Turn Off Ads?
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 20 of 20

Thread: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

  1. #16
    Score Early, Score Often gonelong's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,240

    Re: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

    Quote Originally Posted by Willie0023
    The above statement is simply not true. Zach was at 91-93 all game. If you were going by the radar on the scoreboard then thats where you are going wrong. Thats been off all year. If you walk down behind the backstop there are always players from both teams scouting pitches. You can ask them what a guy is throwing, and they will tell you. Zach looked tired. He may be hitting wall as this is his frst full season in the minors. He has pitched great. Give him the benefit of the doubt.
    I have no doubts the scoreboard radar is not all that reliable, however, last season when Homer was hitting 97-98 I was told that the scoreboard radar was inflated. With a near 3 year old in tow I didn't pay as much attention as I would like to the other team to see if any of their guys were lighting it up at 90+.

    He didn't look fresh, I'll give you that.

    He has the benefit of the doubt, he is in A ball and has a < 3.00 ERA and a < 1 WHIP.

    GL


  2. Turn Off Ads?
  3. #17
    Back from my hiatus Mario-Rijo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
    Posts
    9,070

    Re: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

    Wood is having a better year than Bailey did last year at Dayton. IMO we won't see the real Travis Wood until he gets stronger and adds a few pounds ot his small frame. I'm thinking Billy Wagner except with a changeup.
    Not in a million years, Wood is no Wagner! However I do see him as a guy who could eventually turn into a Tom Glavine type. He needs to do what you stated and also polish up his control just a bit and this guy should be ready. Watching him pitch is like watching a major leaguer pitch a game, he just lacks consistent control and that could be the result of being a smaller pitcher. Mind you when I say lacks control I don't mean on the level of a Luke Hudson, but maybe moreso like EZ who at times will miss just a bit. Granted when he does miss he seems to miss low quite a bit. Which will result in BB's moreso than hits/hr's!
    "You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

    --Woody Hayes

  4. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    146

    Re: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

    Wood can hit 95 as a starter, no reason he won't be able to hit 97 in a one inning role. However I woudl rather keep him as a starter.

  5. #19
    Willie0023
    Guest

    Re: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

    Most pitchers on the Dayton roster can hit 95 or close to it. I know in Spring Training Fisher topped out at 94, and Ward at 97 one day. Cueto was around 96. I was there, and Ward was consistently around 92-95. The difference however is what you can pitch at on game day controllably, and almost all Dayton's guys throw at about 85%. Thats why you see Wood around 91-93, Fisher 89-92, and Ward at 91-93. The other part of this is they throw mostly two-seam fastballs. That provides more movement, but will be 3-4 MPH slower. If these guys just rared back, and throwed 4 seamers they could be in the mid-90's all day. Ward can really get a 4 seamer up there. Cueto had great success doing this in Dayton, but it will be interesting to see how far he can get throwing that pitch. Its mainly flat, and I don't care how hard you throw, if you throw a flat ball the higher you get the more guys will sit on it, and take it deep. I hope Johnny develops a better two seamer to go along with his heater. Bottom line the raw talent is there, and these guys are learning how to pitch. It will be fun to watch them all develop, and hopefully get to the big club.

  6. #20
    Member Superdude's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    2,812

    Re: Zach Ward having problems tonight...sort of

    Most pitchers on the Dayton roster can hit 95 or close to it. I know in Spring Training Fisher topped out at 94, and Ward at 97 one day. Cueto was around 96. I was there, and Ward was consistently around 92-95. The difference however is what you can pitch at on game day controllably, and almost all Dayton's guys throw at about 85%. Thats why you see Wood around 91-93, Fisher 89-92, and Ward at 91-93.
    I'll take 91-93 everyday of the week from a projectable 19 year old with a changeup in the low-mid 70's. I'm not an expert on projectability by any means, but looking at Wood's delivery, frame, and current velocity, it looks like he could definitely be a pint-sized flamerthrower in the mold of Oswalt or Kazmir with an extra 15-20 pounds of muscle. If he could get his fastball sitting somewhere in the 92-96MPH range and gain some consistency on his curveball, Wood would have an unbelievable repoitre...(or however you spell that word)


Turn Off Ads?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.

Thank you, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves!


RedsZone.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds or Major League Baseball


Contact us: Boss | Gallen5862 | Plus Plus | Powel Crosley | RedlegJake | The Operator