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Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects – #50 Seth Webster Scouting Report

By Benjamin Chase

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September 30, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Joe Smith (38) pitches the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
September 30, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Joe Smith (38) pitches the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Seth Webster Scouting Report

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I wanted to get a good selection of Webster’s starts, so I took a couple from his first 5 starts, one from his next 5, and then his last 3. Over those six starts, he totaled 42 innings, racking up a 2.36 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with a 3/36 BB/K and 2-1 record.

Webster is listed at 6’5 and 200 pounds, and that looks accurate. His delivery is immediately noticeable as he is a rare sidearm starter. He tucks his left shoulder into his body until the last second before he throws the ball, which adds to his deception as well. Webster doesn’t pitch exclusively sidearm either, as he will dip just a touch below sidearm up to nearly 3/4 at times. This is not due to a lack of mechanics, as he is intentionally seeking a variety of arm angles to help him add different looks for a hitter. His legs and body don’t have any mechanical changes, which is the big part of the success he has because hitters never know which arm angle a pitch is coming from, let alone what pitch may be coming.

So, with the kind of ridiculous results that he has put up so far, Webster must have ridiculous stuff, right? Not so much. The highest radar gun reading I saw on Webster in any of the starts I watched was 85. Due to his multiple angles, it’s really difficult to get a read on what he throws as far as pitches, but that’s part of what makes him so effective. He sits mostly in the upper 60s and lower 70s in velocity, changing his arm angle frequently, and most effectively, he never seems to have a ball break the same way two pitches in a row.

With former Brave Victor Caratini at the plate in one sequence, Carolina catcher Joseph Odom placed himself in the same position four straight times with his glove on the outside corner about knee-high. Webster threw a pitch from just below sidearm that broke from the middle of the plate to right in Odom’s glove for a called strike. He followed with a sidearm pitch that had a 12-6 curve motion and once again nailed the glove in the same exact spot for a called strike two. Webster threw what appeared to be a slider from sidearm with just a touch of arm side break from the middle of the plate to the same exact spot again that Caratini fouled off. Then Webster came at roughly 3/4 with an 83 mph fastball with just a touch of sink that hit Odom’s glove just perfectly again, and Caratini swung past it helplessly.

Next: 2016 outlook

While you can tell the fastball when he brings it to 3/4 and top speed, he throws a number of fastballs from other arm angles that sit in the mid 70s. Based on the break, he utilizes a cut fastball grip on some pitches, he has a sink effect on a number of pitches along with a more distinct effect that looks more like a slider. He also has a 12-6 curve that he throws from his sidearm and below sidearm angles. The crazy part is the arm angle also assists the ball in breaking in a different spot in the zone. He throws a slider from all three arm angles he presents, and from the 3/4 angle, it has a late slider break lower in the zone. From his sidearm angle, he is able to get a slurve movement on the slider that breaks glove side. From his below sidearm angle, he gets an arm side late break and can be very effective up in the zone.

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