POTD Erasmo Ramirez, 1
............... 
Short people got ... noooooo reason .... :: randy newman ::
.
Q. Does SSI grok Erasmo Ramirez as comparable to Doug Fister?
A. Possibly. They seem to share the traits of truly elite command within the strike zone. Beyond that, we'll see if Erasmo has the supplemental weapons that separate him from the pack.
There are any number of right hand pitchers who walk 1 batter per game in the minors. What Doug Fister did that made him different was this:
- His 1 BB rates were based on wondrous location -- based on superlative mechanics for a tall guy -- and not on over-challenging
- He seemed to have a swing-through, plus-plus, changeup at the time he came up
As it turned out, what SSI saw as a very cool changeup turned out to be something 10 degrees different: a nice talent for offspeed pitches in general, and for setting up hitters.
Erasmo Ramirez also seems to be walking 21 men in 151 innings not on the Blake Beavan-style "every pitch a strike" basis, but on Moyer-like command. That makes him different.
Here, check out the 4th paragraph in this article. That Navarro quote, plus Lonnie's spring training videos, suggest that Ramirez may indeed have Fister-like command.
padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Q. Fister had unusual movement. Does Erasmo have anything going for him like that?
A. He does! Erasmo throws across his body. This hides the ball -- creating a higher perceived velocity LOL -- and usually gives a pitcher increased spin on the ball. Think Jeff Nelson and Randy Johnson. Luis Tiant, Jose Contreras.
Bringing us to ...