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	Friday, September 29
	C.C. Sabathia By John Sickels Special to ESPN.com
	REPORT FILED: SEPTEMBER 29 Congratulations to the U.S. Olympic Team for their victory over Cuba in the gold medal round of the baseball competition! That's the only Olympic news you'll see here ... I've decided that I just don't care about the Summer Olympics anymore. It's mostly commercials now anyhow, and overall the whole event just seems to lack the intensity of the games I remember as child. On to more important things, like baseball prospects. C.C. Sabathia Cleveland Indians Position: LHP Height: 6-7 Weight: 235 Born: 7/21/80 Year Team Level G GS IP H R ER BB K W-L ERA SV 1999 Mahoning Valley A 6 6 19.2 9 5 4 12 27 0-0 1.83 0 1999 Columbus A 3 3 16.2 8 2 2 5 20 2-0 1.09 0 1999 Kinston A 7 7 32.0 30 22 19 19 29 3-3 5.34 0 2000 Kinston A 10 10 56.0 48 23 22 24 69 3-2 3.54 0 2000 Akron AA 17 17 90.1 75 41 36 48 90 3-7 3.59 0 The Indians signed Chuck Finley as a free agent because they wanted a "big game" lefty in the rotation with Bartolo Colon. If all goes as the Indians hope, Finley can hold that spot for another couple of years, then cede it to C.C. Sabathia, a fire-balling southpaw from the farm system. A first-round draft pick in 1998 out of high school in Vallejo, California, Sabathia was described by scouts as a "cross between Dave Parker and Vida Blue" when he was in high school. Sabathia was big, intimidating, and threw really hard, but there was a bit of concern that his mechanics were raw and his control unreliable. The Indians were not deterred, and selected him with the thought that he would take a good four or five years to learn his trade in the system. Sabathia's first full season in 1999 was limited to just 16 games by elbow trouble. But he pitched well when healthy, and overcame the bone bruise to his joint without having to have surgery. 2000 has gone well; he opened the season in the Carolina League, but fanned 69 hitters in 56 innings to earn a promotion to Double-A Akron. His won-loss record in the Eastern League was a disappointing 3-7, but that was due more to poor run support than anything else; he pitched well most of the time, as his solid 3.59 ERA indicates. He allowed just 75 hits in 90.1 innings, and fanned a hitter per inning. He's in the majors now, although as I write this he has yet to pitch an inning for the Indians. Cleveland has been pleasantly surprised by Sabathia's development. Raw when drafted, he has refined his mechanics quickly, and while they still need polish, he's ahead of where most scouts expected him to be at this point. Sabathia is smart and works hard, and understands that he can't just rely on blowing his fastball by people. In addition to the 95 mph heater, he has a knee-bending curve that he usually throws for strikes. A changeup is in the development stages. How soon will Sabathia be ready? It's important to keep things in perspective. He is just 20-years-old, and has only 17 games in Double-A under his belt. He's never stayed at one level for an entire season, and he does have a history of elbow trouble. His command is good and improving, but it is far from perfect, and his walk rate at Akron was a bit high. Although the Indians will be tempted to give him a shot at the rotation in 2001, a more prudent course of action would be to stick him in Triple-A and leave him there until next September. Sabathia is a great prospect, but he's still just a baby (albeit a 6-7 baby) and needs to be handled with caution. Mailbag questions BeisbolNut writes: Interesting to note your April 14th, 2000 projection on Rafael Furcal. You predicted that you doubted that he would hit .300, even .280. Most did. Your overall analysis was correct, but every so often a player defies the projections that astute evaluators make. Who could have envisioned the startling baseball smarts that Furcal has, his ability to adjust, his drive, his uniqueness. This young man will astound us in the future also. His obvious love of the game is apparent. I've been very pleasantly surprised by Furcal, and I must admit I was wrong about him. I loved him as a prospect, but I didn't think he would adjust to the majors as quickly as he did. I thought he would hit .250 or .260 and not reach his current level for another couple of years. You look at his numbers and you don't see any holes. He gets on base and he runs like the wind. He doesn't have a ton of power, but I expect he'll hit more doubles and triples as he matures physically and gets stronger. His speed and walks make him the perfect leadoff hitter ... of course you guys already knew that. I agree that he has the "intangibles" you mention BeisbolNut, but those things are impossible to measure and oftentimes they aren't enough. There are a lot of guys stuck in Triple-A who have tremendous drive and baseball smarts, too. Sometimes one of them gets lucky and gets a chance in the Show, but too often they get stranded. What makes Furcal special is his combination of physical, emotional, and mental strengths. Don't get caught up just in focusing on the "intangibles;" the guy is excellent not just because he works hard, but because he has great hand-eye coordination and athletic ability. Some useless players like Jeff Huson and Ozzie Guillen have "intangibles" but they still suck. Derek D. writes: What do you think of the major league contracts that several of the 2000 draft class received (David Espinosa, Dane Sardinha, Xavier Nady)? With the loss of the two spots on the 40-man roster, will the Reds suffer from a numbers crunch in the next few years? Yeah, the Reds may have some problems with roster management over the next few years. Most people expect Sardinha to develop quickly, but Espinosa may be another matter. While Scott Boras says he's the best thing since sliced bread, not every scout was utterly in love with Espinosa. Some observers question how his hitting will translate to pro ball, and he may end up as a second baseman rather than a shortstop due to a not-that-strong arm. We'll have to get more data to work with to make a further assessment. As for Nady, most scouts think his bat will be ready by 2002 at the latest. The Padres are going to try him at first base and the outfield since they already have Sean Burroughs at third. I don't think they'll have problems fitting Nady onto the roster soon enough, although again we need to see him play in the pros before we know exactly how good he is. Frankly, I think all this rash of major league contracts is a mistake, at least in most cases. Maybe it's OK for advanced college guys like Nady or Sardinha, but I sure wouldn't give a contract like that to a high school kid unless his name is Alex Rodriguez or something. And while Espinosa may be good, I don't think he's going to be that good. John Sickels is the author of the STATS 2000 Minor League Scouting Notebook. You can email your questions to him at JASickels@AOL.com.		ALSO SEE Down on the Farm archive