Vladimir Gutierrez

[Tom Servo]

through 4 starts: 0-4, 7.41 ERA, 17 innings, 11 strikeouts, 15 walks, 1.94 WHIP

I imagine he'll pitch better, mostly because there's really nowhere to go from here but up, but I do think this is a hard dose of reality for anyone in the Reds front office who convinced themselves that Gutierrez had suddenly figured out how to pitch well on the big stage after years of struggling in the minors. In the long run he's much more a mopup man than big league starter.

[Kingspoint]

Vlad needed to be a middle reliever this season.

[REDREAD]

through 4 starts: 0-4, 7.41 ERA, 17 innings, 11 strikeouts, 15 walks, 1.94 WHIP

I imagine he'll pitch better, mostly because there's really nowhere to go from here but up, but I do think this is a hard dose of reality for anyone in the Reds front office who convinced themselves that Gutierrez had suddenly figured out how to pitch well on the big stage after years of struggling in the minors. In the long run he's much more a mopup man than big league starter.

Yep, a lot of us said it was a bad plan to give Vlad a rotation spot, the Reds could have had more vets in the rotation.
Even if Castillo was healthy, 3 spots in the rotation manned by kids is usually not a recipe for success.
I saw Lodollo's last start, he was amazing. I have not seen Greene yet, but the word is he's good.
But SanMartin and Vlad are black holes.
I remember one year, the fifth spot in the rotation was manned by a combination of Rob Bell, Reith and Reyes got a few starts. They
combined to go something like 2-18 (I don't remember exactly).. but that basically killed the entire season.
Yes, W-L is not a good measure of pitching performance, but it is a good measure of how they killed that season, even if the losses are not 100% their fault.. The team did not win
on games they pitched. A better pitcher would have produced a better W-L record, that's the point.

We are going to have at least one slot in the rotation this year that is a similar drain.

[Old school 1983]

Yep, a lot of us said it was a bad plan to give Vlad a rotation spot, the Reds could have had more vets in the rotation.
Even if Castillo was healthy, 3 spots in the rotation manned by kids is usually not a recipe for success.
I saw Lodollo's last start, he was amazing. I have not seen Greene yet, but the word is he's good.
But SanMartin and Vlad are black holes.
I remember one year, the fifth spot in the rotation was manned by a combination of Rob Bell, Reith and Reyes got a few starts. They
combined to go something like 2-18 (I don't remember exactly).. but that basically killed the entire season.
Yes, W-L is not a good measure of pitching performance, but it is a good measure of how they killed that season, even if the losses are not 100% their fault.. The team did not win
on games they pitched. A better pitcher would have produced a better W-L record, that's the point.

We are going to have at least one slot in the rotation this year that is a similar drain.

I didn’t mind them giving Vlad a spot in the rotation, although I thought his best value to the Reds would be a trade chip this off-season. The issue with Vlad being in the rotation isn’t just his performance, it’s that he’s there with SanMartin too. And they pitch back to back. In a 3 game series, you’re essentially resigning yourself to a shelling when SanMartin pitches and a mixed bag when Vlad pitches. IMO, Ashcraft needs to take SanMartins spot ASAP, and if he outpitches him and Vlad, needs to take Vlads spot when Castillo comes back.

[RedTeamGo!]

I don’t think Vlad’s stuff is as good as Mahle’s.

I kind of think Vlad is getting by on smoke and mirrors. Hope I’m wrong.

Narrator: he wasn’t wrong

[westofyou]

I'm changing his name from Vlad to Down and Away

[kaldaniels]

The Ballad of Revier and Vlad needs to serve as a note of caution going forward.

Big picture wise, guys outside of the Top 100-200 prospects very rarely just bubble up from the minors and become a successful starting pitcher. It happens, but usually there is something that sticks out in peripherals, metrics, spin etc…where there is a tangible improvement that translates to major league success.

I like a pitcher who “looks poised”…it sure beats the alternative. But simply looking poised isn’t a key to being a good pitcher.

[Tom Servo]

The Ballad of Revier and Vlad needs to serve as a note of caution going forward.

Big picture wise, guys outside of the Top 100-200 prospects very rarely just bubble up from the minors and become a successful starting pitcher. It happens, but usually there is something that sticks out in peripherals, metrics, spin etc…where there is a tangible improvement that translates to major league success.

I like a pitcher who “looks poised”…it sure beats the alternative. But simply looking poised isn’t a key to being a good pitcher.

To defend those of us who were slightly bullish on Team Reiver, he did have some much better minor league numbers than Vlad. That's not saying a ton given Vlad's 6.00 ERA in AAA, but I think you could see squint and see where maybe Sanmartin could be like a slightly passable high 4.00/low 5.00-ish ERA fringe guy at the back of the rotation.

You're right though, when you're relying on these sorts of guys you're pretty much asking for major issues.

[Patrick Bateman]

Too many key roster spots "given" and not "earned"

[Kc61]

Reds gave Vlad a bonus near $5 million. They don’t give up easily on guys to whom they pay substantial bonuses. It was evident from his minor league stats that he had an uphill climb in the big leagues. It remains hard to envision him as a good starter. I don’t know, frankly, if he’d succeed in the pen.

But the Reds must forthwith remove Vlad and SanMartin from the rotation. I’d rather see Ashcraft get some tries. Or some minor league crafty veteran.

[Ron Madden]

Bobby Nightengale
@nightengalejr

It’s been a rough start to the season for Vladimir Gutierrez, but the Reds are hopeful a mechanical adjustment in his delivery is the key to unlocking another level from him.

[JCM11]

I'm hopeful that I'll grow 6 pack abs working out once a week and eating M&M's 5 days a week.

[REDREAD]

Can we bring Gullett out of retirement to fix Vlad?

[JCM11]

Updated stats for Vlad the Impaled

W/L 0-5, ERA- 8.86, FIP 7.55, WHIP 2.016, BB/9 7.25, SO/9 5.5

I'm going to assume the Reds are trying to lose if he gets another start.

[bm1475]

This is petty of me but performance aside, I just don't want to have to look at that awful spider tattoo anymore.