Johnny Cueto

[fearofpopvol1]

He has looked really good. I think today was his best start of his I've seen in a Reds uniform. Granted, I think the Pirates offense is horrible (even if they've done okay so far), but he still looked superb out there today. The Reds starting rotation is shaping up nicely. If Owings can be more consistent (or if Bailey continues to pitch well and takes his spot), we may be looking at 1 of the better rotations in baseball.

[RedsManRick]

Today Cueto showed what made him so successful in the minors and what makes him better than Volquez -- control of his fastball down in the zone. Sure he'll still get guys out on high cheese, but when he's on, he's hitting those low corners with his 2 seamer.

[fisch11]

I like how Chris Welsh pointed out Cueto's pitching routine where he draws a line from the rubber to the plate to help as a marker for him to stay in line as he delivers. They talked about how Dick Pole and the staff has got him to keep everything inline instead of throwing across his body violently like he did coming up. I think that change in his delivery has vastly improved his consistency and efficiency. Like Chris says, he looks like he is free and easy and smooth 96mph gas to the plate. Last season, it seemed like he would just throw it hard and hope it caught the plate as he fell off the mound toward 1st base. Credit to Dick Pole and the staff for refining his mechanics, because it has definitely paid off.

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by fisch11

I like how Chris Welsh pointed out Cueto's pitching routine where he draws a line from the rubber to the plate to help as a marker for him to stay in line as he delivers. They talked about how Dick Pole and the staff has got him to keep everything inline instead of throwing across his body violently like he did coming up. I think that change in his delivery has vastly improved his consistency and efficiency. Like Chris says, he looks like he is free and easy and smooth 96mph gas to the plate. Last season, it seemed like he would just throw it hard and hope it caught the plate as he fell off the mound toward 1st base. Credit to Dick Pole and the staff for refining his mechanics, because it has definitely paid off.

Its amazing how something as simple as this can pay off huge dividends. This is something Cueto can look at after every pitch. He can see where is foot fell and whether or not he is throwing across his body. Just 5 seconds of drawing a line in the mound has made Cueto dominant.

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

Just 5 seconds of drawing a line in the mound has made Cueto dominant.

So far. Cueto has shown flashes of dominance before. If this continues all season, then he's dominant. If not, he's merely a solid #3.

That's really nice to type, BTW. Harang and Volquez are not-quite aces, as they've proven themselves over the course of a year. (Harang moreso than Volquez, obviously.) Arroyo has proven himself league average, as had a pre-injury Owings. Those, according to many, grade out as 3/4 starters.

Cueto's the wildcard. If he's an ace, the Reds have a staff as good as any in the National League, aside from Chicago (and that's debatable). If he's a #3, the Red staff still grades out as average to above so.

Nice to see.

[Homer Bailey]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

So far. Cueto has shown flashes of dominance before. If this continues all season, then he's dominant. If not, he's merely a solid #3.

That's really nice to type, BTW. Harang and Volquez are not-quite aces, as they've proven themselves over the course of a year. (Harang moreso than Volquez, obviously.) Arroyo has proven himself league average, as had a pre-injury Owings. Those, according to many, grade out as 3/4 starters.

Cueto's the wildcard. If he's an ace, the Reds have a staff as good as any in the National League, aside from Chicago (and that's debatable). If he's a #3, the Red staff still grades out as average to above so.

Nice to see.

Agree 100%.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by RedsManRick

Today Cueto showed what made him so successful in the minors and what makes him better than Volquez -- control of his fastball down in the zone. Sure he'll still get guys out on high cheese, but when he's on, he's hitting those low corners with his 2 seamer.

Really, I always felt like Volquez is too consistently down in the zone with everything, and not getting a ton of called strikes in the process when he is going bad. Cueto is more effectively wild in the zone IMO. Volquez would do well to change the hitters eye level a bit more I think.

[lollipopcurve]

Volquez would do well to change the hitters eye level a bit more I think.

Agreed. Harang too. Unfortunately, when Volquez goes upstairs it tends to be attic level, so it's easier forhitters to recognize it as a ball.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

Agreed. Harang too. Unfortunately, when Volquez goes upstairs it tends to be attic level, so it's easier forhitters to recognize it as a ball.

Yes definitely needs to do better controlling that FB up. He tends to stay low (crouch a bit) on the mound himself, it seems like he got a little higher on the mound (stood up a little more) and therefore pitched better his last outing.

[fearofpopvol1]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

Agreed. Harang too. Unfortunately, when Volquez goes upstairs it tends to be attic level, so it's easier forhitters to recognize it as a ball.

I think Harang actually does a pretty good job of raising the eye level.

[Homer Bailey]

From Jason Stark's blog on ESPN on Cueto:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/column...umblings090507

On Johnny Cueto: "He could be an impact starter. The funny thing is, he's got good velocity, but he doesn't show it all the time. Last time I saw him, for some reason, he was 89-90-91 [mph] in the first couple of innings. Then he sat at 93 to 95 the rest of the way. But I'll tell you this: Once he dialed it up, the hitters had no chance."

[membengal]

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

[GAC]

He could be. All I think Stark is basically saying is that it's still too early (small window) to tell; but the kid is showing great potential.

[Homer Bailey]

After tonight, and the last run of starts, is there a better young pitcher in the game? Lincecum is the easy argument, but I'm having trouble thinking of another young pitcher that is close to JC?

[OnBaseMachine]

Holding the very tough Cardinals offense to one run in seven innings is very, very impressive. He did the impossible tonight - he made Albert Pujols look bad in a couple atbats. I don't think I've ever seen that before by anyone. Great start by Johnny.