Meet Sean O'Sullivan

by Jeff Zimmerman on Jul 27, 2010 1:31 AM EDT

All right, it is about time to get a close up look at Sean O'Sullivan.

Age 22

Height and Weight

6'2" 230 lbs – mlb.com and b-ref

6'1" 222 lbs – baseball cube

He is a big boy and can use to lose a few pounds. I like to use all three sources to see if there are any dependencies. The Baseball Cube is always a little behind, so it looks like he has gotten bigger over time.

Stats

I don't like to use FIPS or ERA without knowing the exact league and park factors in the minors, so here are his K/9 and BB/9 through the minors and majors along with his MLB ground ball rate. I combined his 2009 and 2010 major league stats are all data because of his limited time in the majors.

Season	Team	K/9	BB/9	GB%
2006	Angels (R)	6.94	0.88
2007	Angels (A)	7.11	2.27
2008	Angels (A+)	6.32	2.85
2009	Angels (AA)	6.75	0
2009	Angels (AAA)	6.26	2.61
2009/10	Royals and Angels	4.91	2.58	38%

He is a much better strikeout pitcher in the minors than so far in the majors, with a fairly consistent walk rate.

Here is a breakdown of how much hitters are swinging at his pitches:

Contact Rates
Outside Swing %	Outside Contact %	Strike Swing %	Strike Contact %	Swing Strike %
19.7	72.2	42.9	97.8	5.8

Almost 98% of pitches swung at in the strike zone lead to contact. He really has problems missing bats.

Pitches

Sean throws 3 pitches and here is how often and with what success (the higher the run value the better the pitch):

	FB	CB	CH	Unk
% Thrown	61.5	22.9	15.5	9.3
Run Value/100 PITCHES	-1.89	0.72	3.59

He doesn't have much success with his fastball, which he throws the most.

Finally, here is a look at the speeds of each pitch along with the grip I think he uses (these could be wrong, so feel free to correct me).

Fastball (ave = 90 mph)

Curve Ball (ave = 78 mph)

Change up (77mph)

Well, that is all I have for now. Feel free to ask any question if any of the information is now clear.

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Comments

Cough Sean Cough

by kcbottom9th on Jul 26, 2010 5:06 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks.

I can’t believe I did that

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by Jeff Zimmerman on Jul 26, 2010 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Still can't believe he is 22.

Dude looks older than that.

by WillieWannabe on Jul 26, 2010 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

I don't think 230 lbs is accurate either

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 27, 2010 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Thanks for the post

Just for the record, though, it’s Sean.

Good stuff!

by cookierojas73 on Jul 26, 2010 5:10 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks. I got it changed

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by Jeff Zimmerman on Jul 26, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions

They say his velocity was higher in HS, could there be any way at 21-22 he gains some more

velocity

Checkout Royals minor league notes at www.14for77.blogspot.com

by kcscoliny on Jul 26, 2010 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions

well, I'm 6'2" 230

but way better looking than Sean O’Sullivan.

Don't Fuccop Succop

by chicks_love_chiefs on Jul 26, 2010 5:36 PM EDT reply actions

I am agree. He is supporting my gut and I am only 6 ft

He is at least a good 250#

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by Jeff Zimmerman on Jul 26, 2010 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I had no idea this Shamus O'Toole guy was 22, I am now in favor of this tarde.

C'MON CHEN!!! ---Will Ferrell

by averagegatsby on Jul 26, 2010 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

Or even trade

C'MON CHEN!!! ---Will Ferrell

by averagegatsby on Jul 26, 2010 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

really it works either way

Don't Fuccop Succop

by chicks_love_chiefs on Jul 26, 2010 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd like to see his comps

That is, before liking Sully as part of the trade. His low K numbers scream “AAAA starter” as his ceiling. Having a throw-away AAAA starter isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t make for a successful trade, either.

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in Santa Monica, CA

by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jul 26, 2010 7:44 PM EDT up reply actions

don't get too excited

if a pitcher’s not very good in the minors, odds are he’ll be pretty worthless in the pros

batter nine you sucky

by marbotty on Jul 27, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

He will get better as he learns to stay on top of his front leg better

From watching him on sunday, he really falls off and loses some drive to the plate. Once he figures that out will be better. He’ll pick up a few more MHP on the fastball. The curve was sharp and will get sharper, and the change will be better. That’s why they only project him to be a number four starter in my opinion, he has a lot of work to do and his ceiling is limited. But, if he is better than Bannister, and Davies, this is a good thing.

Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.

by 306008 on Jul 26, 2010 7:07 PM EDT reply actions

Why do you think he hasn't learned to land on his front leg better?

I’m not being argumentative, just wonder why he hasn’t gotten that figured out (or figured out for him by a pitching coach)?

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by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jul 26, 2010 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Here is the game recap video

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10283067&topic_id=8877720&c_id=kc

Is there any pitch in there where he is not “planting his front foot better”

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by Jeff Zimmerman on Jul 26, 2010 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions

They only showed two of his pitches

So you can’t really get a conclussion from anything… however, you can see a problem. Consistency. He finishes hard to the left a few times and the BOMB he didn’t really finish at all. He stayed fairly straight up and down. It’s just a learning curve. He is a young pitcher and it takes a while for those guys to get things figured out sometimes. Being only 22, he has some things to learn. The double he gave up, watch where he finished that pitch at. Watch the established big league guys, compare them. They finish low and out in front most of the time.

If you look at the very top picture on this page, that is what I’m talking about when I say he doesn’t get out in front very good. His chest has to be on top of his landing knee.

Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.

by 306008 on Jul 26, 2010 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Why won't they hire you?

Kansas City Royals: your 2006 and 2007 NL Central champions!

by mazoboom on Jul 27, 2010 6:11 AM EDT up reply actions

306008

needs to be a pitching coach somewhere.

I heard Mizzous’ pitching coach is going to TCU (?) I think. You might want to apply if there is an opening.

Good stuff.

Given enough velocity even a pig will fly

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Jul 27, 2010 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I wonder if the FB picture isn't the Curve and the Curve picture the FB

Or maybe they’re the same pitch. The hand position on the ball is nearly the same in both pics – his thumb and index finger are in the same place relative to the seams on each of them. But his index and middle finger are together on the FB picture while separated on the Curve picture, and my guess would be that a pitch with fingers-together=Curve and fingers-apart=FB. Just a guess though.

Would you like to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or my blog...well you can't.

by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jul 26, 2010 7:41 PM EDT reply actions