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5/30-6/1 Red Sox vs. Rays Series Thread
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jun 1, 2014 1:26:22 GMT -5
) Holy smokes, this has been a delightful game for us prospect nerds. What a spectacular outing from De La Rosa. That fastball/change combo is just nasty, and if he commands the ball and keeps it down, he could be as good as any pitcher in the organization. Yeah, the stuff is absolutely top shelf. Last year was tentative at best, with the fastball at 93-94 and straight. Tonight he started out at 95 with a tail on that thing, and ended up at 97, which is nearly unhittable when he's spotting it, and he was. It's not his K Pitch, that's the changeup, but he can induce weak contact with it and he did tonight. Thought I saw at least one curve to go with the slider which he seems to be bringing into play. This is the first time I'd seen him throw that to ML hitters and it's not bad. The changeup is ridiculous with the drop and fade just wrecking lefthanders. Same motion as the fastball with the added bonus that it comes in at 88+. Good contrast with the heater because he throws that so hard. But seriously, how many guys barely throw their fastball at 88? More than a few. Copping a line from fenway here, but I do believe it's time to make room for this guy. |
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Post by jmei on Jun 1, 2014 5:22:24 GMT -5
Cecchini is likely a one-day move until Drew joins the team on Monday. If Wilson had not pitched two innings tonight, they likely would not have made this move. Exactly and at minimum it gives JF a Holt at 2B, Cecchini at 3B vs Holt at 3B, Herrera at 2B decision to make. That would make sense, but it looks like Pedroia is going to start Sunday, so I don't think it was necessarily the driving force of the move. I think they just wanted another bench bat (in case one of their infielders gets ejected?), and Cecchini was one of the only guys on the 40-man that was healthy (so no Brentz or Lavarnway) and eligible to be called up (so no Nava). (The only other candidate would have been Vazquez.) |
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Post by jmei on Jun 1, 2014 5:45:00 GMT -5
Ridiculous RDLR stats from Brooks Baseball: -He got 17 swinging strikes out of his 105 pitches, including 13 on his changeup. Of the 46 changeups he threw, 31 were swung on and 13 were whiffed on. That 28.3% swinging strike rate and 41.9% whiff rate would be amongst the best of the league if he somehow maintained them ( link 1, link 2). He only threw 13 sliders, but he got 3 swings-and-misses on the pitch (out of just 4 swings). -He threw almost as many changeups (46) as fastballs (47) last night. -80% of the balls in play against his changeup were ground balls. 60% of the balls in play against his fastball were ground balls. -He averaged 96.6 mph on his fastball and maxed out at 100 (!). He averaged 88.3 mph on his changeup. |
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Post by brianthetaoist on Jun 1, 2014 7:36:45 GMT -5
Great game? Or ... greatest game? To have the Sox' young guys just totally dominate the Small Market Rays' full team, and do it the day after all that nonsense on Friday night ... just a joy to watch. RDLR isn't going to pitch like that every day, but it was a really impressive start. It was the effectiveness of the slider that kicked that thing into a higher realm for me. He's got all the stuff to dominate and be an elite pitcher, the elusive "top-shelf arm" that people seem to think the Sox system lacks... Webster's one, too, for that matter.
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Post by ray88h66 on Jun 1, 2014 7:42:49 GMT -5
That was fun to watch last night. Ruby looked like the guy I saw in 2011. I think a few guys could have swung twice the way they were fooled so bad by the change. I saw one 98 mph fastball followed by a 90 mph change. Pedro was smiling somewhere.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Jun 1, 2014 7:57:09 GMT -5
Peter Gammons ?@pgammo 2h
Kid Night:Bauer 96.9 FB, up to 99.1, 81.5% strikes w/ FB, Slider; Stroman 95.5(97.6), 66.7% K on FB; Delarosa 96.6 to 100.5 MPH...
Peter Gammons ?@pgammo 2h
Delarosa threw 37 changeups, 80.4% strikes.
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Post by mgoetze on Jun 1, 2014 8:12:32 GMT -5
Herrera? I think we saw his last hit in a Red Sox uniform earlier this inning. So, that was a pretty good reverse jinx, huh? |
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Post by jmei on Jun 1, 2014 8:28:51 GMT -5
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Post by burythehammer on Jun 1, 2014 9:04:20 GMT -5
Ridiculous RDLR stats from Brooks Baseball: -He got 17 swinging strikes out of his 105 pitches, including 13 on his changeup. Of the 46 changeups he threw, 31 were swung on and 13 were whiffed on. That 28.3% swinging strike rate and 41.9% whiff rate would be amongst the best of the league if he somehow maintained them ( link 1, link 2). He only threw 13 sliders, but he got 3 swings-and-misses on the pitch (out of just 4 swings). -He threw almost as many changeups (46) as fastballs (47) last night. -80% of the balls in play against his changeup were ground balls. 60% of the balls in play against his fastball were ground balls. -He averaged 96.6 mph on his fastball and maxed out at 100 (!). He averaged 88.3 mph on his changeup. This is all great and he looked legitimately dominant, but let's see him do it for a month or two at least before we get too excited. His track record is still not very impressive, but god knows he has the stuff and it's possible he's turning a corner. |
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Jun 1, 2014 9:15:09 GMT -5
Pete Abraham ?@peteabe 33s
#redsox: Holt 1B, Bogaerts SS, Pedroia 2B, Ortiz DH, Gomes LF, Hassan RF, Ross C, Bradley Jr. CF, Herrera 3B, Lester LHP.
Jason Mastrodonato ?@jmastrodonato 1m
Also, Brock Holt is playing first base, which, given his zero experience there, gives new meaning to the term, "Anyone can play first base."
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Post by Guidas on Jun 1, 2014 9:19:07 GMT -5
Another significant difference between Francona and Farrell besides Farrell's love of the bunt: whenever a position player was called up, Francona almost always started him. "We didn't call him up to have him sit around."
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Post by mgoetze on Jun 1, 2014 9:23:58 GMT -5
Bah, Mike Carp is a much better batter than Herrera or Hassan and we don't need the umpteenth first baseman on the depth chart. Would much rather have seen Holt in the outfield if not at 3B.
Also, rather surprising spot for Hassan in the lineup. JBJ has been hitting better lately, could easily have switched the two. With this setup Hassan is of course guaranteed to get pinch-hit for as soon as a righty comes into the game.
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Post by Guidas on Jun 1, 2014 9:24:55 GMT -5
I wonder if Holt sticks at first until Napoli comes off the DL. Because even with Drew striking out at a ridiculous rate during his rehab, you know Farrell will want him up as soon as permissible, which is tomorrow.
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Post by mgoetze on Jun 1, 2014 9:33:04 GMT -5
I wonder if Holt sticks at first until Napoli comes off the DL. I hope not. I love Brock Holt but 1B is the one and only position where he will not provide enough excess defensive value to justify playing him over Mike Carp, who remains the better batter. |
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jun 1, 2014 10:01:24 GMT -5
Deep thoughts on player development from noted sage, zen master, and (part time) pacifist, AJ Pierzynski. His philosophy is close to mine, so I'm down with this. The article also has gracious words from one Joe Maddon. The guy can be an absolute s**t as he works every angle he can think of scavenging for wins, but he does know brilliance when he sees it and is willing to acknowledge that.
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Post by adiospaydro2005 on Jun 1, 2014 10:02:22 GMT -5
It seems like Holt has Sanchezed at least Middlebrrooks with his stellar defensive play at 3rd base. Given that Cecchini appears to still need some further development defensively I would be surprised if they have him do anything more than pinch hit today.
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Post by terriblehondo on Jun 1, 2014 10:13:25 GMT -5
I wonder if Holt sticks at first until Napoli comes off the DL. I hope not. I love Brock Holt but 1B is the one and only position where he will not provide enough excess defensive value to justify playing him over Mike Carp, who remains the better batter. But keeping Holt in the lineup keeps him leading off and the Sox have been much better with him at lead off. Right now that is my biggest problem with Drew coming back. We lose Holt at lead off. |
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Post by terriblehondo on Jun 1, 2014 10:18:11 GMT -5
Watching the game last night. That was Ace stuff if he can repeat it maybe we do have a number 1 in waiting. I loved the way he just got the ball back and was ready to go. Love a pitcher who works fast. The change was filthy.
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Post by jmei on Jun 1, 2014 10:43:12 GMT -5
I hope not. I love Brock Holt but 1B is the one and only position where he will not provide enough excess defensive value to justify playing him over Mike Carp, who remains the better batter. But keeping Holt in the lineup keeps him leading off and the Sox have been much better with him at lead off. Right now that is my biggest problem with Drew coming back. We lose Holt at lead off. Correlation does not imply causation. The recent offensive upturn has a little to do with Holt (his line in the past week is a good-but-not-great .281/.314/.438), but it has much more to do with guys like Bogaerts, Pierzynski, and Sizemore tearing the cover off the ball. Besides, Holt isn't going to continue hitting as well as he has. Carp and Drew are the better true-talent hitters, and I have little problem bumping Holt to a utility role once Drew is ready. |
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Post by jmei on Jun 1, 2014 10:54:58 GMT -5
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 1, 2014 11:15:36 GMT -5
Ridiculous RDLR stats from Brooks Baseball: -He got 17 swinging strikes out of his 105 pitches, including 13 on his changeup. Of the 46 changeups he threw, 31 were swung on and 13 were whiffed on. That 28.3% swinging strike rate and 41.9% whiff rate would be amongst the best of the league if he somehow maintained them ( link 1, link 2). He only threw 13 sliders, but he got 3 swings-and-misses on the pitch (out of just 4 swings). -He threw almost as many changeups (46) as fastballs (47) last night. -80% of the balls in play against his changeup were ground balls. 60% of the balls in play against his fastball were ground balls. -He averaged 96.6 mph on his fastball and maxed out at 100 (!). He averaged 88.3 mph on his changeup. This is all great and he looked legitimately dominant, but let's see him do it for a month or two at least before we get too excited. His track record is still not very impressive, but god knows he has the stuff and it's possible he's turning a corner. He has done it for two months. Not that, of course, but in the context of what he did at Pawtucket, that's not an outlier, just the nice end of a normal distribution. I'm pretty sure that if you do an MLE on his PawSox numbers, he's been the third best pitcher in the organization this year. |
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 1, 2014 11:24:52 GMT -5
Thought I saw at least one curve to go with the slider which he seems to be bringing into play. His second slowest slider (at 80) was also the one with the most break, so that's probably what you're thinking of, but the pitch/fx data shows that it was 100% a slider. It's probably time to remind folks that his last 5 starts with the Dodgers, excluding the one where he was lifted early, presumably with the injury that resulted in the TJ, were 31 IP, 2.03 ERA, 2.94 FIP (.267 BABIP). If we've taken that guy and improved his mechanics and hence his control, that's a top of rotation guy. |
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 1, 2014 11:33:55 GMT -5
A key stretch for JBJ coming up. He's teased us twice before with a few very good games in a row, only to nosedive each time.
April 6 to 9, 4 G, 6/12, 2 2B, 3 BB, 2 SO.
then a 405 OPS over 12 G.
April 24 to 29, 5 G, 6/17, 4 2B, 3B, 2 BB, HBP
then a 382 OPS over 21 G.
Now he's 6/19, 2B, HR, BB (but 5 SO) over his last 5. We'll see if he can sustain something here.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Jun 1, 2014 11:35:06 GMT -5
Plus, he's got a cool tweeter thingy:  |
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 1, 2014 11:40:32 GMT -5
Deep thoughts on player development from noted sage, zen master, and (part time) pacifist, AJ Pierzynski. His philosophy is close to mine, so I'm down with this. The article also has gracious words from one Joe Maddon. The guy can be an absolute s**t as he works every angle he can think of scavenging for wins, but he does know brilliance when he sees it and is willing to acknowledge that. Bugs Bunny changeup is a great line. |
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Holy smokes, this has been a delightful game for us prospect nerds. What a spectacular outing from De La Rosa. That fastball/change combo is just nasty, and if he commands the ball and keeps it down, he could be as good as any pitcher in the organization. Yeah, the stuff is absolutely top shelf. Last year was tentative at best, with the fastball at 93-94 and straight. Tonight he started out at 95 with a tail on that thing, and ended up at 97, which is nearly unhittable when he's spotting it, and he was.
