Quote:
Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1
It's no secret that thus far, Leake has pitched better than Volquez has. That's not to say it will continue, but there's no doubt that Leake has control that is light years ahead of Volquez. Given that Bailey and Cueto are rehabbing right now and will be back before long, what happens? We know that LeCure's spot will be taken by 1 of them. But what about the other? Do you send Leake to 3a? Do you put Volquez in the bullpen? Volquez has walked almost as many batters as the rest of the rotation combined. He has also given up 6 jacks, which is a staggering and concerning number. He is a K machine, however.
What do you think should happen and what do you think will happen?
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Well, first off, let me say that I'm a big Leake fan AND a big Volquez fan. My posts lately may not show that, but I love Volquez. His attitude and his talent.
Secondly, I also don't think it's clear that Leake has pitched better than Edinson. Leake has struggled with his command early on as well. Not to the extreme that Edinson has, but Leake doesn't have the gas that Volquez does either to offset a lack of command. When Mike is walking 4 guys in a game, that's a HORRIFIC game for him. He's been up in the zone quite a bit too, which is totally the opposite of his norm.
That being said, once Cueto & Homer are healthy, as things stand now I'd be in favor of sending both Edinson & Mike to Louisville. I don't think either are suited for the bullpen and they both need to pitch regularly every 5 days to work out of their struggles and improve their command. Now if one of Homer or Cueto aren't ready and I had to choose between Mike & Edinson...I'd lean towards Mike. He doesn't have the huge upside that Edinson does, BUT he's fully healthy, needs the experience, has better control and IMO has a smaller chance of having a disastrous start. If it turns out that Sam LeCure falls off considerably, then I'd lean towards Leake as well. But for the long man, I prefer Maloney there. Sink or swim. He's got nothing left to prove in the minors and between he and Sam, I think Sam's got the better shot to be a MLB starter (albeit a #5).
As for Volquez being a "K machine", I'm not seeing that yet. He's on a pace right now of just 2 more K's per game than Leake, Wood & Arroyo. LeCure is averaging more K's than Edinson. Over the long haul...yeah, he'll get more K's...but until he improves his command, he'll never be a "K machine".