Player Name: Michael Ceparano
School: Adelphi
Position: LHP
Michael is a 6’0″ graduate of Half Hollow Hills East HS. He threw 38.1 IP last season with 31 strikeouts and a 3-4 record.
From the stretch position he gets set with his back leg bent. He keeps his glove parallel to the ground. He keeps his eyes locked on the target through out the delivery. He has a legkick that is just above the belt. He keeps his body closed with his leg tucked towards second base and his foot pointed down. Michael gets great drive from his back leg as it drops and drives towards home plate. The front leg goes directly towards home and his arm circle is pretty long. He lands on line with home plate and throws directly over the top. He is max-effort pitcher, and lands off to third base as many southpaws do. His delivery reminds me of a couple MLB pitchers at various points. His drop-and-drive is reminiscent of Johan Santana and his falloff is reminiscent of Francisco Liriano.
Ceparano worked at 79-81 MPH with his fastball on March 25. He also threw a 12-6 curveball at 64 MPH and a changeup in the high 60s. He struggled with control, which seemed to be a byproduct of the terrible weather conditions. He slipped on the mound on a number of occasions and appeared frustrated. The main issue was constantly falling behind in the count with his fastball–more specifically up-and-away to RHB. He began using his curveball early in the count to change his fortunes. Of the 10 hitters he faced in the second inning, he fell behind 1-0 on six of them. He also allowed a two-run double to LF.
He was much more effective in his second and third innings of work. He induced an infield popup on a high two-strike FB to the first batter. He forced a flyout to RF on an up-and-away fastball for the second out and struck out the final batter on a tremendous curveball to a lefty–which followed a fastball ripped foul.
His defense was very impressive. He snagged a hard-hit ball back to him for an out and also charged hard on a slow grounder in front of home plate and made a good play to get the out. He is also adept at holding runners on, as he switches his looks and has a good pickoff move.
Overall, he allowed five hits and three walks in three IP, but his final two innings were much more impressive.
