Saw McCarthy pitch tonight...

[Mohoney]

Originally Posted by Gimm

So true.

Have you ever wondered why Garland, who tops out at 93-94 on his four-seamer and has a very good sinker, registers so few strike-outs?

I've been thinking about that, and I think I might have an explanation. To strike people out, you have to throw AT LEAST 3 strikes in an at-bat, and the 3rd strike has to either be so deceptive that the hitter is fooled into taking it, or so perfect that the hitter can't make contact with it. His "very good" sinker is often taken for a ball. Hell, even his fastball is often taken for a ball. He seems to have 2 and 3 ball counts on every hitter. Then, a fastball down the pipe and a 3 run homer.

He doesn't have good control. He can't throw a legit third offspeed pitch for strikes, thus making him a 2 pitch pitcher. Without those 2 things, 91-93 mph isn't enough to just blow people away. Plus, he doesn't keep the ball in the park.

In fact, referring to what Jon Garland does as "pitching" might be getting a little loose with the language.

[Gimm]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

In fact, referring to what Jon Garland does as "pitching" might be getting a little loose with the language.

No no, occasionally, when he spots his change and gets the curve over, that coupled with his two fastballs....well, he is very tough on batters, let's just say.

Of course, that only happens once every 4 starts or so.

[jeremyb1]

Originally Posted by Gimm

So true.

Have you ever wondered why Garland, who tops out at 93-94 on his four-seamer and has a very good sinker, registers so few strike-outs?

Constantly. He needs a different approach or a new pitch. He's never really missed a lot of at bats and it doesn't make a ton of sense with his stuff. I don't know why guys hit his fastball so well considering the movement on it. He probably needs another pitch to set it up.

[Win1ForMe]

Earlier today I went over to the B.A. website to check on some minor league stats. I found that in 44 IP, BMac has 3 BB and 52 Ks. Am I the only one thinking those are insane #s? This kid has to be a top-10 prospect in baseball if he keeps it going into AA, right?

[Chisoxfn]

Originally Posted by Win1ForMe

Earlier today I went over to the B.A. website to check on some minor league stats. I found that in 44 IP, BMac has 3 BB and 52 Ks. Am I the only one thinking those are insane #s? This kid has to be a top-10 prospect in baseball if he keeps it going into AA, right?

No...your not the only one

He's got a chance to be a good one.

[Gimm]

Originally Posted by jeremyb1

Constantly. He needs a different approach or a new pitch. He's never really missed a lot of at bats and it doesn't make a ton of sense with his stuff. I don't know why guys hit his fastball so well considering the movement on it. He probably needs another pitch to set it up.

He has a curve, change and occasionally mixes in a slider.

And yet he is still the same mediocre pitcher he was in 2002.

[Cerberus-WG]

Randar, you're quite the lucky one to see McCarthy pitch. When Jason, Mario, Ian and I were in NC/SC we didn't get to see many higher-up prospects pitch. Saw Ray and Lubisich in W-S, Stewart and Rauch in Charlotte, Miller and someone I can't recall in Kannapolis.

Was fun to watch Miller pitch then reference him in my BA Prospect Handbook to see Phil Rogers saying he throws "easy heat". Two words: violent delivery and 2-3 MPH below what was listed (we were sitting behind Haigwood, Flores, Moat).

See anyone else Randar?

[OurBitchinMinny]

Originally Posted by Gimm

If that's the case, KW should be fired on the spot. Check that, if he gave up Borchard he should be fired.

Robbie could help this team, but only if we give up someone like Yofu - not your premiere talent.

Since when is borchard premiere talent? Maybe 3 years ago, but he keeps on proving he is not a major league baseball player

[jeremyb1]

Originally Posted by Gimm

He has a curve, change and occasionally mixes in a slider.

And yet he is still the same mediocre pitcher he was in 2002.

I'd count his change at half a pitch at best. He rarely throws it and when he does he seems to leave it up and give up home runs. He's largely a two pitch pitcher with his fastball and his curve. He very rarely seems to throw his slider or his four seemer. His fastball is good enough that he doesn't need a ton of pitches but a third solid go to pitch might go a long ways.

[jeremyb1]

Originally Posted by Win1ForMe

Earlier today I went over to the B.A. website to check on some minor league stats. I found that in 44 IP, BMac has 3 BB and 52 Ks. Am I the only one thinking those are insane #s? This kid has to be a top-10 prospect in baseball if he keeps it going into AA, right?

I'd certainly agree that those are insane numbers. However, a top ten prospect is overdoing it. Top 100 yeah but top ten would require a lot more good work on his part. When you think about it Anderson and Sweeney are still probably more highly regarded at this point and we don't have a top notch system right now. There are 29 other clubs out there. Also, the very top guys seem to have otherwordly performances for the course of an entire minor league season (Reed last season) or play incredibly well in the high minors at a very young age (BJ Upton as a 20 year old crushing the ball in AAA). McCarthy would need a full season at AA on par with his current WS performance to start to approach that level.

[Gimm]

Originally Posted by jeremyb1

His fastball is good enough that he doesn't need a ton of pitches but a third solid go to pitch might go a long ways.

What do you have in mind?

[jeremyb1]

Originally Posted by Gimm

What do you have in mind?

I don't know. Not really my area of expertise. Learning how to throw his curve well would certainly be nice. Someone once argued on this board he needs a pitch that breaks the other direction such as a screwball. I wonder if he couldn't just throw his four seamer more often and throw guys off. Sometimes he throws the pitch up in the zone when he's ahead in the count to see if guys will chase it but he never seems to try to locate it in the zone. Loaiza was really successful spotting both his four seamer and his cutter on the corners. Anyone else have ideas?

(Also, if it's possible and time permits if a Mod would be intersted in seperating the Garland posts from the BMac posts and moving the Garland thread to the Sox forum that'd be greatly appreciated.)

[Daver]

Originally Posted by jeremyb1

I don't know. Not really my area of expertise.

But I thought stats told you everything you needed to know about the game.

[Gimm]

Originally Posted by Daver

But I thought stats told you everything you needed to know about the game.

Do you have any suggestions/constructive input, Dave?

[Daver]

Originally Posted by Gimm

Do you have any suggestions/constructive input, Dave?

All I have seen of Brandon is about a half hour of tape, which is not enough to draw any conclusions from. Offering an opinion based on a box score or a scouting report is a very diffucult thing to do.