BA’s Ben Badler tweets that he’s “interesting guy to stash in the bullpen.”

Fangraphs, BR, MiLB, Splits

From MiLB:

Selected by the Cleveland Indians out of Junipero Serra High School (San Mateo, Calif.) in the fourth round (No. 107 overall) of the June 2004 First-Year Player Draft…signed July 7…attended the same high school as Barry Bonds, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and pro football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann…

Chuck Lofgren is one of the best stories taken. In 2007 he started the Futures Game for the U.S. team in his hometown of San Francisco, and he’s a physical, athletic lefthander. He’s had massive control issues the last two years and his star obviously has fallen from when he ranked second on our Indians Top 10.

Here I was saying they wouldn’t pick anyone because of the developing roster crunch (and other reasons over the past week). I guess it pays not to officially sign Wolf, Hawkins, etc. until next week.

Although he’s a lefty, I don’t think he’s a LOOGY kind of pitcher.

Baseball Intellect has a nice rundown of his flaws, including video.

There are several reservations I have about Lofgren:

His K-rate was slighly above average last year and has dropped each and every season since beginning pro ball, so I do question his ability to miss enough bats at the big league level.

His control has also been inconsistent throughout his minor league career:

BB/9
2004 – 5.24
2005 – 4.16
2006 – 3.48
2007 – 4.18

It should be noted how he has improved over time, but last year he regressed. He was only slightly above league average in his best year. The last thing you want is mediocre control to go along with a lack of ability to miss bats.

I’ve seen reports that have called Lofgren’s command excellent (granted this was before last year), but the numbers at the time suggested Lofgren’s command was only decent. The numbers now indicate sub-par command.

Lofgren hasn’t demonstrated a plus skill in terms of missin bats or control/command, but perhaps he keeps the ball on the ground? Not the case. His GB% was 40% and 42% the last two years, so he is a fly ball pitcher as well. Fly ball pitchers with average K rates and averge control don’t typically do well in the majors.

Chuck Lofgren, lhp/of

Scouts are divided on whether Lofgren will be drafted as a hitter or pitcher. Teams have gone back and forth on him all spring. Most scouts saw him as a hitter at the start of the year and turned him in as a potential first-rounder. Some even thought he was the surest bet of all the high school players in this year’s draft to hit in the big leagues, and said he could hit 35-40 homers a year. They saw juice in his bat and a solid approach at the plate. He was frequently pitched around, however, and he began to swing at bad pitches. He tried to do too much and his frustration got the better of him. He struggled to hit .250 and sentiment moved to the mound, where scouts saw a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder with a power arm, capable of pitching at 88-92 mph and touching 93-94. They also saw a high-maintenance delivery, an inconsistent curveball and a tendency to lose velocity quickly. The general feeling now is that Lofgren’s higher upside is as a position player, even though he’s an average runner and projects only as a left fielder. He finished the year with a .343 average, but only three homers. Lofgren, a Santa Clara signee, would play both ways in college but has expressed a preference to begin his pro career.

Also, here’s the list of the best HS power hitters going into the ’04 draft:

High School
1 Billy Butler, 1b, Jacksonville
2 John Poterson, c, Chandler, Ariz.
3 Neil Walker, c, Gibsonia, Pa. (14)
4 Chuck Lofgren, of, Burlingame, Calif. (62)
5 Brandon Allen, 1b, Montgomery, Texas (85)

Chuck Lofgren (Serra High, Barry Bonds’ alma mater in San Mateo, Calif.) and Neil Walker (Gibsonia, Pa.) also could push themselves into the first round by June. Lofgren, an outfielder/lefthanded pitcher, is a safer bet to hit than Golson or Fowler but started slowly this spring

not if thats just his highschool projection and he hasnt worked on it at all in the majors

Sounds like he’s got decent upside for a Rule 5 pick.