Pat Misch

by Keenlow on May 11, 2006 9:52 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

I'm sure most of the Giants fans who follow prospects know who Pat Misch is. Last year he got rocked for a mid 6 era in AAA Fresno but this year he has a 0.84 ERA!!!! in 7 starts in AA Connecticut. Today he went 7 struck out 7 and walked 1. With people like Brian Cooper and Matt Kinney starting games in Fresno how much longer do the Giants keep Misch down in Connecticut? And what is Misch's major league outlook, if he has one at all? Are we looking at another Kirk Rueter (when he was effective), a left handed reliever, or a fringe minor leaguer?

Thanks,

Keenlow

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Misch

The rap on Misch has been that while he has 4 good pitches, no single one is a true out pitch. Still, his peripherals this year ain't bad at all. 43 IP, 9 BB, 38 K. He probably isn't going to get a whole lot more velocity, but if he can develop the curve and/or changeup so that they are plus pitches, he could have a ceiling as a #4 or #5 starter in the majors. I would think the Giants could afford to clear out at least one piece of deadwood from the Fresno rotation to give Pat and Chris Begg at least one more try at AAA. BA said that last year, Misch's problem is that he was nibbling too much at Fresno. He needs to be able to throw strikes the next time. Question is, does he have good enough stuff.

Part of the problem with evaluating Giants prospects is that the Eastern League is an extreme pitchers league and the PCL West is an extreme hitter's league. I don't like to pass judgement until I've seen what players do in both situations and even then it's very difficult.

by DrBGiantsfan on May 11, 2006 11:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

DrB:

i'll address this just to you, as im not trying to hijack the thread but i was wondering this the other day and didnt want to create a whole new diary for it...what do you think the problem is with matt cain this season? clearly hes not pitching as effectively at the major league level as he did in his short time up last year, in your opinion, is there a problem with mechanics/stuff? or is it that he was never ready to begin with? and how do you see this problem resolving?

by robcast23 on May 12, 2006 5:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cain

I'm dissapointed in Cain's performance in the early season, but not really surprised. What I was surprised about was how well he did in his Sept callup last year. Too many walks and HR's allowed were a defnite problem for him all year at the AAA level. In the majors, he got a lot of outs on popups and flyballs and didn't strike out all that many. Behind all the excitement, I think you'd find a lot of Giants fans who would reluctantly admit to thinking a bit of luck might have played a role in his Sept success.

Having said all that, there are definitely some positives to hang onto:

He's still only 21 yo so has plenty of time to work on his game.

The velocity is there. He's been consistenly 95-96 this year and hit 98 MPH and even 99 once against the Cubs. He gets a lot of swing throughs on fastballs down the middle that the hitters know are coming.

He appears to be a good kid with good makeup.

Things he needs to work on:

Better consistency in locating his fastball. Maybe developing a two seamer or cutter to cut down his dependency on the 4 seamer.

Better command of the breaking ball and a better changeup.

I know the Giants don't want to do it, but it might be better for him to work on these things in Fresno. He really was rushed the big leagues IMO.

by DrBGiantsfan on May 12, 2006 9:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

interesting

good info; much appreciated

by robcast23 on May 12, 2006 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Far Away

It may sound like I think Cain is pretty raw and still has a lot to work on. While there are several issues holding him back, he's right there with most of them. It really wouldn't take much to turn him from a guy who's getting shelled into a dominant #1 starter. That fastball gives him that potential and I think he's a lot closer than his numbers would suggest.

by DrBGiantsfan on May 12, 2006 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would add

He's really consistently gotten himself into 1-2 or 0-2 counts this year and continued to throw FBs when it he has a batter set up for something off-speed and too frequently he's gotten hurt in these situations (lot of 2-strike HRs). So I'd say one of the big things he needs is to develop the confidence to throw all of his pitches at all times. Whether this is a command issue or a "maturity"/feel like I belong here issue or some of both I'm not sure.

by Roger on May 12, 2006 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs