I have a feeling the velo talk this spring is a little exaggerated. I'd feel a little better about it if the buzz was coming from rival scouts and such rather than from the Mariner beat and coaches (or wherever it's coming from). If he is throwing that hard, great. They say he's gotten bigger, so maybe a velo jump came with it.
As far as the motion goes, I'm worried. That's been my concern all along. If he's throwing that hard with that whippy little motion I'm worried that something is going to fall off. Never know, though..
Maybe the M's should rush him so they can get some use out of him in case his elbow starts barking again. That's not to say that they should put him on the roster now, but a month or two in AA month or two in AAA and here by the back end of summer. If all goes right, that is.
I/O: Michael Pineda is now reportedly throwing "99 mph with command."
CRUNCH: If I'm not mistaken, there did once live a man, in Hobbiton, who threw 99 with command. He threw nothing other than this one pitch, a high-90s located fastball. He threw 6,000 innings in the big leagues and gave up 1400 runs in his life time.
So if the Big Train could do it, I suppose eventually somebody else was bound to come along who could do it.
Take that back: probably Satchel could do this, too, in his 20's...
.........
Adding to the urban legend, every M's guy who comes on the radio, literally giggles about Pineda's displacement. Think he'd go for a "Shambling Mound" nickname?
..........
I take it for granted -- that what actually happened, was that Pineda threw one or two upper-90's pitches that hit the catcher's mitt. That's about the outer extreme of human performance, I think. :- )
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CRUNCH: But Pineda's plus-plus-plus "80" command is heavily reported at this point, and his 48/6 control at High Desert (!) testifies to this.
What makes it surreal is that Pineda's 95 mph is also now well testified. Pineda is a Grade A+ pitching prospect even at 95, so this talk about hitting 99 is stroke-inducing.
The reports on Pineda have him threatening to enter the Verlander class of pitching prospects, and SSI's question is why he would not be a candidate for the Mariners' rotation.
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CRUNCH: I honestly can't figure out how anybody would throw 95-99 with Pineda's motion.
The ball does not travel on a long arc. It travels through his backstroke on a short arc. How does he accelerate it to those levels? Ever see a short-armer throw 98?
But along with that, if he really does short-arm 96, just mail in the game and go get 'em tomorrow. They can't see that pitch.
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I/O: Strasburg was easily the best pitcher in the Nationals' camp. Their GM promptly dispatched him to the minor leagues, saying that you can't step from minor league baseball straight into MLB(TM) ball.
Yesterday (?) he threw 4.1 innings and fanned 9.
CRUNCH: We will be charitable and assume that not even Mike Hargrove would question Stephen Strasburg's ability to outpitch Garrett Mock. We presume that the Nats want to slide their club-controls year from 2010 to 2016.
..........
But the bottom line is, the pitcher holds the ball, and whether the pitcher is from Japan, Cuba, or college, if he throws like Strasburg or (reportedly) Pineda, he doesn't have to move quickly, doesn't have to decipher angles, doesn't need experience.
Steve Carlton said that pitching should be nothing more than a game of catch. If Michael Pineda can play catch into a Dixie cup at mid-90's, I want to know why he isn't at Safeco. 'Cause if he can, he's a whale of a lot better than four of our starters.
Yeah, I know the viewpoint is crazy. Pineda should try AA first, and then we'll talk about higher. I'm just saying that (a) either these reports are off, or (b) Pineda's one of the better pitchers in all O.B., right now.
Cheers,
Jeff
Comments
What, like a GIANT? ::sawyer Lost::
The Billy Beane approach eh Jon... ride 'em till they drop ... they're gonna leave in six years anyway :- )
What I hear on the radio is, Pineda only pitched 50 innings last year, due to elbow ligament issues or somesuch...
There is no way, no how, that he should be in the bigs now. The M's seem to have the stance of playing it cautious with him, and I'm all for it. To my way of thinking, if he stays healthy all year, he maybe gets a cup of coffee when the roster expands this year, then possible crack at the roster next year. Anything more aggressive than that seems a bit foolish IMO.
The M's are going to be reeeeal careful with this guy... Look, they cut back Felix' spring workload to reduce his total IP this year, based on last year's work load. With Pineda at 50 last year, they won't let him pitch more than, I dunno, 150? next year. Dude has logged about 250 in his entire career.
Hm, Felix only had 300 some IP when he arrived at the big leagues, fewer than I realized. Luke Hochevar - 250, Matt Cain - 400, Scott Kazmir - 250, (rough numbers here) -- I guess it really is the pitcher telling you when he's ready.
But just based on workload, no matter where he pitches, Pineda will be shut down early, and if he goes over 160 for the year, I'll eat a bug.
And the rule about low-minors-to-bigs is one of the absolute ones in baseball. Then again, the same used to be true of NPB and college ball...
Wherever Pineda throws the baseball, if he's now 95-98 mph with that command, he's going to disillusion some guys about whatever futures they thought they had :- )
Nolan Ryan......291 minor league innings. Only 37 (THIRTY SEVEN!!!!) above A-ball. If Pinada throws 96+, with movement and locates it (and is an athlete..not a David Clyde), I don't care how many innings he has thrown, give him a map to the PNW. Maybe with a cup of coffee in Tacoma.
Hey guys....Talent is talent. I've been watching the Atlanta Braves on TV a bit this week and watching their 20 year-old RF mash the ball. Nobody is saying he needs more seasoning. He's a talent...Bobby Cox is going to let him show it.
Can anybody say "J-U-N-I-O-R?" (465 minor league AB's...exactly 61 (SIXTY ONE) above A-ball.
In this card game, talent trumps age.
Well, he was 6'5/180 at signing and listed at 6'5/243 now. Some say he's gotten taller, which wouldn't be that surprising. He's definitely a beast.
Ezequiel Carrera and Dustin Ackley soon please.
Beast, Manster, The Truth, it all works with Pineda.
Doc, not even April Fool's! Scary how few today would know about Grandpa Sidd! Bring on Pineda. Careful yes. But even a good car needs to be taken for a fast spin!
Opening Day at Pringles Park in Jackson, TN:
1b -- Rich Poythress
2b -- Dustin Ackley
ss -- Carlos Triunfel
3b -- Matt Mangini/Kyle Seager?
of -- Carlos Peguero (31 Cal League bombs)
p -- Michael Pineda
p -- Daniel Cortes
p -- Steven Hensley
p -- Edward Paredes
p -- Josh Fields
p -- Anthony Varvaro
p -- Nathan Adcock
2 out of 3 falls. And not like the '01 M's vs '06 Cubs, but time-warped.
We traded Nate Adcock to Pitt, but swap him out with Robles (who will be at West Tenn) and that pitching lineup gets even more fearsome. Peguero and Halman are gonna blow a house down with all that whiffing, but it should be an incredibly fun team to watch.
Pineda just needs to stay healthy. I want to see him put in a full season. Moving him to the pen would make me cry, but his arm needs to stay attached. He's a house with arms out there, and one of those arms should bring him - and us - a nice future.
Survey says that at least one of Pineda/Robles is gone for a bat near the trade deadline, though. It's gonna be hard to part with either of em - hopefully what we get back is here long-term and absolutely worth it.
~G
Realized after I'd posted that I'd forgotten Robles -- pretty big omission!
Forgot all about Adcock getting traded, but never really followed him much anyway.
Hensley, by the way, pitched a scoreless inning against the Cubs on Saturday.
Yep, Hensley is gonna be a monster #4 in that rotation. Think about that for a second. *grins*
One of the best rotations I remember for the Ms minor league teams was the 2003 San An Missions fronted by Blackley, Nageotte and Mads - before all 3 guys blew their arms out. *knocks on every piece of wood in sight*
This rotation of Pineda, Robles, Cortes, Hensley and whomever, with Paredes and Fields and Varvaro, etc backing em up, looks like it could be even more fun than that championship team.
That team had a bunch of AAAA bats that were old-for-level fronting the offense, as well as a bit of Snelling and a young Jose Lopez. The fun part about the offensive performances we'll be looking for from Ackley, Halman, Poythress, Peguero etc is that they're all several years younger.
It just looks like a monster team on paper. I hope they play like it. Now would be a REALLY good time for our minor leaguers to up their trade value...and for the keepers to prove they belong on the big club sooner than later.
~G