Lefty Stalcup has strikeout potential

Matt Stalcup went 7-3 last season as a leader of Pittsburgh State's pitching staff, allowing 63 hits in 71 1/3 innings. He finished the year with a 3.93 ERA, striking out 95 batters to just 33 walks.

Drafted by the A's in the ninth round, he's a left-handed pitcher from a small school in Kansas with a strong fastball and solid breaking ball along with a history of accumulating high strikeout numbers.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior pitcher was also a member of the 2013 Baseball America 500, a list of the top 500 potential draftees.

"Guys who strike out guys in pro ball generally struck guys out in high school or college," Kubota said. "That's generally something that moves with a pitcher, whether they're in high school or college. There's a feel to it.

"The best way to look at it is if you strike a guy out, there's no room for error. If the ball is put in play, if you're pitching to contact, there's a lot more factors that come into getting the guy out. With a strikeout, there's just pitching. It's black and white. If you don't hit the ball, you can't make something happen."

Baseball America referred to Stalcup as someone who "gets strikeouts thanks to his 88-93 mph fastball, solid curveball and the deception provided by a delivery that one scout compared to Warren Spahn's windmill."