Below the radar or below the ground - Enrique Gonzalez?

by BobbyMac on Jan 18, 2007 5:31 AM EST

Alright, I know that Enrique isn't going to win the Cy Young award like his teammate did last year. But I was reminded of how "under the radar" this guy seems to be, when reading that diary asking for rankings of 12 pitchers. And I wouldn't touch him in roto, but then again, I would hesitate to utilize any pitcher who didn't get as much sink on their pitches as possible in Arizona.

Consider these EqPECOTAs:

Matt Garza, 2007: 8.5 H9, 3.1 W9, 6.7 K9, 1.1 HR9, 2.6 WXRL in 150 IP.
Enrique Gonzalez, 07: 9.1 H9, 2.8 W9, 5.3 K9, 1.0 HR9, 2.6 WXRL in 156 IP.
Jeremy Sowers, 2007: 10.0 H9, 2.7 W9, 4.2 K9, 1.1 HR9, 2.5 WXRL in 165 IP.

I'm not trying to dis Garza or Sowers, either... most of the pitchers on that other list are in this range of WXRL, although most are higher than 2.5/150 IP. I'm mainly wondering what people think of Gonzalez's future. Is he one of those guys who will struggle to be a 5th starter for a few years before washing out? Will he be a "solid" 5th starter (whatever that is)? Will he be a reasonable 4th starter for a few years? Can he aspire to anything more than that? Or, maybe, he'll end up in the pen? (He is, after all, less than 6' tall). Thoughts?

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speaking of...

speaking of below the ground... I think he looks like Nikolai from 'Six Feet Under'. Actually, maybe if Nikolai spawned with an alien. His face doesn't look like it is skin... it looks like 'hyde'.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Ep60_2.jpg/250px-Ep60_2.jpg

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=434619

by natsfan2005 @ Minor League Ball on Jan 18, 2007 12:24 PM EST reply actions

Not sure he is better than...

his teammate Edgar Gonzalez, who is also under the radar. Pitchers in Arizona tend to be underrated tho.

by BaseballBrain on Jan 18, 2007 2:01 PM EST reply actions

Edgar vs Enrique

(Small sample size warning)

Enrique
As starter : 3-7 in 18 G, 101 IP, 5.88 ERA, 60/34 K/BB
As reliever : 0-0 in 4 G, 5 1/3 IP, 1.69 ERA, 6/0 K/BB

Edgar
As starter : 2-3 in 5 G, 33 IP, 3.00 ERA, 21/6 K/BB
As reliever : 1-1 in 6 G, 9 2/3 IP, 8.38 ERA, 7/3 K/BB

Edgar looks to be better suited to starting as he has more pitches whereas Enrique throws harder and because of his size, more likely a bullpen guy. Edgar did allow 6 homers in those 5 starts he made and with a homepark like Chase Field that could become a problem.
Going into Spring Training, Edgar is probably the leading candidate for the 5th spot in the Arizona rotation but he'll have plenty of competition from Enrique, Nippert, Eveland and maybe even Owings.

by William K @ Minor League Ball on Jan 18, 2007 8:29 PM EST reply actions