I would assume it's from the pitchers themselves. I have nothing to base this on other than the typical mindset of an MLB player.
The year of our lord 2024. I don’t mean CF necessarily, more LF and slide Chas over to CF and sit ahhhhhb I’m a dumb dumb. I say Marisnick all the time when I mean Meyers. Both Jake’s and basically the same player (Marisnick had a better arm obviously) up to this point in time.
Less innings for your top arms although they are probably more effective in spurts. The gap between Verlander/Framber v everyone else in the rotation is huge on paper.
I would like to add 1 more top of the rotation starter(Cease,Bieber,Burnes,Snell, Montgomery). Depth, I think it's fine so wouldn't want someone like Hyun Jin Ryu. I also think rotation is fine for the regular season so wouldn't care if they wait until the trade deadline to add a starter. Hitting, in general is fine imo but would like to add another OF bat(basically upgrade on Meyers). Don't care if they move Mccormick to CF and sign a LF or keep Mccormick in LF and sign or trade for a CF. I can't remember where I saw it but a week or so ago, I saw the same thing. And I think they said Verlander is the most vocal. Just found where I saw it. It was a q and a with Rome. He pointed out Verlander soften his stance on a 6 man rotation after getting tjs. I'm no pitcher but is 4 days rest vs 5 days a big deal? Is it about getting as much starts in a season or is it about their strict routine? Signing isn't official since it's pending physical. I'm guessing once he passes they'll announce it and then introduce him to the media.
He had a bad 155 innings last year, that's the problem. I think he will be better due to the analytics, but i don't see better than a high 3 era and 14 wins which France, Urquidy, and possibly others could do. It just comes down to you believing there's a massive gap between France and Brown. I don't believe that gap to be very large. It would take an act of faith and blind belief in analytics to conclude Brown is going to post like a 2.80 and France a 4.80. I have, as you believe too, a greater belief Brown could dominate out of the bullpen than as a starter. 4th arm in the bullpen is Montero. You want to rely on Montero when someone's pitched 2 days in a row or is on IL? It's like arguing we should have Snell instead of Hader. Snell pitches more, but Hader is getting used in close games that decide a season. Having more high leverage arms for close games has a bigger impact than a slightly better #5 starter. Just the way I see it....
I think this is where my biggest concern is the top of the lineup. Frambler and Javier were not as dominant this past season compared to 2022. Our offense can be amazing, but if we are already down 4-7 runs after the first few innings, it's tough to come back and win. I agree that the best course of action is to wait and see till the trade deadline. If we can have two of Frambler, Javier, McCulers, Garcia, or Brown play extremely well, then we should be fine. Not sure what the odds of that happening are, however.
J.P. France is not a AAAA-caliber pitcher nor was all his success at the big league level due to good fortune. Metrics like FIP and xFIP are valuable tools, but they are not the end all of judging a starting pitcher. They primarily tell you how well a pitcher strikes guys out and minimizes walks. Plenty of pitchers have been successful pitching to contact as long as they generated soft contact, and that will continue in the future. Striking hitters out is great, but it’s not the only way to be a successful MLB pitcher. In 24 starts last year, France went six innings or more 14 times. In starts where he pitched at least five innings, he allowed two earned runs or less 14 times. He had 13 quality starts and allowed three earned runs or less 17 times in the starts where he went at least five innings. Also, France’s overall numbers are skewed by the start against Boston at home where he allowed 10 ER in 2.1 innings and 13 baserunners. Without that start, his ERA would have been 3.22 instead of 3.83 and his WHIP 1.28 instead of 1.36.
Sorry @IBTL , I didn’t see this. Yeah there are a couple starting pitchers set in their ways that insist on a 5 man rotation and there are also some coaches that like a 5 man rotation.
The players that have an issue with it I am sure are getting support from their agents- 30-32 starts is worth more than 25-27 starts.
In what world would you choose Hunter Brown to close out games w/ Abreu, Pressly, and Hader sitting in the bullpen? My point is in part based on the fact that if Brown were in the bullpen he would be at best 4th on the depth chart. The other part is that the pitcher that would replace him in the rotation should be in the minor leagues. And I have no idea how orcwhy you feel I'm bring rude by debating this with you.
I think the only glaring weakness on this team is inexperience at the Manager and the GM spots. Both have been around baseball a long time but are new to the pressure of being the final decision makers. Based upon what they have shown over time the pitchers line up like this. I am sanguine as never before. Starters Ace Verlander, Valdez #2 Javier #4 Urquidy, Brown #5 France Available in the Second Half #3 Garcia, McCullers #Rookies Gordon, Kouba Relievers High leverage single inning Hader*, Pressly, & Abreu Single inning middle relief Cronin & Montero Situational LH and Multi inning relief Sousa* & Whitley Available in the second half Multi inning reliever Arrighetti, Add AAA relief as needed. (your mileage may vary)
Depends on how you look at it. If our starting pitching can get back to what it was in 2022, the bullpen will be in better shape. To be fair, our starting pitching in 2022 was sick. Houston lost 200 plus innings in the bullpen during this offseason. If the starters can go at least six, that changes everything. I personally would like to see them grab one more arm. If they can land Soler, that makes this lineup ridiculous.
