while he is outstanding in some aspects of his game, his control has a lot of work. Partially the problem with his control is that he's throwing the ball so hard with so much movement that his control becomes very inconsistent. He began his professional career with the Elizabethton Twins but after four dominating starts, he moved up to Beloit and finished the season in the Midwest League with the Snappers. By the time he reached the Snappers, he was worn down which was evident by his terrible numbers from mid-August to the end of the season. He was 1-2 with a 3.26 in his first 4 starts. His last 3 didn't go so well, going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. I expect Hunt to move quickly through the organization much like another pitcher did with the Twins a few years ago (Matt Garza). He'll probably start the season in Low-A Beloit but I expect him to be in at least Advanced-A Ft. Myers by the end of the season. The sky's the limit for Hunt.

2008 Statistics

Level      W      L      ERA      IP      K      BB      WHIP      WP

R          0      0     0.47    19.0     34       6      0.53       3
A-         1      4     5.46    31.1     34      27      1.69       6

2009 Outlook
Hunt should move quickly through the system, but he'll likely begin the season in Beloit before moving up to Ft. Myers (hopefully) around mid-season.

Pitching Repertoire

• Fastball
  
• Curveball
• Change-up

Video

Here's another one.

Estimated Time of Arrival
2010