Salt Lake City, Utah —— Entering play on Wednesday, San Diego Padres right-handed pitching prospect Adam Cimber is 2-1 with a 3.49 ERA over 18 relief appearances in 2017, primarily with the El Paso Chihuahuas. He’s struck out 23 batters against just two walks (though he’s hit four batters), and he’s allowed just 24 hits in 28.1 innings pitched. I’ve observed the San Diego Padres’ former ninth round (2013) pick several times throughout 2017; below is Baseball Census‘ full report on Adam Cimber, including video.
Adam Cimber Scouting Report — Video
Here’s our video of San Diego Padres RHP Adam Cimber, which comes from a May relief outing against the Salt Lake Bees in Salt Lake City, Utah:
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Adam Cimber Scouting Report — Notes
Adam Cimber has a tall, lanky build, with a lot of moving parts in his delivery, especially in his lower half—as you’d expect from a sidearm/submarine pitcher. His deliver is pretty unique, if only for his arm angle, but he doesn’t produce a significant amount of velocity on his fastball, working with a sinking two-seamer that typically sits 87-89 mph and tops out at 90 mph. That said, his control is excellent, and he can effectively use the sinker at the bottom of the zone on either side.
As an out pitch, Cimber can occasionally mix in a low 80s slider that serves as a change-of-pace and allows him to get strikeouts. It has a good hump and good, late bite, and he can bury it with two strikes or throw a more sweeping version of it over the plate when he needs to pitch from behind. He’s walked just two hitters against 23 strikeouts over his 28.1 innings pitched in 2017, an exceptional ratio that alone begins to tell the story about Adam Cimber’s relative strengths.
As you’d expect, Cimber’s delivery and release point make him an absolute nightmare for right-handed hitters; by the end of May, righties had a .512 OPS against him this year. His arm action can get long in the back, so he doesn’t hide the ball extremely well, but his command and control are both above-average and he knows how to manipulate his sinker for good, late bite. And while lefties typically hit opposite-handed sidearm pitchers very well, they weren’t doing a whole lot better: the San Diego Padres’ prospect had kept lefties to just a .678 OPS during that same time frame, an encouraging sign for his bullpen future.
Obviously, Adam Cimber’s skill set and delivery—and relative lack of velocity—make it seem like he’d make for a strong situational mid- to late-inning short reliever who can match up well against righties. El Paso seems to have other plans at times, though, as he threw 51 pitches over three innings during this May 23 outing we have on video, as well as 32 pitches over 2 2/3 innings three days prior. May mean very little in the long run, but his extended outings are noteworthy. Ultimately, his big league profile—if any—ought to be as a late-inning guy who comes in to face one or two big righties before being removed, but the fact that he can have some success in Triple-A against both-handed hitters doesn’t hurt and should only further gain him notice if/when the San Diego Padres decide they need a ground ball specialist.
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In this San Diego Padres / Adam Cimber scouting report:
San Diego Padres | Salt Lake Bees | El Paso Chihuahuas | San Antonio Missions
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