Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel: AL pitchers part 3

by The Congo Hammer on Jan 12, 2008 11:05 AM EST

A few people requested that I continue this, and I figure it can't hurt since it looks like a slow news day. I realized I wanted to put Brandon McCarthy on the last poll, and I'm still wondering how he would have matched up to those guys. Anyway here are the pitchers who are really only going to be factors in deep AL-only leagues. I may not get everone, but here are the candidates:

Aaron Laffey: still young, not dominant but was solid in brief stint in majors

Dallas Braden: Screwballer raised eyes in first start, then struggled but may get 2nd shot in '08

Kason Gabbard: Solid in every category with a sub-4 ERA before last 2 starts, but in Texas now

Lenny DiNardo: decent reliever did well in starting role, low K/IP, may not break 08 rotation

Jorge de la Rosa: Fireballer spent all 2007 in rotation, started strong, then struggled and faded

Garret Olson: Closest thing to a prospect, did not impress in majors, will likely get another shot

Kei Igawa: $25 mil man became butt-end of many jokes, but showed some signs of promise

Brian Burres: Started year great, then struggled mostly with some impressive starts, high K/IP

J.P. Howell: Occasionally dominant but mostly inconsistent, will need luck to get starts

Sorry if I forgot anyone, but feel free to mention them and include them in the discussion.

Poll

Which one of these bums will have the best season in '08?

Aaron Laffey

44 votes

Dallas Braden

17 votes

Kason Gabbard

28 votes

Lenny DiNardo

12 votes

Jorge de la Rosa

15 votes

Garrett Olson

25 votes

Kei Igawa

16 votes

Brian Burres

5 votes

J.P. Howell

7 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Laffey Taffy

Laffey got some mop-up vs. the Red Sox in Game 6 of the ALCS and looked pretty sharp.

4.2 IP
1 h
1 bb
3 Ks

I remember being impressed with him but don't remember now what he had. I may go back and watch his 4+ IP on archived mlb.tv. The game was on October 20, 2007 if anyone is interested.

I've heard he's in the mix as the #5 in Cleveland. I'm looking forward to John's grade of him (hopefully today!).

by Sox Puppet on Jan 12, 2008 11:30 AM EST reply actions

Olson

To me Olson reminds me of Rich Hill a lot. Good curve, tough start to MLB career. Good minor league K rate.

I do like Eveland a lot too though. Wish someone would give him a chance to start in the majors.

by NMUWildcat027 on Jan 12, 2008 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

It's Laffey.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Jan 12, 2008 11:32 AM EST reply actions

shake that

aaron laffey

Oakland A's 4 Life

by manny59 on Jan 12, 2008 11:57 AM EST reply actions

Braden

i'm not sure he has enough fastball to be a long term SP, but his 18k game in AAA was impressive. they did not let him throw his plus plus screwball because arm issues from 06. if they let him he might have a chance, but for right now his dramatic splits point to a quality lefty reliever

by rayver723 on Jan 12, 2008 1:24 PM EST reply actions

i'd also throw other A's lefties

into thee mix other than dinardo/braden

Dana Eveland
Greg Smith
Dan Meyer

all 3 have great minor league track records, but unsure it'll translate to the majors.

by rayver723 on Jan 12, 2008 1:29 PM EST up reply actions

J.P. Howell

Wow.

My vote is far J.P. Howell, and I'm actually pretty surprised he's not doing better.

Last year, Howell posted a 4.25 xFIP and struck out 7.8 batters per game. He posted a .374 BABIP, a 58.7% Strand Rate, and a 16% HR/F rate, all of which should regress to the mean next year.

I don't know too much about Laffey, but in my mind Howell should be blowing the rest of these guys out of the water.

by Yakker on Jan 12, 2008 4:00 PM EST reply actions

Howell is

Definitely one of the more underrated young pitchers in baseball. He reminds me of a young Brad Radke. I really wish the Mariners were smart enough to trade for him while his market value isn't appreciated enough and the Rays have a glut of pitching.

Way, way better idea than signing Silva. Sigh...

by elrey34 on Jan 12, 2008 4:18 PM EST up reply actions

Radke

Had much better command even when young, no?

But yes, I do think Howell's in danger of getting buried in TB, and an enterprising team could probably snatch him up fairly cheap. Frankly, I'm still wondering why Dayton Moore swapped Howell for Gathright.

BTW, this is as good a place as any to ask, does anybody know where to get Pitch/Fx data for a player? This offseason, I've seen some blogs that have run analyses on young pitchers using Pitch/Fx data, but I don't know where that's available in an aggregated format. TIA.

by Yakker on Jan 12, 2008 4:37 PM EST up reply actions

Hmmm, the more interesting guys

Laffey: most impressive of the group. though the Indians have a pretty crowded rotation and pen.

Igawa: showed some promise but hard to get hopes up. though i suppose even the Yankees can't keep that sort of investment in the minors .

Gabbard: not sure. he is somewhat of a groundballer i guess. but who's the last pitcher that had more than 1 successful season in Texas? ack

Howell: he was pretty inconsistent. and facing the Sox / Yanks so many times a year is scary

De La Rosa: might not crack the rotation this year. though you never know i guess. probably will get a pen job at least though.

by RollingWave on Jan 12, 2008 7:55 PM EST reply actions

De la Rosa

Not in the rotation the full year. He was DLed in July or August with a mystery injury ("You sure you're not hurt? You look hurt to me.") and only came back after the rosters expanded. He pitched awfully in those last few September apperances.

He has about 50-50 chance of making the rotation this spring, and, from my perspective at least, about a one in four shot at putting together a decent season for a back end starter (meaning 150ish innings and an ERA under 5.2.) More likely he will be tried in the pen and, who knows what will happen there.

I think his train has passed. Meaningful improvement as a starter at this point would be more surprise than expectation.

by James Quinn on Jan 13, 2008 12:26 PM EST reply actions