|
Post by brendan98 on May 16, 2019 10:01:22 GMT -5
I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread, feel free to move this post if so.
What the heck is going on with Walden? It’s certainly possible that my impression of him being a 4A type pitcher was way off base, but the guy has been a Godsend to this bullpen. Is what he is doing sustainable in any way, or should we be prepared for him to turn back into a pumpkin?
|
|
|
Post by soxin8 on May 16, 2019 11:37:22 GMT -5
I wasn't paying much attention to him and was wondering where he peaked on the Sox prospects ratings? It is hard to know who is going to develop a new pitch and take off like him which is why it is enjoyable to keep an eye on the lower levels and even unranked prospects. We are all hoping here that he doesn't lose the touch on that slider.
|
|
nomar
Veteran
Posts: 10,706
|
Post by nomar on May 16, 2019 12:06:00 GMT -5
He reworked his slider this offseason and now he throws it 42% of the time. Last year he was all sinkers and cutters and now they’re only about 40% of his pitch mix. He’s basically a whole new pitcher, and it’s working.
It would be huge if he can keep it up all year, but even if he can extend this run another month it would be nice as we play some tough clubs soon.
|
|
|
Post by ramireja on May 17, 2019 11:40:40 GMT -5
Great timing for this thread! Fangraphs piece with insights from Walden himself:
|
|
|
Post by telson13 on May 17, 2019 19:43:47 GMT -5
I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread, feel free to move this post if so. What the heck is going on with Walden? It’s certainly possible that my impression of him being a 4A type pitcher was way off base, but the guy has been a Godsend to this bullpen. Is what he is doing sustainable in any way, or should we be prepared for him to turn back into a pumpkin? I’ve posted a bunch on him elsewhere, but if you go to baseballsavant.com ( baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/marcus-walden-519393?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb ), you can see some of the (good) indicators. He’s added a 4FB that allows him to go up-down, and he uses three different FB to pretty consistent locations. He leads with the SL but uses each FB basically equally (20%). His command, if you look at the heatmaps, is quite good. The “stuff” is pretty much solid to plus across the board. He’s got a high SwStr rate, *outstanding* barrel rate (not surprising given he works the edges well). His xWOBA and xSLG are outstanding, meaning it’s not just luck. He has a low walk rate and a silly WHIP. He showed some of this last year, but I think the 4FB and upping his SL usuage has helped him make the jump to missing bats. The 4FB is his “worst” pitch, but it’s still got just a .261 xBA and .313 xSLG. I think the combo of multiple pitches, an excellent SL he commands well, having a pitch combo he can change eye level with in the 4FB/SL, and GB pitches in the SI/CU all suggest he can keep this up to a reasonable extent. It’s pretty tough to rock a sub-1.5 ERA and a sub-0.70 WHIP, but I think he can finish mid-2s with peripherals to match. Obviously he’s not going to put up a sub-.200 BABIP but he does limit hard contact and might be .270-range. Plus, K-BB is a great indicator and he’s been awesome at over 27%.
|
|
|
Post by soxin8 on May 20, 2019 13:24:50 GMT -5
On his espn stats page, Walden is now projected to go 21 and 0. Is it possible for a 7th inning reliever to win the Cy Young? Has anyone ever even gotten Cy Young votes that wasn't a starter or closer? Walden seems to be the dominant middle reliever we hoped Feltman would be later this year.
|
|
|
Post by bluechip on May 20, 2019 13:56:32 GMT -5
On his espn stats page, Walden is now projected to go 21 and 0. Is it possible for a 7th inning reliever to win the Cy Young? Has anyone ever even gotten Cy Young votes that wasn't a starter or closer? Walden seems to be the dominant middle reliever we hoped Feltman would be later this year. Andrew Miller, who did have some saves, but really wasn’t the closer, got Cy Young votes in 2016. Considering what Ryan Pressly is doing in Houston, I don’t see Walden getting any votes.
|
|
|
Post by telson13 on May 20, 2019 14:56:20 GMT -5
On his espn stats page, Walden is now projected to go 21 and 0. Is it possible for a 7th inning reliever to win the Cy Young? Has anyone ever even gotten Cy Young votes that wasn't a starter or closer? Walden seems to be the dominant middle reliever we hoped Feltman would be later this year. Andrew Miller, who did have some saves, but really wasn’t the closer, got Cy Young votes in 2016. Considering what Ryan Pressly is doing in Houston, I don’t see Walden getting any votes. Seriously, why can’t we get guys like that? Lol, for real tho they should’ve traded for him last year. The price wasn’t especially high and the Sox needed bullpen help, not to mention he’d already started going SL-heavy and being great with MN. His performance so far this year isn’t particularly surprising.
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 21, 2019 16:57:40 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 21, 2019 17:00:25 GMT -5
I guess the only questions you have about Walden moving forward is-
Will he get hurt throwing so many sliders?
Will he flameout by the end of the year because of all the innings and appearances he's going to eventually get?
|
|