Victor Vodnik

No minor league thread tonight but wanted to point out what Vodnik is doing. He was our 14th round last year, we went overslot to get him.

After tonight, he’s thrown 8 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 12 K as a 19-year-old out of the Rome bullpen.

But the most interesting part is this tweet from a guy who covers the Sally League: “Victor Vodnik throwing some cheese. Big arm. I left my perch right before he came in but stadium gun 96-100. I saw one slider that looked tight.”

Obviously it’s a stadium gun, so who knows the validity of the velocity. But he’s off to a heck of a start.

Another tweet from the same guy: “Vodnik came back for a 2nd inning, so I sprinted back down. It's not just the heat, he pretty consistently hits the mitt to both sides. Actually threw a mid 80's change or split to end his 2nd inning. That showed solid sink. The speed differential is enough down here #Braves.”

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Originally Posted by CJ9

Another tweet from the same guy: “Vodnik came back for a 2nd inning, so I sprinted back down. It's not just the heat, he pretty consistently hits the mitt to both sides. Actually threw a mid 80's change or split to end his 2nd inning. That showed solid sink. The speed differential is enough down here #Braves.”

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We shall call him Dr. Doom.

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Originally Posted by Individual-1

We shall call him Dr. Doom.

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I was thinking more Bond villain.

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Originally Posted by Individual-1

We shall call him Dr. Doom.

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Beat me to it.

hope we give him a chance to develop as a starter

Call him up and put him in the pen now.

:happy0157:

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Originally Posted by Individual-1

We shall call him Dr. Doom.

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So right.

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Originally Posted by Julio3000

So right.

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Snidely Whiplash.

What was it Hank Aaron said about him on TV the other night ? That he was the most exciting prospect in the system or something similar ..?

Updated line on the year: 9.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 17 K.


AA did an interview on Sirius this morning with a guy who tweeted this:

Braves VP & GM Alex Anthopoulos also mentioned P Victor Vodnik as a player to keep an eye on in the future. Throwing 98. @SiriusXMFantasy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CJ9

Updated line on the year: 9.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 17 K.


AA did an interview on Sirius this morning with a guy who tweeted this:

Braves VP & GM Alex Anthopoulos also mentioned P Victor Vodnik as a player to keep an eye on in the future. Throwing 98. @SiriusXMFantasy

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get him to the pen

252. Victor Vodnik, rhp, Rialto HS
R-R, 5-11/175, Rialto, Calif.
College Commitment: Cal State Northridge

Vodnik was just starting to gain some local scouting attention last fall in Southern California when he went to the WWBA World Championship with BPA and ensured himself plenty of immediate national level scouting when he topped out at 95 mph with a mid-80s slider and upper-70s changeup. Although he is only 5-foot-11, Vodnik is an athletic and well-muscled righthander who doubles as Rialto's starting shortstop and hit .418 with 15 extra-base hits this spring. His high three-quarters arm slot gives him some downward angle to the plate and he does get some quality sink on his fastball down in the zone. Vodnik often pitched at 88-93 mph during starts this spring but topped out at 95-97 mph enough to show scouts it was there. His best secondary pitch this spring was his changeup, a rarity for a high school pitcher with that type of velocity, although he does flash potential with his slider, too. Overall the Cal State Northridge signee went 5-4, 2.84 with 85 strikeouts in 49 innings, although he also walked 33 hitters.

Kiley on Vodnik:

"He's years away but the arm strength has really come on. I saw him 92-95 with a 55 breaker in the fall before his draft year and it looked like a Trevor Bauer starter kit. Then during the spring I'm told he was 88-91 and most clubs weren't paying much attention. Then I saw him 92-95 in instructs after signing and now he's 94-98 in 2 inning stints for Rome, so I'll go track him down soon."