How do we not have a Tyler Mahle thread?

[Tom Servo]

https://theathletic.com/346863/2018/...uring-command/


Interesting analysis of pitching command and how good Mahle's is here if you're an Athletic subscriber. He ranks 2nd, behind Rick Porcello, in Edge%, which "captures how often pitchers were able to pitch to the edges of the strike zone rather than the heart".

[M2]

https://theathletic.com/346863/2018/...uring-command/

Interesting analysis of pitching command and how good Mahle's is here if you're an Athletic subscriber. He ranks 2nd, behind Rick Porcello, in Edge%, which "captures how often pitchers were able to pitch to the edges of the strike zone rather than the heart".

It's a big part of what makes Mahle a different animal.

[Patrick Bateman]

That is pretty insane command for his experience level.

[GAC]

I have to say that was one gutsy, grind-it-out performance by this young man last night ... and in LA! Quite impressed.

[Griffey012]

I have to say that was one gutsy, grind-it-out performance by this young man last night ... and in LA! Quite impressed.

I was super impressed by his performance last night. He was getting squeezed high in the zone as well. He had two big stike three's called balls in the 2nd and 3rd and kept his composure and still made the outs.

[Chip R]

There was a pretty broad range on that Homer deal, including those who were none too pleased (i wasn't one of them). Given the information available at the time, a lot of posters wouldn't have signed him.

Yeah, I pulled that thread up a few weeks ago and the vast majority were in favor of the deal.

[kaldaniels]

https://theathletic.com/346863/2018/...uring-command/


Interesting analysis of pitching command and how good Mahle's is here if you're an Athletic subscriber. He ranks 2nd, behind Rick Porcello, in Edge%, which "captures how often pitchers were able to pitch to the edges of the strike zone rather than the heart".

It’s a great thing but it was totally working against him last night with the ump not giving him the call on the edges, which is a shame.

[Kc61]

I don't think they started rebuilding because they were out of money. They started rebuilding because they realized, or at least one person was finally shown that they simply weren't good enough.

Money was part of it, though, they couldn’t afford to maintain the core and add the necessary improvements. They had to start over.

But the Reds do have this penchant for signing their own players. My guess is it’s viewed as maintaining links to the fan base. Some of the deals were too rich and risky in retrospect.

The recent signings of Barnhart and Suarez are less money and seem prudent. Bailey’s contract was very large.

I do think Williams understands this, it’s a strength, he knows the dangers of large LTCs.

[Big Klu]

We need more Tyler Mahle.

He's gonna make it after all.

[cumberlandreds]

We need more Tyler Mahle.

He's gonna make it after all.

[membengal]

Eno Sarris on Mahle in the The Athletic. It is, as you would guess, a really good piece with charts and stuff. A chart-less taste for those without access:

https://theathletic.com/354100/2018/...-of-his-parts/

There’s nothing that stands out about Tyler Mahle’s pitching mix when it comes to movement or velocity.

His four-seamer is slower than average. It doesn’t have more ride than average. His changeup has less horizontal movement than his four-seamer, a trick that nobody else in baseball cares to try to pull. His slider is almost an exact match for league average in every way. His curveball is below average in every way.

There’s one elite thing that Mahle does that makes it all work: He commands the ball.

Mahle showed up as having the eighth-best overall command by STATS LLC’s new Command+ number we debuted here last week, missing targets by a smaller distance than anyone not named Kyle Hendricks or Alex Wood. All of his pitches showed as having above-average command, but his fastball stands out. It’s easily his best pitch in all regards.

...

And that’s what command can do for even the most average-looking of arsenals. If pitching is making balls look like strikes and strikes look like balls, command is the method for doing so. Even if you get ahead on Tyler Mahle, he’ll be able to throw a changeup or a slider that looks like a ball and then darts back into the zone for a called strike. And then he’ll finish you off up top with the best of them.

[RED VAN HOT]

I have thought that Mahle's ceiling...wait for it...is Greg Maddux. Maddux seemed to have average looking stuff, but he rarely caught much of the plate. Hitters would come away with what used to be called, a comfortable collar. It will be interesting to see if Mahle gains a reputation for command sufficient to get those slightly off the plate calls Maddux consistently received.

[membengal]

With one more start to go in June in Mahle's rookie year he is at:

Team leading 81 innings
Team leading 6 wins
Tied team lead in Ks - 76
ERA of 3.89 leads the rest of the starters by a hilarious amount (next closest is Romano at 5.18 - Disco at 4.60 but just 3 starts)
2nd in starters' WHIP with 1.38 (trails Harvey's somewhat surprising 1.25 in 35 innings - Reds front office should be hammering that WHIP in starting trade talks w/ teams)

He's been plauged a bit by HR allowed - 15 so far - which puts him sadly right in the pack with the rest of the Reds' starters (Romano 13 HR allowed, Castillo 17 HR allowed, Bailey 15 HR allowed, Harvey 7 HR allowed in just 35 innings, Finnegan 5 HR allowed in 20 innings, Disco 3 HR in 15 innings)

Overall 3.89/1.38/ 76Ks to 32 BB.

Other than HR allowed being higher than one would like, and a few more walks than I would have expected (altho it still feels like he is being hazed by umps, by way of example, some of the ball calls yesterday of pitches that were strikes were hilarious), he has had a REALLY good start to his first full year as a major league pitcher. I think I have seen enough to feel comfortable projecting him as a legit piece of the rotation going forward, and am fairly confident that as he matures, his BB rate and HR rate will come down over the upcoming seasons. In what has been another terrible year for the team otherwise in terms of the starting rotation, he's been a legit bright spot, in my opinion.

ETA: Idea for another thread at some point, anyone with any ideas how the Reds get their home runs allowed rates down? Especially given their home ballpark, can anything be done as an organization to address this?

[Boston Red]

ETA: Idea for another thread at some point, anyone with any ideas how the Reds get their home runs allowed rates down? Especially given their home ballpark, can anything be done as an organization to address this?

Make the fences higher.

[reds44]

Make the fences higher.

Never gonna happen. They aren’t taking seats out.

Only option would be to move the fences back in LCF/CF and that also likely won’t happen.

Get better pitchers is the most realistic solution.