After the 2011 season Daniel Corcino jumped onto the prospect scene in a big way. He went from a good arm pitching out of the bullpen to a really good looking arm that had struck out 156 batters in 139.1 innings for the Dayton Dragons while walking just 34 batters. He skipped right on over Bakersfield and held his own in Pensacola as a 21-year-old where he posted a 3.01 ERA in 143.1 innings pitched, but his walk rate jumped up as he gave out 65 free passes and his strikeout rate dipped with 126 strikeouts. Still, the performance got him listed as the #94 prospect on the Baseball America Top 100 list following the 2012 season.
The 2013 season was an absolute disaster. Despite the low ERA in 2012, the walk rate was awfully high, perhaps a warning sign of things to come, and Corcino was promoted to Louisville. While there he threw 129.0 innings with a 5.86 ERA. His walk rate jumped up again, this time walking 73 batters and his strikeout rate plummeted as he struck out just 90 batters. On top of that, his stuff also took a step backwards as his fastball lost several MPH, in some games not topping 90 MPH and often pitching in the 88-90 MPH range.
The Reds sent Corcino back to Double-A Pensacola for the 2014 season. His ERA is down to 3.97 through 45.1 innings pitched. His walk rate is still very high, with 25 walks. The strikeout rate is down once again, having struck out just 27 hitters. Neither of those are good signs for a pitcher, much less one that has previously had success at the level. That is the bad news. But there is some good news. The scouting report has improved. Let’s take a look at how things are right now for the right hander.
Scouting Report
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Fastball | As noted above, there were a lot of times where Corcino worked in the 88-90 MPH range and others when he struggled to even top 90 MPH in a game. That Corcino is all but gone. In his most recent start against Birmingham Corcino was working 91-93 MPH and topped out at 96 MPH on one pitch. The fastball velocity is back and that is a good thing.
Slider | The bread-and-butter pitch in past seasons for Corcino is back to working in the mid 80’s, but it is a pitch that is inconsistent. At times there isn’t much break to it, just a little hump. Other times it is an above-average pitch that would be successful in the big leagues.
Change Up | His change up is an average pitch on most days in the low 80’s. He doesn’t use it as often as the slider, but can use it when he needs to without much of an issue.
Other | While the stuff is back to where it once was, the control is still a big issue. Not only is his walk rate still high, he also leads the Southern League in hit batters with six. He has walked multiple batters or hit a batter and walked at least one batter in the same inning eight times this season. Corcino still has a tendency to overthrow at times. He also still struggles to repeat his mechanics. He is still throwing across his body and finding himself in an unbalanced position as he releases the ball.
He battles consistency from game to game and even from inning to inning. With his fastball velocity back, is it time to consider a move to the bullpen and let him just air it out and mix in the slider and see what happens? He threw out of the bullpen in winter league, and while the competition level isn’t as good as it is in Double-A or Triple-A on the whole, he threw well in 10.1 innings with just two walks and 12 strikeouts.
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