Taijuan Walker, RHP Yucaipa High School

Generally there is very little High School baseball on Saturdays, unless it's tournament season around Easter. Yesterday, there were three games at Arrowhead Credit Union Stadium (home of the Inland Empire 66'ers). The highlight of the three games was getting to see Taijuan Walker of Yucaipa High School pitch again.

Walker spun a no hitter just two weeks ago, but had his roughest outing of the 2010 season last week as he didn't make it out of the second inning. Yesterday's start was a big one for the right hander, as we see how he would bounce back from such a disastrous start the previous week. If yesterday was to be considered a test, it is safe to say he passed with flying colors.

In previous starts, Taijuan worked primarily with a fastball/slider combo, with the fastball around 90-92, and touching as high as 96. His slider had ranged anywhere from 80-85 with late break. Yesterday, however, Walker was using his spike curveball much more than in other starts, with nearly twenty percent of his pitches being the slower curveball. Yesterday the curve was a true knee buckler, with big downward break. The curve ranged from 71 to 78, and it looked like Walker's delivery slows down a bit when he throws the curve, something to work on down the road. Aside from one slider that was thrown in the first inning, Walker used just the fastball and curve for the first four innings. After the fourth inning, Walker implemented the slide piece much more, and it was coming in at 80-85.

Walker was perfect for the first five innings, with few balls being hit very hard. In the top of the sixth inning, Walker legged out a high chopper to the pitcher that was ruled an error. After hustling from first to third on a base knock, Walker then scored on a ground ball. I only mention this because the coach pinch ran for another runner in the inning, but did not pinch run to rest his pitcher who was throwing a perfect game (keep in mind that players can re-enter in high school ball).

After taking the mound in the sixth inning, after running the bases (plus it was a hot 85 degrees), Walker looked more fatigued and not as sharp to start the sixth inning. In the sixth, Walker gave up a weak single to right field, made an error on a pickoff throw to first base, walked a hitter, gave up an infield single and had a wild pitch. The sixth wasn't a good inning at all for Walker, but he was able to gather himself, and he did unleash his best slider of the day for a punchout to end the inning.

Walker had a perfect frame in the seventh, and ended the game with a 91 mph fastball. Most of the fastballs in the sixth were 87-89. On the day, Walker struck out twelve and walked just one. It was nice to see him mixing all three pitches in the middle innings, and throwing them all for strikes. Offensively, Walker had another opposite field home run, and a double in four at bats, the kid is truly a special athlete. After the game, Walker was named the player of the game.

Rob Rasmussen, LHP, UCLA

Today I'm gonna take a look at left handed starting pitcher of the UCLA Bruins, Rob Rasmussen. Rasmussen is listed at just 5'11", 170 pounds, and his size is going to be an obstacle as he will probably get grouped in with all of the small lefties that have failed to make it to the big leagues. Don't get me wrong, Rasmussen isn't a "crafty" lefthander by any means, but the smaller pitchers generally have to prove themselves at every level of the minors before they get their crack in the bigs.

I've seen Rasmussen on two occasions this year, early in the season against USC, and again this past Sunday against a more formidable Arizona State team. The outcomes of these games pretty well tell you what the key is for Rasmussen, and that is fastball command. Against USC, he wasn't hit very hard, but he was missing the zone, which led to four walks in 4 2/3 IP. He was able pitch around these walks and struck out six while allowing just one run.

On Sunday we were able to see what happens when he is in the zone, but misses his spots. ASU was able to pounce on several fastballs up in the zone which led to an early exit by Rasmussen. ASU knocked three homeruns off of the lefty, and had quite a few other loud outs. Rasmussen's line from Sunday ended after 4IP, and included an ugly 7 hits, 7 runs, 1 BB, and 6 strikeouts.

Not many doubt Rasmussen's stuff, which features a fastball with good movement at 88- 91,92, a plus curveball that ranges from 75-80, a change at 80-83, and a slider around 80-83. He was primarily working with the fastball/curve/slider when I was behind the plate, and I didn't get much of a read on the change. He did double up on the slider one time to record a strikeout, with the knockout pitch coming in on the right handed batter, and at his back foot. The varying speeds on the curveball help it play up even more. You don't get a feeling that Rasmussen is a small guy when he pitches. He pitches big, generally attacking hitters with his arsenal and working fast.

Rasmussen helps himself on the mound as well. He employs different pickoff moves while holding runners on and is quick to the plate. A solid athlete, Rasmussen also fields his position well.

Rasmussen's stats for this season are : 11 GS, 57 2/3 IP, 52 H, 23 ER, 22 BB, 78 K's

With lefties always being in demand, Rasmussen is sure to draw some attention on draft day. Some mock drafts have him as high as the first round or first supplemental, and others much lower. He probably has the stuff to merit a round one selection, but I think his size will be a big deterrent for many teams. With that in mind, I think he will probably be selected in the second or third round. Once he does sign though he should be a guy that rises to the majors quickly.

Daniel Robertson, 3b, Upland High School

This season, I have seen quite a few of the Upland High baseball games. I went to Upland (a long time ago) and still live in the area . I have been out to see Scotty Frazier pitch quite a few times, and any fan can quickly see that the team has a lot of talent outside of Frazier. Upland's shortstop, Ryan Goodman, will be playing for Cal Poly next year, CF Frankie Christian, will probably get drafted or go to college, and Daniel Roberston is sure to have a bright future down the road as well. I've been to quite a few high school games this season, and I feel Robertson's game could be up there with some of the elite offensive talent that will be taken at the top of the 2010 draft. . .and he's currently just a sophomore.

Robertson has pretty much all the tools, except for plus speed. He doesn't have bad speed, pretty much average speed down the line. Defensively, he has above average range at third, and he should improve with more work and game experience and his arm is very strong and accurate. When he is unable to range to make a play, he is leaves his feet well and make a diving stop, and he's able to use his arm strength to make the play. Robertson is also very good at coming in on a chopped ball and throwing on the run.

At the plate, Robertson is very quiet and he has good balance. He starts from a very wide base, and he doesn't really employ a stride, rather he just turns his lead foot in as he loads and then unleashes his swing. He gets good leverage with his legs, which should lead to even more power as he continues to grow. What is most impressive about Robertson's swing is that he uses the entire field, and he projects to hit to all fields for power as he matures. I have seen at least four of his doubles to the right center field gap, and one to the right field line. Daniel is listed at 6 foot 180 pounds, and he has the frame that suggest he could add another inch or two and at least 15 pounds of muscle before his draft year of 2012. This is why I see big power in the upcoming years. He has 11 doubles this season, and many of them have been to the wall or off the wall and one can easily assume some of these will be landing on the other side of the fence down the road.

The only slight knock on Robertson's offensive package is that I have seen him give away three or four at bats early in the count when he has swung at pitchers pitches, primarily on the first pitch of the sequence. Generally Robertson has a patient approach, and he has walked more than he has struck out this year(13BB/9K), but I have seen him swing at first pitch curveballs out of the zone, early in the count, which have resulted in relatively weak outs. BUT. . .this is just nitpicking.

So far this season, the Upland Sophomore is hitting 481, with an on base of 541 and an astounding 808 slugging percentage. Thirteen of Robertson's hits have been for extra bases (11 2b, and 2 HR), and he is currently leading his team with 30 runs batted in. Not bad for a sophomore. . . The sky is the limit for this kid, and I look forward to seeing how he progresses the next few years.