Clayton the great in 09?

by bodyiq on Jan 31, 2009 8:44 AM EST Comment 9 comments

Clayton Kershaw

So what kind of reasonable numbers do we expect from this young stud in the making for the upcoming season?

Last year when he hit the bigs, he had his ups and downs (to be expected).

His strikeout rate was fine. My concern is that his WHIP was up (1.50) considerably from when in the minors (0.95?). What was this a product of?

Does he in fact have a rotation spot all locked up at this point?

He's got to be there right with the best of the second year starters, right?

Any insights or thoughts greatly appreciated.

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Whupp'd?

WHIP up from minors b/c pitching in the majors is much, much harder?

by Fanthead on Jan 31, 2009 10:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Nah...

that’s preposterous.

"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile

by Boxkutter on Jan 31, 2009 11:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Monster second half

He’s probably going to keep his command problems through first half, but will get into a real groove in the second. 3.60 ERA to finish year. He’ll go crazy with Ks. 180 IP, 200 Ks.

by METSMETSMETS on Jan 31, 2009 10:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

I expect a very good season out of this kid.

I see an ERA between 3.60-3.80 with clost to a K/IP and a WHIP between 1.30-1.40.

Very similar to Scott Kazmir’s first full season in the majors (2005).

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jan 31, 2009 11:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

a much lower WHIP. I could see him going all the way down to 1.20 or something. He has incredible hit and miss stuff so he could have a lot of fantasy value with strikeouts, WHIP, and maybe a pretty good ERA.

by joegonzo on Jan 31, 2009 11:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Honestly

He has to trust his stuff more. He was throwing 100 pitches in 5 innings in most of his starts last year. He had the typical rookie struggle – wanting to throw that perfect pitch every single time. If he starts trusting his stuff and going after hitters more, he’ll be fine.

It’s all mental, and when it is mental, the “breakthrough” is extremely tough to predict.

by guru4u on Jan 31, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

True

I too think that it’s just a matter of time until he truly trusts his stuff.
Then things will come together quickly for him. He should be fun to watch this season as he develops and rounds into form.

2009; John Lester becomes an ace?

by bodyiq on Jan 31, 2009 4:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I can see a performance similar to 2006 Verlander, but with a rougher start.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Jan 31, 2009 5:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WHIP

His walk rate was about the same as was expected, but he allowed a lot more hits than usual. His BABIP was .325 and he has the stuff to force a consistently low BABIP, so his “struggles” in 08 were probably a product of being unlucky rather that pitching bad. He should be a monster next year, especially in the K department.

vivaelbensheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 1, 2009 3:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs