Name: James Kory
School: West Islip
Position: RHP
James is a ’16 graduate of West Islip. He is coming off one of the most dynamic seasons in Long Island history when he went 10-0 as a sophomore to lead his team to the LI Championship over Massapequa.
He begins his windup with his glove shoulder height. He steps back very subtly as he prepares to enter his delivery. As he lifts up his leg and turns his body towards second base ala AJ Burnett. The leg kick is just below the letters and his front foot is pointed directly down. The back leg is firm at balance point and his eyes are focused on the ground. He has a slight hesitation just prior to his falling action and then he exploded forward. The front leg swings around as opposed to coming directly home, which sacrifices velocity. The stride is good, but he lands with his foot closed, which can lead to inconsistent release points. The extension is very good and he follows through well.
In his March 30 start, he came out of the gate very strong. He was throwing in the low 80s and spotting his fastball-change up-curve ball repertoire exceptionally. Through two innings, he had only thrown 26 pitches and compiled four strikeouts. The first strikeout came on a high fastball, the second came on a curve ball in the dirt. He threw only one curve in the first inning. In the second inning, he got a strikeout on a high fastball–that he set up with a nice change up. He stricko out the next batter on a high fastball as well. To that point, he was spotless.
Kory ran into trouble in the third inning when the first batter smacked a single to CF on a fastball. The next batter also singled, this time a hard-hit ball to RF. He walked the next batter on a 3-1 fastball to load the bases. He induced a chopper to third on the first pitch of the next batter, that should have been a double play, but the catcher missed the throw. It was costly, because the next batter hit the second pitch to medium-range CF for a sac fly. He got out of the jam with an infield popout to SS and a swinging strikeout on an outside corner fastball.
The fourth inning featured another run, but also a change in his approach. He began throwing much more offspeed pitches–presumably because it was the middle innings and he was losing a tick on his FB. The first batter single to left field, which was followed by a sac bunt. The next batter singled to CF on a change up to add to the lead. He got out of the jam by striking out the next batter looking on a tight 12-6 curveball and a 4-3 putout on a hard-hit directly at second.
He faced five batters in the fifth inning before being replaced. He allowed a bloop single to CF to open the frame. He struck out the next batter on a high fastball. The next batter–a big 6’4″ three-hole hitter smacked a high fastball for a long two-run home run. The next batter walked on a 3-2 curveball in the dirt. The following batter smacked an RBI double which lifted him from the game.
The offspeed pitches are good and will get him by at the high school level. He clearly lost his command in the later innings–which can be attributed to the first start of the season fatigue.
Kory clocked at 1.26 seconds to home plate. He does not utilize a slide step. The opposition was running at will, but it’s my opinion that it was because of the catcher and their speed and not his weakness.
He is a good athlete, who is also the cleanup hitter in the lineup but he is a more talented pitcher than hitter.
