Ok, then let's assume he has lost a couple ticks due to fatique. That gets him to an average sinker when he is well rested. I still don't see a "very good sinker" in there.
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I watched the same games bud. A bad Brewers team and a struggling Pirates team are going to K quite a bit. And we are talking about 12 Ks in 11 IP, so let's not get too carried away.
Things like pitch movement and velocity stabilizes much more quickly than Ks.
So are you up for the bet or not?
I wouldn't bet for him OR against him. Let him pitch and the proof will come one way or another. Yes, odds are a little stacked against him...there are plenty of guys that have done well like him though. I don't think he'll have any problem being a #4 or #5. I hope ALL these young pitchers do really well, because when the young studs arrive...they can be moved for great prospects or needed pieces.
Most teams would be very happy with a Paul Byrd type pitcher for their 4th or 5th.
Really grasping at straws here. Jenkins is a full grade better than Whalen, and Folty can't even see Whalen in his rear view mirror.
Those K values should tell you all you need to know about how pertinence the number of Ks Whalen has so far. For some reason it doesn't though. Guess you will draw conclusions however you want.
Yep. It's way too early to go off game by game performances. I want to see him pitch 15-20 games. If he is still performing...it's not a fluke. It's all about having the mentality to make the right pitch in the right spot. If he can locate, and if he has the confidence to deliver a good pitch in key spots. He will do fine. I've seen Folty, Blair and Wisler (with much better stuff), mentally loose it almost every game . Folty is doing better now...the jury is still out with the others.
Ok ok, you guys win. Whalen had the potential to be a successful mainstay in the Braves rotation for the next 5+ years.
Medlen was hurt...Perez hurt (I wasn't that big on either of them), but it wasn't because they were getting beat down. Injuries happen and are hard to predict. That is the MAIN worry with Julio for me though.
Ha, you look forward to the chance of getting to gloat if he doesn't more than anything else since you've declared his case closed.
I think maybe the rest of us look forward to his making his case.
I don't think your expressed fear that the Braves have ceased their search for starting pitching because they have promoted Whalen is very well founded. I think that's probably a very unsophisticated fear.
Anyway, Whalen's minor league stats are about as good as you could ask for his stuff. They are indicative of a player who has very good control. The lack of walks, the reasonable number of Ks, and the fact that he wasn't been hit particularly hard suggest that maybe he's a better bet than most to be somewhat successful with his stuff.
how long it might last? who knows. Do most people with his stuff fail? Sure. Most people with more than his stuff fail. the beauty of a rebuilding team is he'll get chances until he fails and someone else is behind him.
I'm surprised that in this conversation no one has brought up the recent Braves right-handed sinker ball pitcher who had pretty good success in spite of not having the big velocity. Maybe someone did and I missed it.