Pitcher Smackdown. . . Angels Pitchers poll
The below "King Weaver" diary got me thinking, so I figured a little smackdown may be in order here, involving the two Angel youngsters, Jered Weaver, and Ervin Santana. They both seem like they will anchor the Angel rotation for years to come, and I guess I'm looking for you's guys's thoughts on who will have the better career. Obviously they are both young and have virtually unlimited potential, but feel free to chime in and/or vote.
"King Weaver" -Has had a huge year for the Angels, stepping in for the injured Bartolo Colon. He throws a plus fastball, a plus change and a good curveball. The first thing people that aren't really in his corner bring up is his flyball tendencies, but his other numbers have been filthy this year, and throughout his college career (and pretty solid minor league numbers too). His best attribute seems to be his control, some saying it rivals that of Greg Maddux. He can throw any of his pitches in any count, and his delivery creates great deception with his unorthodox delivery so his ball really gets on hitter's even faster than a normal 92-94 fastball would.
Ervin Santana-- Ervin has some of the better stuff in the A.L. He throws a fastball that tops out at 97, usually pitching around 92-94. He also has a solid change up and a plus slider. He seems to have overcome any injury concerns, as this year was his second relatively injury free season in a row (there were concerns in the minors). Accross the board, Ervins numbers are solid, but he has regressed a bit in the second half of the season. My biggest knock on Ervin is he seems somewhat disinterested at times on the mound, and he doesn't seem to be very intense on the mound. Perhaps this is why he seems to have one bad inning every outing.
So. . . long term, who do you think has the better career, Ervin or Weaver??????

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Weaver
Barring injury
by Fett42 @ Minor League Ball on Sep 19, 2006 2:19 PM EDT reply actions
... and mental issues like his brother
by slitheringslider on Sep 19, 2006 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
It could probably be argued
Santana
by nate050904 on Sep 19, 2006 4:32 PM EDT reply actions
slider
Weaver is nice. But Santana has been underrated for a while and will continue to be for another year or two.
agreed
by the pinstripes on Sep 21, 2006 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
What about Joe Saunders!
2007 Angels starting rotation (and the future is now!):
Weaver (R)
Santana (R)
Lackey (R)
Escobar (R)
Saunders (L)
with Adenhart (R) to replace Escobar if he makes the jump next year.
The only issue is the lack of another lefty.
With Colon (often injured) and Escobar expendable over the next few years - I would look for a young lefty to take Lackey's or Escobar's spot.
It will be good to be an Angels fan over the next several years!
by kmcsql on Sep 21, 2006 1:28 PM EDT reply actions
i dont think a lefty is really necessary
Innings Eaters!
None-the-less, Saunders is a little better than a back of the rotation starter - he's just back of the rotation in the Angels staff!
I see him as a number 2 or 3 starter down the road - most teams would love to have a lefty like him coming along! Especially when you need to face the Yankees!
Maybe they'll trade him to the Yankees in one of their daft moves!
by kmcsql on Sep 21, 2006 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions
i see him getting squeezed out of the picture
by SoCalSoxFan on Sep 21, 2006 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions















