Question arose as to whether Pineda's upside has been pegged at TOR by scouts.
The answer is yea, as in this quote of a scout by Jason back in June 2008 (before the incredible performance at High Desert. Said the scout,
"If he's able to continue to throw strikes with that kind of consistency, he's got a real chance to develop into a frontline starter," an area scout for an AL club said. "His stuff is playing up at this level because he's hitting his spots, especially with a good fastball. When you can do that, you're way ahead of the curve (in Class A)."
In this context, "frontline starter" does not mean "one of the best starters on his team." It means "one of the best starters in baseball." It's equivalent to the term "Grade A starter." It doesn't mean "Hall of Fame starter," the way many fans do when they speak of a frontline starter being Randy Johnson or Greg Maddux. But "frontline starter" means Erik Bedard, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke, etc.
.............
Jason himself then opines "somewhere between #2 and #3 starter," but IMHO that's just because of the imperative not to overstate things if you want to work in baseball.
.............
Me personally? I can't imagine what more you would ask for, if you wanted a class-A pitcher who profiled to be an All-Star at the major league level. If Pineda isn't a potential staff ace, who is? Somebody who throws 96 and has no idea where the ball is going? I've seen plenty 'nuff of those in my day, thanks.
Add new comment
1