Player Name: Dennis Buckstein
School: Dowling
Position: RHP
Dennis is a 5’10 freshman pitcher that is a 2014 graduate of Sachem North HS. He was named League 2 Pitcher of the Year in his senior season and was All-County.
He pitched exclusively from the stretch. He came to his set position with a stiff back leg and his hands set high. He has a very high leg kick–above the letters. His back leg is still bent at the balance point, and he keeps his eyes locked on the target through out the duration of the delivery. He kicks his leg out prior to beginning the falling action. He gets very good drive from his back leg. The arm circle is pretty short, but is creates lots of deception because it is tough to spot. The stride is good, but he lands with his front foot slightly closed. His front knee is bent but he straightens it out upon delivery. The arm angle is directly over the top. He gets very good extension and finishes balanced to home plate.
In his relief appearance on April 11, he threw one inning, working mainly with a fastball-curve combo. The fastball was 82 MPH during warmups but he amped it up to 86 MPH once the batter stepped in. The curveball was 75 MPH. He had tail to the arm side on the fastball and the curveball was a sharp 12-6 break. He fell behind the first batter 2-0 on consecutive high fastballs but came back with a well placed 84 MPH fastball for a strike and a foul ball on a 81 MPH two-seam. After missing inside with a curveball, he induced a 5-3 groundout on an 84 MPH fastball. On the next batter, he started him off with a curve but missed low. He allowed missed on back-to-back fastballs to fall behind 3-0. He threw two fastballs that the hitter stared at to get the count full. He then grounded out to short on another fastball. The next batter was on a hot streak so he began him with a curveball that missed low. He got him to swing through a fastball down the middle. After missing with a curve low, he came in with a high hard one that the batter deposited deep over the right center field fence. It clearly unhinged him for the next batter, who walked on for straight fastballs that missed to each quadrant of the zone. After getting ahead of the next batter 0-1 on a nice curve, the batter smacked a fastball into the left center field gap that could’ve gone for a triple and ride, but the left fielder made a remarkable diving grab to end the inning.
Buckstein has good stuff, but he’ll need to get the curve over for strikes early in the count at this level. He used only a two-pitch mix–common for starters turned relievers, but it won’t be as effective in college as it was in high school if he falls behind. He has put up nice numbers thus far in college, but there is more of a challenge as the situations he is put in intensifies.
