10/1/09

The Keepers - #69 - SP - Chris Mason




69. Chris Mason – SP –

Mason was a heralded 2nd round draft pick, in 2005, by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Mason pitched 4.5 years (2005-2009) in the Rays, system, rising to AAA in both 2008 and 2008. His best year/team was 2008/AA, where he went 15-4, 2.57, 1.18 in 28 starts.
Will there ever be room for Chris Mason in a Rays’ rotation full of quality young pitchers? Mason hopes so and he has the talent to justify that hope. The Rays made Mason their second-round pick in the 2005 draft out of UNC-Greensboro. The righthander’s stock reached its peak in 2007 when he was 15-4 for Montgomery in the AA Southern League. Since then, however, Mason has seen his stock dip. This past season was quite a rough one for Mason, as he had trouble making the jump from AA to AAA. Things got so bad in Durham this past year for Mason that he was actually yanked from the starting rotation and sent to the bullpen. It is quite evident when comparing the numbers from ’07 to ’08 that there was something lacking. Opponents hit only .241 off him in ’07 compared to a staggering .333 in ’08. He also suddenly fell victim to the long ball. Mason allowed seven homers in 161.1 innings in 2007. That number ballooned to a whopping 19 home runs allowed in only 108.2 innings in 2008. Of course there were also the walks. In 2007, Mason walked 2.45 per nine innings pitched. That number went up to 3.40 in 2008.
A second round pick from the 2005 draft, Chris Mason is a converted outfielder with a low-90's moving fastball and a nasty slider/curve, and a developing changeup. The 23-year-old righthander spent almost the whole 2007 with the Montgomery Biscuits (AA), and led the Southern League with a 15-4 record and a 2.53 ERA in 2007. He ranked fourth with 132 strikeouts, enough to garner the League's Pitcher of the Year Award. The league's most consistent starter, Mason did not allow more than three runs in any of his 13 second-half starts for the Biscuits. Sadly, Mason crashed back to earth when challenged with the MLB veterans peppered across AAA rosters in 2008. While his strikeout rate remained about the same (7.5/9), he put up an ugly 3-10 record with a 6.21 ERA. His slider has always been a plus pitch, and his changeup was looking MLB ready before last season. His fastball barely cracks 90mph, though, so he has very little margin of error when his control isn't all there. Look for a regrouping and possible return to form in 2009, probably back in Montgomery where he knows he can succeed. If he can't cut it as a starter this year, the bullpen door remains open.

2008 Baseball America’s top 10 Rays prospects: Baseball America has released its top 10 prospects in the Rays system, and the list looks like this: 1 - Evan Longoria, 2 - David Price, 3 - Jake McGee, 4 - Wade Davis, 5 - Reid Brignac, 6 - Desmond Jennings, 7 - Jeff Niemann, 8 - Jeremy Hellickson, 9 - Ryan Royster, 10 - Chris Mason
The Mets picked him off the waiver line this year and he pitched both for Binghamton (1-1, 2.87, 1.40 in four games, three starts) and Buffalo (1-1, 5.82, 1.52, in four starts.
Mason’s 5-year minor league stats are: 37-32, 4.47, 1.45.

http://www.baseballcube.com scouting report: Power: 63, Speed: 84, Contact: 88, Patience: 3, Control: 85, K-Rating: 82, Efficiency: 78.

Forecast: There is nothing wrong with picking up an ex-prospect like this off the waiver wire. For some reason, Mason just can’t seem to make the conversion, as a starter, from AA to AAA. He pitched wonderful for the B-Mets, but blew up again at the AAA level for Buffalo. Guys like this usually make the transition easier if they go to the pen. I expect to see him on Buffalo in the spring, and the Mets may give him one more shot at the rotation. Trust me, this was a big-time prospect after his 2008 AA year. Back then, no one projected David Price making the rotation ahead of him.

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