Pitching prospect draws MLB scouts

The Bobcats’ Brandon Durden, a junior pitcher from Adel, Ga., has had the same career goal since he was a young child. Like most young male athletes, Durden dreams of playing baseball professionally.

In 2004, the southpaw went 7-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 94.2 innings while recording 67 strikeouts. He led the pitching staff with 15 starts and tossed three complete games while garnering All-Peach Belt Conference honors.

Durden, seemingly humble about his talents, is aware of the possibility that he could be drafted in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. The dozen or so scouts that show up for each of his collegiate outings seem conscious of the fact that Durden’s arm may have what it takes to be a “big leaguer.”

“[Durden] has a great arm and is an amazing athlete on the mound,” said Head Coach Chris Calciano. “With development, Brandon has the potential to move through an organization and pitch at the very highest level.”

The 6’2″ hurler is not a stranger to the amateur draft. In 2002, Durden was a 34th round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, however he chose to attend Georgia College & State University?after earning all-state honors while at Cook County High School.?

With only eight games left on the Bobcats’ regular season schedule, Durden as has accumulated a 4.91 ERA in 73.1 innings pitched. With 61 strikeouts and a record of 3-4, Durden admits that he needs to work on his consistency in finding the strike zone.

However, Durden remains mentally tough on the mound and knows that even on an off-day, he has the ability to get batters out.

“A strength of my game is that even without my best stuff, I can get people out,” Durden said. “If a batter does get a hit, I want to be sure that the hit came off of my best pitch.”

According to catcher Nick Waldrip, Durden has plenty of movement and command on his four pitches and has the ability to change speeds. His overpowering fastball, clocked at 94 mph during a Kennesaw match-up, maintains movement throughout the strike zone.

Durden’s teammates are confident in his ability to dominate opponents. John Caruso, a senior in his second year of catching for the Bobcats is especially confident in his battery-mate.

“I know that every time Brandon steps on the mound our chances of winning are really good,” said Caruso.

Durden will strive for dominance as the Bobcats enter their final home conference series with Armstrong Atlantic State University on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m. with Saturday’s doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 22 2005. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry