Elias vs Garrett Richards, RHP
.
Richards' Arsenal
Garrett Richards uses the same "Blunt Force Trauma" repertoire as does Michael Pineda:
- 75% fastballs at 95 MPH average velocity
- 25% sliders at 86 MPH
Recently, he's begun mixing in the occasional 75 MPH variation on the slider. But it's still a Pineda toolbox. Here is a video in which you can get a feel for his game.
What has made Pineda's game special is the fact that he not only throws 94-97 MPH, but also throws the ball into a teacup -- Curt Schilling velocity with Greg Maddux control. Such would not be the case with Richards, but then again "Nuclear Holocaust" is not the minimum standard of effectiveness for a #4 starter.
.
Platoon Splits
Garrett is:
- A fastball-slider pitcher, who
- Does NOT seem to have particularly good command in the zone
And if that's the case, it would explain why he has been vulnerable to left hand batters.
| PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | Comp MLB hitter | |
| vs RHP | 452 | .246 | .303 | .359 | Any glove-1st shortstop |
| vs LHP | 570 | .293 | .365 | .442 | Zobrist, Headley, Pedroia |
Also, the young Mariners of 2013 had good results against Richards:
None of which is a guarantee. But the Angels' #4 starter is theoretically an easier ride than the Angels' #1 starter, so M's fans are within their rights to hope for a couple of nice rallies on Wednesday.
Seems like an ideal evening on which to deploy the Eight Lefty Slash-ah's. The choice between Hart and Morrison will be interesting.
.
Roenis Elias
Dr. D continues to wring his hands over Elias' K:BB ratio, which currently sits at 3:3.
But Livan Hernandez also had a slash-angle fastball, a power slider, and a changeup which produced mediocre K/BB's but weak contact (note Livan's career HR/F ratio). What Dr. D is watching for, is whether Elias will be able to continue to force defensive swings and relatively weak contact.
If so, maybe he is Livan Hernandez II (with a couple of extra feet on the fastball). If so, that's still not one of our best five. If so, he's still capable of going 3-1, 3.50 while filling in.
.........
The best thing about Elias? He had not only the umps, but the batters, thoroughly confused in Oakland. The A's swing rate of 38% was about as low as it gets, and that was despite a 67% first strike rate.
The A's swung at an absurdly low 10% of O-Zone pitches, and swung and missed only 7.5% of the time, so .... Elias needs the umpire to call strikes when he fools a hitter. When Elias struck out (1) Nick Punto and (2) the umpire in Oakland, and Punto got a second chance to score the tying run -- that pitch, right there, is the defining Roenis Elias pitch. He's got to have those.
............
If everything breaks right for Elias, he'll go like 80-82, 4.12 for his career. But you can still get paid for 2.0 WAR in America.
BABVA,
Dr D