Johnny Cueto

[OnBaseMachine]

"He's a different pitcher than last year," said Cardinals super slugger Albert Pujols. "He's locating better and keeping the ball down. Last year he would throw the ball as hard as he can in certain situations. This year, he's a pitcher, not a thrower. He's got that one year under his belt now. It's paid off for him".

"I am more aggressive now," Cueto said through an interpreter. "Last year, I felt like I was moving my glove and tipping pitches. I'm trying to be more consistent with my glove and more aggressive and letting the guys put the ball in play."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[Homer Bailey]

"He's a different pitcher than last year," said Cardinals super slugger Albert Pujols. "He's locating better and keeping the ball down. Last year he would throw the ball as hard as he can in certain situations. This year, he's a pitcher, not a thrower. He's got that one year under his belt now. It's paid off for him".

"I am more aggressive now," Cueto said through an interpreter. "Last year, I felt like I was moving my glove and tipping pitches. I'm trying to be more consistent with my glove and more aggressive and letting the guys put the ball in play."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

It's almost like I could see that on TV.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68831

[kaldaniels]

He "could" be an impact starter? Way to head out on a limb there, jayson...

Just to be fair to Jayson...he is just quoting to us what a scout said.

[fearofpopvol1]

Prince Cueto has been amazing. He's obviously going to struggle more than he's shown thus far, but he has been spectacular thus far. I've been very very impressed.

[Homer Bailey]

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog...fantasy,169181

Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:20 am EDT

Closing Time: Johnny Fever rules Cincinnati
By Scott Pianowski
I can't blame you if you didn't watch as much baseball as usual on Tuesday night; the NHL Finals, NBA Finals and MLB First-Year Player Draft have a way of grabbing your attention. No worries if you're a little behind on the Roto happenings of the day, that's where I come in. Let's play catch up and see what's out there.

• Johnny Cueto(notes) was the hot thing in the fantasy world for a short time early in 2008, but he's been far more reliable this time around, sneaking a little under the radar. He's worked deep in each of his last 10 turns, including Tuesday's stroll at Washington (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 B, 5 K).

Cueto is throwing his slider a little harder this year and he's been more efficient, cutting his walk rate and giving up some strikeouts as well. He's also trimmed the home-run rate, albeit a notable drop in HR/FB has something to do with that, too. Eventually it's a net win for fantasy owners if Cueto can stay in games longer – you get more use from his tidy ERA and WHIP (2.33, 1.05) and a better shot at victories. It might be time to put Cueto among the top dozen pitchers in the National League. If you want to check it out for yourself, give Cueto some scouting time Sunday at Kansas City

[bucksfan2]

News to the Reds of baseball. Johnny Cueto is good!

What was impressive about last night is he loaded the bases in the first inning and had some control problems. He fought back and allowed 0 runs from a potent Washington lineup. The one run was actually on a good pitch that Dukes somehow hit out of the park. Cueto is pretty good.

[VR]

News to the Reds of baseball. Johnny Cueto is good!

What was impressive about last night is he loaded the bases in the first inning and had some control problems. He fought back and allowed 0 runs from a potent Washington lineup. The one run was actually on a good pitch that Dukes somehow hit out of the park. Cueto is pretty good.

Good point...having good enough stuff to get guys out on pitches well out of the zone is very very cool.

[D-Man]

I loved watching him pitch last night, especially compared w/ last year.

The fact that his targets were lower in the strike zone was a good sign. . . But what is most impressive to me is that he was doing it with consistently good velocity (91-94) *and*, most importantly, with a ton of movement. His fastballs were dancing around the lower half of the plate like he was a 1995 Greg Maddux clone or something. Wonderful to watch.

His peripheral stats are a little troubling over the long term. But what a joy to watch. Refreshing too, compared with his 2002-2008 counterparts: Fogg, Milton, Haynes, Claussen, Luke Hudson, and the like.

[OnBaseMachine]

Concern about Cueto?
Posted by JohnFay at 7/7/2009 5:34 PM EDT on Cincinnati.com

Johnny Cueto is at 104 1/3 innings. He's well ahead of last year's pace when he threw 174. Given his recent struggles, are the Reds concerned with his workload?

“We were concerned coming in some because he didn’t get the rest because of Winter Ball and the WBC," Dusty Baker said. "We’ve really monitored his pitch count.”

Cueto has averaged just under 100 pitches per outing with a high of 112.

Cueto's gotten hit hard in three of his last four starts, taking his ERA from 2.17 to 3.45.

"Lately, other than last night when he had a couple of walks, they can expect strikes, which is a good thing for a young pitcher," Baker said. "He’s still learning. He’s a long way from where he’s going to be.”

Cueto has also gotten away from his change-up.

“That’s part of it,” Baker said. “We’ve got to re-adjust. He’s gotten beat on some change-ups. But you don’t shelve a pitch because you got beat on it.”

Cueto was clearly frustrated in last night's outing.

“His composure is a lot better than it was," Baker said. "The main thing for us to do is try to get him to forget the last couple of starts.”

Cueto mentioned earlier this year that he was tipping pitches last year. I asked him if he thought he might be tipping his pitches.

"Yesterday?" he said. He thought about it a good minute. "No, I don't think so."

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...cincinnati.com

I thought the decision to allow Cueto (and Volquez) to pitch in Winter Ball AND the World Baseball Classic was an awful idea. One of the two wouldn't have been so bad but allowing them to pitch in both wasn't very smart, IMO. I'd like to see the Reds watch him closely during the second half. We need a healthy Cueto and Volquez in 2010.

[Brutus]

Concern about Cueto?
Posted by JohnFay at 7/7/2009 5:34 PM EDT on Cincinnati.com

Johnny Cueto is at 104 1/3 innings. He's well ahead of last year's pace when he threw 174. Given his recent struggles, are the Reds concerned with his workload?

“We were concerned coming in some because he didn’t get the rest because of Winter Ball and the WBC," Dusty Baker said. "We’ve really monitored his pitch count.”

Cueto has averaged just under 100 pitches per outing with a high of 112.

Cueto's gotten hit hard in three of his last four starts, taking his ERA from 2.17 to 3.45.

"Lately, other than last night when he had a couple of walks, they can expect strikes, which is a good thing for a young pitcher," Baker said. "He’s still learning. He’s a long way from where he’s going to be.”

Cueto has also gotten away from his change-up.

“That’s part of it,” Baker said. “We’ve got to re-adjust. He’s gotten beat on some change-ups. But you don’t shelve a pitch because you got beat on it.”

Cueto was clearly frustrated in last night's outing.

“His composure is a lot better than it was," Baker said. "The main thing for us to do is try to get him to forget the last couple of starts.”

Cueto mentioned earlier this year that he was tipping pitches last year. I asked him if he thought he might be tipping his pitches.

"Yesterday?" he said. He thought about it a good minute. "No, I don't think so."

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...cincinnati.com

I thought the decision to allow Cueto (and Volquez) to pitch in Winter Ball AND the World Baseball Classic was an awful idea. One of the two wouldn't have been so bad but allowing them to pitch in both wasn't very smart, IMO. I'd like to see the Reds watch him closely during the second half. We need a healthy Cueto and Volquez in 2010.

This whole WBC thing gets way, way, way overblown.

Cueto wound up pitching in one single game in the WBC. He pitched 4.2 innings. His workload would have been virtually the same had he not pitched in the WBC and instead just reported to camp. The notion that in any way, shape or form the WBC might wind up contributing to over-working is just silly.

The teams that wound up playing eight or nine games? Well, you could argue the pitchers on those teams got worked a bit more, though even then it's a stretch. But as it is, the Dominican played three games with Cueto not even pitching five innings. The WBC should have absolutely no part in his current situation. It's a non-starter.

Nolan Ryan is right. Pitchers get babied these days. I'm sorry, but the World Baseball Classic is simply too abbreviated to even worry about workload in the slightest.

[GAC]

This whole WBC thing gets way, way, way overblown.

Cueto wound up pitching in one single game in the WBC. He pitched 4.2 innings. His workload would have been virtually the same had he not pitched in the WBC and instead just reported to camp. The notion that in any way, shape or form the WBC might wind up contributing to over-working is just silly.

I thoroughly agree. People are looking high and low, especially when he had the terrible outing the other day, to TRY and find something possibly wrong with this kid.

#1 - he is still a kid (22)

#2 - he's in his sophomore year where he is being "stretched" to pitch the most innings/year he has ever pitched, and plus, at the ML level.

Let give the kid a break. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he not tired to a degree, needs the AS break to rejuvenate somewhat.

Nolan Ryan is right. Pitchers get babied these days.

I posted that article about a year ago, and couldn't agree more. I understand the reasoning somewhat as to why organizations walk "precariously" when it comes to their pitchers, due to scarcity of quality and high salaries; but think they go too far to the other extreme to "protect", which can hinder/hurt pitchers too. There's a balance there somewhere.

[OnBaseMachine]

Another brutal start tonight by Cueto. I think it's pretty obvious something is bothering him. Could be his back flaring up, could be the lack of rest. My guess is it's the latter of the two. Allowing him to pitch winter ball AND the WBC was an awful decision. The season ended in late September and then Cueto started pitching winter ball in December, so he had a total of two months to rest his arm.

I was hoping they would skip his start tonight and give him some extra rest. With the Reds not going anywhere this season, they need to take it easy on him in the second half. Maybe a skip a start here or there... and absolutely don't let him pitch winter ball this offseason.

[I(heart)Freel]

Time to get Soto back with the club. Cueto struggling and Volquez about to start rehabbing. They need the one teacher they listen to hanging around.

[Tony Cloninger]

How long are you going to harp on winter ball and WBC...when the player can, if he wants to, play in both? Is there a new rule that the player is not allowed to play in them if the club says no? If so....I apologize..but if not...blame the player for once and not the usual....it's the management/manager/front offices fault.

[Tony Cloninger]

And to follow up..... Cueto might be 22...but he is still old enough not to need Soto every time something goes wrong.