Pre-POTD on Mayckol Gauipe, RHP
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Sure, we're too early with everything. You know you love it. Even if (especially when) Dr. D blows himself to kingdom come :- )
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REPUTATION
PUNDITS: Two pitch Fastball-Slider guy ("slider," Dr. D rolls eyes). Fairly hot fastball, tight late-breaking slider. May actually get too much of the strike zone.
STATS: Agree with this. He has a huge K:BB ratio lately in the minors, like 56:9 last year at AA. Hasn't given up the minor league homers to support the above rep, but that's typical.
MARINERS: Just pushed him up ahead of Farquhar and Wilhelmsen. So he's a good prospect (as relievers go) in their eyes.
RANKINGS: Most places have him like #20 in the org, which, when applied to an unknown reliever, says everything and nothing at the same time.
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JUNE 1 MLB DEBUT
He's pitched one time in the majors, a month ago against the Yankee$. Here is the MLB.com video of that perfect 2.1 innings pitched. If a picture's worth 1,000 Dr. D words, the video is worth 10,000 of them. The vid has four pitches. In order, no opinion, just description:
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- Horrible 86 MPH offspeed pitch of some kind, that fortunately missed the strike zone (5-3 assist)
- Explosive 95++ MPH out-and-over, blows away lefty hitter (K)
- Best power 85+ MPH breaking pitch we've seen this year from a Mariner, blows away LEFTY hitter (K)
- Nice 95- MPH jam pitch, pops up lefty hitter
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When I was a kid, "slider" referred to something that broke gloveside. That idea is also the basis for Big Blog's prediction that Michael Pineda could not pitch in the big leagues ;- ) because "sliders" break into lefties' wheelhouses. As a general rule, righties have trouble throwing [real] sliders to left hand hitters, but that often has little to do with specific pitchers. Like Pineda, who threw another 10-strikeout 7-IP shutout today, thanks for axing. :- ) His season control ratio is now 105:13, and his xFIP is 2.72. Just reminiscing. He woulda been my second fave Mariner pitcher who ever lived.
Back to the point!, nowadays they seem to call everything 83-88 MPH a "slider." This is wayyy misleading in view of Guaipe's roll-off-the-top-of-the-table power yakker. You can see for yourself that lefties had little chance in the June 1 game.
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Here, check out the Brooks Baseball chart of Gauipe's game. (Lump the sliders and curves as one pitch.) They did indeed decipher that weird first pitch as an armside-breaking changeup. Unless he can throw the change a lot better than he did on June 1, the obvious kibitz is to stick with the two exciting pitches and flush the floating, wild, fast "changeup" down the toilet. This would also be the stock advice from a pitching coach to a rookie reliever.
SSI will be watching for more pitches like that 3rd one, though, and more 100-MPH-looking fastballs like that 2nd one.
Shrug,
Dr D