SCOUTING REPORT / BEN TOOTLE
Falmouth / Cape Cod League (2008)
Tootle went 10-2, 3.87 with 79 strikeouts in 86 innings as an all-Ohio Valley Conference starting pitcher as a sophomore. He was a relative unknown at the time of his arrival in Falmouth, but his stature changed overnight as he immediately began pumping mid-90s fastballs consistently in his new role as a closer. He routinely worked in the 96-97 mph range during the summer, occasionally touched 98 and even hit a 99. Despite his modest 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame, Tootle possessed the most explosive arm in the Cape Cod League. He wasn’t just a one-trick pony, either, as he also buckled the knees of righthanded hitters with his hard, dynamic breaking ball—a pitch that was a cross between a slider and curve. On the strength of the most-consistently dominating stuff in the league, Tootle went 3-3, 1.97 with five saves in 22 relief appearances. He struck out 44 in 32 innings, while opponents hit just .183 against him. But Tootle wasn’t always invincible as his fastball was frequently straight and in the middle of the plate, and his arm action tended to be a little long at times, enabling hitters to pick up the ball with relative ease coming out of his hand. While Tootle took and ran with his new role as a closer, he is expected to return to the Friday slot in Jacksonville State’s rotation—though he’ll begin the 2009 season with a considerably higher profile than he finished the 2008 campaign. He’ll need to concentrate on improving his fastball life and command, and tighten his breaking ball for it to become a more effective weapon consistently against lefthanded hitters.

--ALLAN SIMPSON