Thoughts On Mike Pelfrey?

by Duece on Mar 30, 2008 6:03 PM EDT

I was waiting to see if John was going to write something on Pelfrey before posting this, but because he's not I thought I'd bring the conversation in here..

I really thought Mike Pelfrey turned a corner in September last season. Then the Santana trade, and Pelfrey wasn't involved (The Mets said they wouldn't trade him) and Peterson was on TV saying that he expects a much improved Mike Pelfrey this season..

Well then spring training came, and it was the same old Mike Pelfrey.. Well not completely.. His velocity was down around 92-93, instead of the 95-96 he was throwing when he first came up. But he still can't throw strikes, and he can't control his off-speed pitches. We've seen what happens when Pelfrey is able to throw that pitch for strikes, but the odds of that happening are slim to none.

Somehow after being rocked in spring training, and looking like he gave up in his final two appearances, he made the team as the #5 starter.. What do you think of Mike Pelfrey going forwards? Have you given up on him? Still think he can be a successful major league pitcher? How long until we see the real Mike Pelfrey? Or maybe we never will..

Poll

Do You Still Have Faith In Mike Pelfrey?

Yes

41 votes

No

40 votes

81 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I have faith

but not as a starter. I think he is the perfect candidate to end up as a pretty good reliever but his secondary stuff is just not good enough and you're right, even his fastball is too inconsistent. He was taken with the hope that he could develop at least average secondary stuff to complement a plus plus fastball and that just never happened.

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by was385 on Mar 30, 2008 6:57 PM EDT reply actions

Pelfrey's fastball is junk too

He's a AAAA pitcher now IMO. I seen Rasmus cream one of his fastballs for a monster homer.

by Bravesin07 on Mar 30, 2008 7:27 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

And Maybin crushed a pitch off the Rocket last year. Does that mean he sucked?

by David Tokarz on Mar 30, 2008 9:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Well he wasn't good really

Maybin got a fastball down the middle too.

by Bravesin07 on Mar 30, 2008 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Not good?

He had an ERA+ of 107 and only gave up 9 bombs in 2007. That's pretty good. I think the real problem is that your gut just tells you that he's done and you feel the need to plug your new favorite prospect as the reason why. One homer in one situation off of one player is meaningless.

by David Tokarz on Mar 30, 2008 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

One homer in one situation off of one player is meaningless.

You try telling that to Mitch Williams......

I agree with your point though. One AB = Sample Size Issue. Heck, if I were to step into the batters' box against Clemens, I might be able to get a single off him. Doesn't mean I belong on a major league field, because the next 99 times he'll likely get me out.

by guru4u on Apr 1, 2008 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Pelfrey

What he really needs, and I've discussed this at length with other Mets fans, is to go down to New Orleans and told to throw nothing but his fastball for two straight starts. He needs to regain confidence in it (and get his mechanics back) before he can even BEGIN to once again work on the secondary stuff. Without the explosive fastball, what's the point on working on the slider, change, or curve?

by Lunkwill Fook on Mar 30, 2008 7:55 PM EDT reply actions

Can't say I disagree

but I'm just not clear on what this does for his other pitches and how he's going to get it done on time.

by METSMETSMETS on Apr 1, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Objectively,

I don't have an opinion on him. The stuff is there but he has fickle control and he tipped his pitches last year. His career is up in the air. He's a big boom or bust guy.

Subjectively, I think he has the potential to be an ace, or at least a 2 or 3 starter. The only issue I have is that he doesn't fit the quota in my "ballplayer name theory*."

*Anyone who has a name that sounds good for a ballplayer is the only one who has a chance of being good. i.e. Ken Griffey, Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine, Johan Santana, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Doc Gooden, Chili Davis, Albert Belle.

by METSMETSMETS on Mar 30, 2008 10:04 PM EDT reply actions

Wow

I have that exact same theory. The only difference is that I think Mike Pelfrey is a decent name.

This is also why I feel bad for whoever ends up drafting Kyle Skipworth and Buster Posey next year.

by supermets on Mar 30, 2008 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions

THe

name will sound real good if they are playing well.

1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on Mar 30, 2008 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Hah some old guy was going over names of prospects like that and said who were stars and not

The guy though that Rasmus was going to become a great but thinks players like Tabata and Gorkys hernandez were gonna bust.

by Bravesin07 on Mar 30, 2008 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Going by names

I think Jose Tabata could be a good name for a player. Gorkys will never do anything though. Neither will Jair Jurgenns. The Braves made a bad trade. LOL

by supermets on Mar 30, 2008 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Renteria is a great name

And I love Rasmus much mor ethanGorkys or Tabata. Which, subsequently, is why I hate European prospects.

by METSMETSMETS on Apr 1, 2008 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions

I voted

I voted yes, that I still had confidence in Mike because he has no bats in his Pelfrey.

by sharksrog on Mar 30, 2008 11:53 PM EDT reply actions

He'll be good....

...as soon as I release him from my sim league team and someone else picks him up.

by BaseballBrain on Mar 31, 2008 12:03 PM EDT reply actions

His stuff is good

His stuff is good, velocity and movement, and that includes the slider. It's his command and location that are poor at this point. He also doesn't have much deception in his delivery.

I think too many people expect too much too soon from Pelfrey. He only has 176 minor league IP at this point, and had under 100 when they first put him in the majors. John Maine had 560 and then still struggled badly enough in Baltimore after that that they apparently gave up on him.

I tend to think you should bet on young pitchers with stuff, the rest can be learned. Give him a couple hundred more IP in the minors, and you'll start to see more results there. He needs to work as much on the two-seam fastball as the secondary pitches. The fastball is good, but he doesn't know how to use it/locate it. He needs to get the fastball down in the zone more. And less over the plate.

The four-seamer is the one he can dial up to 95-96mph, and that he can work with up in the zone some of the time. But he doesn't have a lot of hop on it, so it won't be a great strikeout pitch. It will be good for some, and could be be nasty if he works off the 2-seamer. If he can locate it well, it will also break a lot of bats.

The slider can be pretty nasty at times. Again he just can't locate it well enough. He doesn't use it enough because he doesn't have confidence in it, he can't locate it well enough to throw confidently behind in the count. So he's too predictable with it, and misses too often when he does use it.

Ultimately I think he'll be a solid mid rotation SP, maybe even a #2. But you are going to have to be patient for that.

by acerimusdux on Apr 1, 2008 12:29 PM EDT reply actions