Mark Rzepczynski called up
by fuzzy14eva on Jul 6, 2009 6:54 PM EDT
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PrintBlue Jays' lefthanded pitcher Mark Rzepczynski is going to start on Tuesday, as they option Russ Adams to make room for him.
Reports have said that he's an outstanding ground ball pitcher. He's also been very prone to keeping hitters in the park, only 5 HRs in 250+ innings - something along those lines. One concern was that he was pitching in A+ for a while, was in AA for some time, and then was only in AAA for a short time. At 23, he's not too "old for AAA" and should be ready to face major league hitting.
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Romero, despite a completely average minor leaguer career, has blossomed in the majors. Granted he was hurt a lot throughout his stint in the minors, I dont see how he turned a switch on overnight when he struggled to get AA hitters out. He’s hitting 94mph and his changeup is getting league wide recognition. Today he broke a Blue Jays rookie record for consecutive scoreless innings.
It wouldn't be the first time...
a pitcher shined unexpectedly in his first trip around the league.
I read somewhere
that Romero just threw with his changeup grip whenever he played catch this winter and that gave him increased feel for it and huge improvement in a relatively short period of time.
HIGH praise
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/210491-mark-rzepczynski-unpronounceable-name-great-prospect
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How DO you pronounce his name?
I get a headache whenever I try it.
Solace: Law says he's a fourth OFer
PaulThomas: I think Keith Law is only a fourth analyst
I say it as:
‘Rez – emp -ski’
as in downhill skiing.
by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Jul 7, 2009 4:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Any projections for tonight?
Here’s mine:
6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 9-5 GO-FO
Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!
Since he pitches for the Blue Jays
He will most likely pitch one inning and then leave with an injury.
So...
6IP 2H 1ER 4BB 7K – 7GB:4FB
This on the road against the Rays, the second-best offense in baseball, a team hitting .275/.365/.475 vs lefties on the year.
It would’ve been tough for Zep to draw a harder assignment for his major league debut, so you have to be pretty happy with the results. I wasn’t able to see the game—did anybody catch it? How did he look?
Pitch F/x Examinations
Didn’t throw hard at all. Maxed out at 88.5.
Velocity definitely trended down a MPH or two as the game went on.
Sidearmish angle
Very little vertical movement on his fastball/sinker.
pF/x has him throwing 7 pitches, but the curve and slider seem the same, same with the fastballs.
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Saw a little bit...
not impressed as an initial reaction. Stuff seems below par. No idea how he was getting all those Ks… other than changing speeds and locating… not a great bet to translate that to MLB and rely on it.
Still looks like a middle reliever to me ultimately.
I watched his entire start tonight
I will agree with you that his stuff was not impressive but he does have a few positive points. First of all, his arm motion is more sidearm than 3/4 release point from what I saw, which might help improve a pedestrian fastball. Also, he was pitching low in the zone most of the time from what I saw. Finally, his change up looked really effective and was aided by him using it well also.
I disagree on the middle reliever potential assessment though. He looks like a passable 5th starter right now with the potential to be a potential #3 or #4 innings eater depending on how much he improves his control and pitches. He has good GB tendancies, is only 23 right now, and has had professional instruction for less than 2 years so I see plenty of potential.
by tdot mariner fan on Jul 8, 2009 1:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, look at it this way
How many guys last as more than a spot starter/swing man bullpen arm with that velocity and that kind of stuff?
Of those guys, how many walk as many guys as Rzepczynski does?
Im not saying its impossible… I am saying the odds are pretty stacked against this guy taking the next few steps forward. Especially if for no other reason than teams arent going to have patience with him if he struggles because so many wont see past his stuff.
as a lefty?
I think some lefties can live around there. Mark Buehrle? Hmm, a wild Buehrle. :)
If you're looking for a comp...
I think the best match is a left-handed Brandon Webb. Granted, it’s ridiculous to expect Zep to go out there and perform like Webb. That said, they both work in the high-80s with the fastball, and Zep actually has a little more horizontal and vertical break on his FB, according to PitchFX. If you remember, Webb also had some control problems his first couple of years in the majors. It wasn’t until Webb’s third season that he learned to harness the movement on his pitches.
I tend to think comparing a pitcher to Webb is like comparing one to Moyer—it typically doesn’t make sense, because they make more of what they’ve got than anybody in baseball. I’m starting to think that Zep is probably the best Webb comp we’ve seen in a long time though.
Zep's in a completely different class as a ground ball pitcher.
I guess it’s hard to throw strikes when your ball runs 12" across the plate. Niese’s fastball is much straighter, but he isn’t a terrible comp.
sure
How many comparisons will be dead accurate?
Niese is at 1.8 go/ao, Rzep at 2.35. And Niese has a straight fastball, different repertoire. But they are both 89-90 mph throwing, groundball getting lefteies, Rzep Ks more and walks more, but Niese does strike out 8.3 per 9 (walk rate 2.5) so the ratio is similar.
I guess the gb rate and movement may be more like Webb, but I guess a rookie to a Cy Young winner made me hesitate, so i went with the handedness and relative expected susccess level in my mind. basically, i just thre Niese out there because of speed and groundballs, albeit, yeah, Rzep gets even more grounders.
The difference is in groundball rate.
There are very few guys who get 60% ground balls. All of them are very good. Finding a comp for Zep is tough, because you’re either comparing him to guys like Webb and Lowe, or to guys who can’t get do what he does. Neither one is really fair.
Watching a Tampa home game on TV
is about the worst way to get a first impression of a pitcher. They easily have the worst camera angle in the majors; it makes it next to impossible to truly gauge what type of movement pitchers are getting on their pitches.
That being said, I’m not saying you’re right or wrong, just saying you should probably see him pitch somewhere else before making up your mind on what his stuff looks like.
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