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6/3 Gameday Thread: Wilkerson auditions for 5th starter role
radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
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Post by radiohix on Jun 3, 2016 20:23:59 GMT -5
The Wilkerson audition went fine it seems: 5.2 IP, 0 BBs, 7 Ks, 1 HRA
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Post by dcsoxfan on Jun 3, 2016 21:44:36 GMT -5
The Wilkerson audition went fine it seems: 5.2 IP, 0 BBs, 7 Ks, 1 HRA Could he be a potential bullpen arm? |
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Jun 4, 2016 4:46:15 GMT -5
Moncada ended up 3/3 3 doubles, 2 BB, SB. Looks like the mini slump has ended with a bang, 7 hits, all doubles in 2 days (3 games, 10 AB).
He also had 4 runs scored today. 49 runs in 51 games played.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 4, 2016 12:12:00 GMT -5
The Wilkerson audition went fine it seems: 5.2 IP, 0 BBs, 7 Ks, 1 HRA Could he be a potential bullpen arm? Doesn't have the stuff to profile in that role. Much more likely he's the AAA-MLB up-and-down spot starter. Seriously, at this point? F- it, give him a shot. (Kidding aside, Elias probably gets first crack at it if he's good in his next start or two, but Wilkerson's probably next up, honestly.) |
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 4, 2016 12:34:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I'd say it's at least 50/50 that Wilkerson gets a major league start, which no matter how he ends up pitching is a pretty amazing story.
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ericmvan
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Supposed to be working on something more important
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 4, 2016 13:27:07 GMT -5
Could he be a potential bullpen arm? Doesn't have the stuff to profile in that role. Much more likely he's the AAA-MLB up-and-down spot starter. Seriously, at this point? F- it, give him a shot. (Kidding aside, Elias probably gets first crack at it if he's good in his next start or two, but Wilkerson's probably next up, honestly.) Yeah, a guy with excellent command of a bunch of average-at-best pitches gains nothing as a pen arm. He could fill the long-man / spot starter role that Buchholz currently fills, if things get thin ... but JF would undoubtedly then bring him in with the team up a run in the 5th inning and the bases full with 1 out (hypothetical situation, not one where he actually made this sort of blunder already). |
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Post by dcsoxfan on Jun 4, 2016 13:48:22 GMT -5
Doesn't have the stuff to profile in that role. Much more likely he's the AAA-MLB up-and-down spot starter. Seriously, at this point? F- it, give him a shot. (Kidding aside, Elias probably gets first crack at it if he's good in his next start or two, but Wilkerson's probably next up, honestly.) Yeah, a guy with excellent command of a bunch of average-at-best pitches gains nothing as a pen arm. He could fill the long-man / spot starter role that Buchholz currently fills, if things get thin ... but JF would undoubtedly then bring him in with the team up a run in the 5th inning and the bases full with 1 out (hypothetical situation, not one where he actually made this sort of blunder already). I don't understand why a pitcher like Aaron Wilkerson, who has had success as a AA starter, wouldn't be a more likely candidate to succeed in a MLB bullpen than say a Pat Light who hasn't. If command can enable him to outperform other pitchers with better stuff as a starter, why should it not also work that way in the bullpen? Not challenging you guys -- you're way more knowledgeable on this than me -- just curious? |
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 4, 2016 18:39:25 GMT -5
Yeah, a guy with excellent command of a bunch of average-at-best pitches gains nothing as a pen arm. He could fill the long-man / spot starter role that Buchholz currently fills, if things get thin ... but JF would undoubtedly then bring him in with the team up a run in the 5th inning and the bases full with 1 out (hypothetical situation, not one where he actually made this sort of blunder already). I don't understand why a pitcher like Aaron Wilkerson, who has had success as a AA starter, wouldn't be a more likely candidate to succeed in a MLB bullpen than say a Pat Light who hasn't. If command can enable him to outperform other pitchers with better stuff as a starter, why should it not also work that way in the bullpen? Not challenging you guys -- you're way more knowledgeable on this than me -- just curious? Two things happen when you move to the pen: 1) Your command may improve -- especially when you pitch on 0 and 1 days rest, when it can improve quite a bit. You're reinforcing "muscle memory" before it has a chance to fade. 2) Because you only face hitters once, you can reduce your arsenal to your best two pitches (sometimes with a 3rd pitch just for show or just for batters of one handedness only). The quality of your third and especially your fourth and fifth pitches becomes moot. Hence: Best relief conversion candidate: shaky command, two great pitches, other offerings subpar. Poster child: Pat Light. Worst relief conversion candidate: command already as good as you could expect it to get, succeeding by mixing a wide arsenal of pitches equally as good as each other. Poster child: Aaron Wilkerson. |
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Post by mgoetze on Jun 4, 2016 19:23:46 GMT -5
Two things happen when you move to the pen: There's also the case where you improve your fastball velocity by going max effort instead of pacing yourself. But in Wilkerson's case, going up from 90 mph to 92 mph is unlikely to blow MLB hitters away. |
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 4, 2016 21:57:49 GMT -5
Two things happen when you move to the pen: There's also the case where you improve your fastball velocity by going max effort instead of pacing yourself. But in Wilkerson's case, going up from 90 mph to 92 mph is unlikely to blow MLB hitters away. Of course, I left out the most obvious thing! Guys who throw mid-90's as starters (like Barnes) definitely gain velocity, and benefit. I'm not sure you're right about guys who throw low-90's -- I think the graph of effectiveness as a function of velocity is probably fairly linear. What is true, however, is that velocity is less and less important the better your command is, aka the Moyer Effect. What velocity is good for is getting away with mistakes. It's been shown that velocity barely matters for pitches thrown to hitters' cold zones, but becomes more and more important as you move to their hot zones. You might get a 99 mph FB past Papi in one of his sweet spots, but not one at 93. So guys with poor command benefit doubly from the switch. Their command actually improves and the added velocity makes up for some of the bad command still left. The guys who already have plus command don't improve their command, and the velocity bump doesn't matter much because they already have the ability to pitch to cold zones. Wilkerson's challenge will be to get MLB hitters out with good command of an arsenal of mediocre stuff. Great command will get the job done, but if he's out there with merely good command, that means some mistakes, which we can expect to be hit hard. |
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