Taylor Jungmann Is an Old Soul

I don’t know, I think he needs another year.

One of my favorite baseball Longhorns ever. Great post. I hope he lights it up in the MLB (preferably for my Braves, however unlikely).

I’m not so sure Jungman is ready for the big time. I was watching this kid (see link) hit everything Taylor threw at him.

http://www.deadgiveaway.com/Jungman-MG-sm.jpg

Jungmann has been mature beyond his years since he was in high school. Really nice kid.

He does land stiffly, partly I think because he under rotates his front foot, i.e. he doesn’t quite point it to home plate. This also contributes to his head jerk because he’s twisting his body past his foot. I think this may be a flexibility/mobility issue more than anything else.

If he can improve the landing position of his front foot, it will be easier for him to increase his leg drive as well. Oh and his glove tuck needs work.

These issues take approximately 1 year and 2 months to work through, give or take a few days in Omaha.

Texoz:

That kid looks legit, glad to see he’s wearing orange

About a dozen UT players, including Jungmann, with two n’s (sorry about that) and Coach Garrido, were at a one day camp in Austin this January. All the players were great with the kids (ages 7 to 12).

If my kid ever says he’s having trouble hitting, I’m going to show him that pic and say, “If you can hit off this guy, you can hit anyone.” Taylor was very humble and respectful. I look forward to watching his career in the major.

I was fortunate enough to be at Rosenblatt 2 years ago for Jungmann’s 6-hit masterpiece against LSU. Words fail me in describing how dominant that performance seemed in person.

We don’t talk about that series on Barking Carnival, Dmitri.

f LSU.

And welcome aboard to the lovechild of Jeff Beck, David Beckham, and a flight attendant not to be named.

Our pitching should be nasty by the end of the year to the point we won’t even need to steal home to score runs.

Well, I only caught the one game. I take it game 3 didn’t turn out so well?

Great post, Jeff — nice work. I’ve seen Jungmann pitch only a few times, but was very impressed. I’ve heard that scouts love his “intangibles,” but that’s obviously not what vaulted him into the various top 10 or top 20 draft prospect lists. Jungmann has a shitload of upside, but you’re spot on with the “lingering questions.”

I’ll bet you a case of yellowbellies that whoever drafts Jungmann WILL tinker with his mechanics if for no other reason than to protect their investment. If he’s drafted along the lines of his projected slot, he’s in for a massive payday. When it comes time for any club to make a big dollar decision on a college pitcher with Jungmann’s heavy workload, an evaluation of his mechanics by the medical staff will be just as important as the scouting reports. For example, if the Rangers had a chance to draft him, I can guarantee you that the club’s orthopedic surgeon, Keith Meister (who also has a biomechanics lab for pitchers in his own facility) would at the very least be watching a bunch of video. I’ve read or heard the same concerns you mentioned about how he generates velocity, and what ML teams really worry about these days is the pressure that young power pitchers put on their shoulder when they don’t “pitch from the trunk.”

Ultimately, I think the “interesting spot” you speak of — tinker with the mechanics or don’t fix what isn’t broken — is approached differently by the pros and major college programs. For the latter, you have not only a very limited temporal window with the kid, but you also have the assorted bullshit restrictions on how much time you can spend with them. At the same time, you’re expected to win — especially at a place like Texas — whereas minor league staffs clearly have much more leeway to put player development ahead of kicking ass in the Sally League.

Texoz, was that from the NWLL clinic? My son did that clinic as well. Were you there when Coach Garrido spoke to the parents?

Nice writeup. Jungmann is so calm and unflappable on the mound it’s unreal. He’s supremely confident and knows he’s a badass, but he doesn’t feel the need to make a show of it or tell everybody about it like, say, Matt Purke of TCU.
A terrific pitcher and terrific kid. Sure hope this team can get back to Omaha so he can show his stuff on the biggest stage in college baseball again before he goes and starts getting rich.

Good stuff, Jeff.
 
Taylor is in my pantheon of all-time Longhorn baseball favorites.
 
I suspect he has both the maturity and ability to make a rapid rise through whatever organization drafts him, whether they tinker with his delivery or not.

Any chance the Astros use their number 1 overall pick they will have for him? A little more seriously, the Astros will probably be picking in the 7-11 spot. Maybe there is a chance they will pick him up?

Hmmm, not long ago, the tall-and-fall, stiffer-front-leg delivery had the edge in the pros over the older drop-and-drive, softer-landing-leg style of pitching. The idea was that the stiffer leg would translate forward momentum up into the torso, which would account for Jungmann’s speed without undue throwing effort. Much of the popularity came from Don Sutton, who pitched in the pros for more than twenty years with a landing leg that was nearly locked straight.

chitwood said: April 8th, 2011 at 9:32 am
Texoz, was that from the NWLL clinic? My son did that clinic as well. Were you there when Coach Garrido spoke to the parents?

Yep. It got pretty emotional when Coach was talking about Silver’s health problems and what Silver said. That kid should be an inspiration to everyone. Basically, Silver said he was glad it was him who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma because he thought he had the best support network of friends, family and teammates that anyone could hope for. Talk about a kid with great character.

Heck, if I got that news I’d probably knock off a convenience store and go on a drug & hooker binge.

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. You know how to make a fellow feel welcome. I’ve been out of commission for the past few days with an out-of-town trip and a bug I picked up on the way back, but I hope to back to full posting strength soon.

Judging by the way you write, you seem like a professional writer.