UCLA's Rob Rasmussen Struggles In Debut
A highly ranked prospect coming into 2010, UCLA's Rob Rasmussen had a very tough outing to start his season. With 50 scouts in attendance, the junior left hander lasted just 3.2 innings, yielding four earned runs on five hits and three walks. UCLA was down 4-1 when Rasmussen left the game, but rallied for a 15-4 win.
Despite allowing a leadoff single, Rasmussen seemed like he'd be ok after striking out the side to end the threat. In the second, however, Rasmussen had trouble keeping the ball down and changing speeds and was roughed up for two runs. His outing didn't get much better in the 3rd or 4th inning as he was lifted before the fourth was over. The only bright side to Rasmussen's day was his seven strikeouts, a total that was largely buoyed by three in the first inning (followed by four in the next 2.2 IP).
Rob Rasmussen would have preferred a better start to his 2010 season
From a scouting perspective, Baseball America noticed a number of mechanical problems which are affecting his ability to throw. "As he delivers the ball, Rasmussen lands on a nearly stiff front leg and tilts severely to his right on his follow through. Both habits prevent Rasmussen from creating a downward, direct plane in his delivery. In his arm stroke, Rasmussen restricts himself on the back end and fails to reach full extension on the front end, hampering his command and velocity."
