I would. Same with Ramirez and Maloney, assuming he struggles again in this stint of starting pitching at the major league level.
I would. Same with Ramirez and Maloney, assuming he struggles again in this stint of starting pitching at the major league level.
Matt Klinker. I wasn't sure he would translate as well as he has in the upper minors. After watching him this year though, I think an argument could be made that he is the 4th best pitching prospect in the system behind Leake/Wood/Boxberger.
He has a very good K / BB rate this year. 112 K's in 109 innings against only 34 walks... Has been very consistant with his GB / FB rate at all 3 stops this year 1.13 in A+ and AA and a little better 1.24 in AAA. Only 9 HR in 109 innings and none in 5 starts in AAA. Has a .205 BA against in 9 starts in AA and AAA...
Seems like a very, very, solid pitcher...
What type of stuff does he have? Is he a hard thrower or a good pitcher?
Yes, once he got his feet under him in AAA he has been very, very good. He throws his fastball for strikes and it is hard enough to keep the batters out of sync knowing that offspeed stuff might be coming. If they sit on his curve, it might be trouble but I haven't seen anyone do it yet.
Like a majority of RZers, I tend to rely on statistics. Over the years, I have learned the limitations in doing this.
Some players regress after a promotion then figure the league out. I see this as a positive. Buchholz and Valaika are showing late improvement that bodes well for next year. Alonso took some time to figure out A+, then he took off. At the moment, I think Stubbs is going through this at the ML level. He is unable to draw the number of walks he did from AAA pitchers. Catchers don't seem to progress offensively as quickly as others because the position is physically demanding and difficult to learn.
On the other hand, some players mash at lower levels, then stagnate. My sense is they are unable to make changes in their game needed to counter better pitchers. Batters may have to shorten their stroke, learn to recognize pitchers sooner, and plug the holes in their strike zones. Pitchers may need to add a pitch, refine their control, set up the batters.
All of these things take time and the course of progress is neither uniform nor predictable.
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