Well I sure didn't see this coming. MASN says it'll be Ross Detwiler taking the start Monday.
With four games in two days, we need another arm. (Yes, I know we need more than one, and we needed them about a month ago, but I digress.) Rizzo is reaching past a group that's been pretty effective at Syracuse to tap the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft.
The lefty Detwiler certainly fits the profile of a Rizzo crush. He's a big arm with big groundball rates. And command problems. His stock fell last season with a pretty brutal first month at high-A Potomac. He bounced back to post a 3.85 ERA after July 1, but for the season his overall ERA was still way up at 4.86, which translates to a major league equivalent of 5.74 (that's what his '08 performance would translate to at the big league level). His problems last year were pretty obvious, as he walked 4.14 per 9.
He struggled to adjust his mechanics as the Nationals worked with him to not throw across his body as much. In the Arizona Fall League, reports were that his delivery looked much better, and he walked four in 11.2 innings. This year, promoted to AA Harrisburg, he's got his walks down to 3.29 per 9. All along he's had big strikeout numbers and groundball rates.
He has two plus pitches, a two-seam power sinker and a four-seam fastball. His curveball and change-up are developing off-speed pitches with the potential to be plus offerings as well.
If things have clicked for him, it's not hard to imagine him being a fast riser and performing at a high level right now. There's a reason he went #6 overall, and 23 isn't all that young.
Still, it's surprising to see him here so soon. And it's worrying, since it feels like they're trying to create buzz, which may not be the best thing for his development.
Personally, I think I don't like this. It'll make Monday more interesting viewing. But I'd still rather they called up J.D. Martin (Yeah, yeah 40 man roster. Whatever. Just dump Dmitri Young.)
P.S. I found this guy pitching in indy ball down in Texas who looks pretty good. I wonder if he's available?
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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5 comments:
HOW IS ALEX CINTRON STILL PLAYING??
How? Very poorly, mostly.
My Cintron problem is with Manny more than Rizzo. They have to have someone who can stand there at SS if Guzman pulls a hammy or something, and I don't want to have to see Belliard or Harris there again. So you're carrying him basically as a "break glass in case of emergency" type guy.
Rizzo obviously would rather have it be Gonzalez, but he needs to fix his yips or whatever his problem was.
The problem is Manny's use of him as a pinch hitter in meaningful situations. I haven't looked closely, but it seems like that's happening a little less.
Did you know the Nationals are 3-15 when Cintron gets a PA and 8-9 when he doesn't?
Did you know Alex Cintron has been worth negative 2.2 WAR, aka -$9.3 million, since 2006?
Did you know Alex Cintron's UZR/150 at SS this year is -74.4? (And we thought Adam Dunn was a miserable fielder.)
Did you know that Alex Cintron has never been above average defensively in his entire career?
Did you know that using the term "very poorly" to describe Alex Cintron's level of play is a gross overstatement.
Did you know Mike Rizzo has a fetish for former Diamondbacks?
Did it concern anybody else that Mike Rizzo told Bill Ladson at MLB.com they are promoting Ross Detwiler from AA because it fits into his pitching schedule?
"Based on the calendar and that type of thing, we didn't want to pull anyone out of the rotation," acting general manager Mike Rizzo said. "We didn't want anyone on short rest. We didn't want anyone out with too long of rest. Detwiler's calendar fits right in."
Umm...wouldn't you want to promote somebody because they are good? Or they have shown they're ready for the majors? Or they are a veteran you know can handle it? Wouldn't you want a little more than it fits his calendar? Am I missing something here?
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