Spring Training Random Thoughts

[Villain]

[Woy]

Wacha Flacha Flame with three more scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five.

[Youk]

Zach Wheeler scratched from start.

(Only precautionary)

[Goober]

Cingrani 2IP 1H 2K today.

Fuck you guys.

Baseball Prospectus on Cingrani:

"A fringy slider probably keeps him from being a rotation option, but the two-pitch approach could serve him well in relief."

[EmpireWF]

Zach Wheeler scratched from start.

(Only precautionary)

And Shaun Marcum pulled from the rotation to build some strength in his arm (same deal as Johan).

[Rudi]

AYROLLDIS

[Villain]

Doyers/Angels today. Kershaw was dominant with 7Ks in 3IP. Josh Wall also looked good with 2Ks in one inning.

As far as position players who can crack the roster or are already on it, Ethier had a hit and a walk. Puig just barely missed his first HR of the Spring. Man that huge ass Cuban has a pretty swing. Uribe again 0 for 2. The gritty guys also had good days (Skip, Ellis, Punto).

Just a bunch of Spring stuff that means almost nothing.

[Woy]

Oscar Taveras hit a grand slam today.

[Warner2BruceTD]

AYROLLDIS

Did you read the reports? He threw very few fastballs and was throwing all kinds of breaking stuff that he's never used before. He threw two pitches that were under 80 MPH that people said looked like slurves. He topped out at 94 and bottomed out at 76 Jamie Moyer junk. Nobody made any hard contact and he induced a bunch of weak grounders and shit. Something like 18 out of 22 for strikes.

Maybe the Reds & Brian Price were smart all along in only letting him throw fastballs & sliders in real games all of this time. He has a bunch of other pitches that he can command that nobody has ever seen.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Cingrani, 23, has a plus fastball for a southpaw that ranges from 89-94 mph. He also flashes an above-average-to-plus changeup. Unfortunately his breaking ball is below average. A talent evaluator I spoke with, though, is not concerned with the prospect sticking in the starting rotation. “He’s been working on his secondary pitches… and things were coming on quite quickly at the end of the year… He’s figured out what he needs to do to pitch in the big leagues.”

Signed as a college senior out of Rice University, Cingrani has been a huge steal. He reached the majors in his first full season in pro ball. Thanks to the rotation depth at the big league level, Cingrani will likely open 2013 in triple-A but he should receive a promotion before Daniel Corcino, who arguably has the higher ceiling. The southpaw has an outside shot at breaking camp in the big league bullpen as a versatile arm capable of acting as a spot starter.

Sabermetrically, his K/IP ratios and miniscule hit rates are strong indicators for his future, although the fact that his walk rate increased in Double-A is a caution flag.

So what we have here is a lefty who throws hard and is adept at dominating minor league hitters, despite a breaking ball and changeup which still don't excite scouts. Generally that skill set fits best in relief, and that's a good fallback option. However, if I were the Reds, I'd use him as a starter as long as possible, sending him to Triple-A to open 2013 in the rotation, with the goal to improve the slider and changeup. His performance justifies it, and you can always move him back to the bullpen if necessary.

In the meantime, let's see what we can learn from his September audition. I rated Cingrani as a Grade B- pre-season and moving him up to Grade B seems reasonable now, with a B+ not out of the question as I begin the book-writing process.

ERA
R - 1.75
A+ - 1.11
AA - 2.12
MLB - 1.80

K/9
14.03
11.28
10.18
16.20

WHIP
0.80
0.92
1.10
1.20


So what we have here, is a guy who at every level, does not allow hits, strikes out a ton of batters, and never allows runs. The consensus is clear. If he develops his slider to a mediocre level, you are looking at a pretty decent starter. At worst, he'd likely make a very good RP, and he could probably do that right now.

So I don't get why you guys pick on Rudi. This dude is a pretty good looking young pitcher who just gets guys out at every level, and who everybody agrees is a legit top level prospect if he improves his slider.

[NAHSTE]

Oh he has good minor league stats so he must be good.

#analysis

[MVPete]

Oh he has good minor league stats so he must be good.

#analysis

Says the guy who has done nothing but tell everyone Julio Teheran is a future ace based off minor league stats.

[Goober]

ERA
R - 1.75
A+ - 1.11
AA - 2.12
MLB - 1.80

K/9
14.03
11.28
10.18
16.20

WHIP
0.80
0.92
1.10
1.20


So what we have here, is a guy who at every level, does not allow hits, strikes out a ton of batters, and never allows runs. The consensus is clear. If he develops his slider to a mediocre level, you are looking at a pretty decent starter. At worst, he'd likely make a very good RP, and he could probably do that right now.

So I don't get why you guys pick on Rudi. This dude is a pretty good looking young pitcher who just gets guys out at every level, and who everybody agrees is a legit top level prospect if he improves his slider.

Dominating A ball as a 23 year old isn't that impressive, it's expected of you.

[Goober]

Says the guy who has done nothing but tell everyone Julio Teheran is a future ace based off minor league stats.

It's weird how all the major baseball prospect publications say that Teheran is a 2-3 starter right now, and a 1 if he improves his breaking ball; while Cingrani is a reliever unless he gets his shit together.

[NAHSTE]

Says the guy who has done nothing but tell everyone Julio Teheran is a future ace based off minor league stats.

Nice try.