I don;t' get why people are sleeping on Alex Wood. He flashed legit #2 starter stuff. The rotation is going to be even better this year.
Natural Immunity Croc
Pretty much along the lines I thought about Wood in 2014. Huge ceiling...
Ivermectin Man
I'd trade Julio before I trade Wood TBH.
Wood has such a huge mental advantage over Julio it's amazing. They're the same age, but Wood is a bulldog (non-UGA term) and while Julio can get out of jams, we've also seen him get rocked pretty hard and try to go back out there and throw it by guys when he doesn't have high 90's stuff.
Wood's biggest impression on me was the Washington game where he got screwed on that strike 3 call with the bases loaded.
Alex just has that I'm gonna beat you however I can mentality and Julio just gets more angry out there instead of calming down. Also I worry because the Braves tried to change Julio's mechanics for a while because they felt his current delivery wouldn't be sustainable long term but they've reverted back to his old mechanics. While Alex's mechanics aren't the best I've ever seen, his actual midway delivery to follow through is actually more natural than Julio. Alex I could see having shoulder problems but Julio I could see having TJ for sure.
Forever Fredi
Here's an almost as good article on Teheran.
http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/jul...an-breaks-out/
I agree about the point the author makes about the importance of his rediscovering the feel on his changeup and throwing it more. It would help him a lot against lefties. The strange thing about Teheran is that he was two different pitchers in 2013. In spring training and the first couple months he was throwing the two-seamer more and getting more groundballs. The second half he was throwing the four-seamer and turned into a fly ball pitcher. It seems to me this is a kid with a very deep repertoire but he tends to sometimes lose confidence in certain pitches. One of these days, we'll see a Julio Teheran with command and confidence over the four-seamer, two-seamer, curve, slider and change. That's going to be an awesome pitcher.
I think the odds are pretty good that an ace will emerge from our five starting pitchers but it is hard to say which one will take that step. They all have the potential, which is different from last year when we sort of knew what the upside was with Maholm and Hudson.
Last edited by nsacpi; 12-19-2013 at 12:05 PM.
I'm as big of an Alex Wood fan as anyone here. I think he's got very very bright future as a starter that could be a solid 2. But no way I trade Julio before him.Originally Posted by KeithLockhart
Don't discount Julio. He's made huge strides the last year or so. If he takes another step forward this year we may have our ace.
I remember when everyone had a huge boner for Tommy Hanson, while others cautioned that his delivery was a huge injury risk. Lincecum was the best pitcher ever with an odd delivery that lead to the wildness that finally caught up to him as he lost some of his "stuff".
I guess Wood is somehow different though, right?
I imagine Wood won't even be an effective healthy starter through the full 6 years the Braves control him. He will probably be mentioned as a non-tender candidate as soon as Arb2. A Wood plus CB deal for Price should not have been dismissed out of hand depending on who the other "top prospects" were. Those other guys couldn't have been all that great or they would have been mentioned by name, dontcha think?
But he did manage to win two Cy Youngs along the way.
Yes, but the point was not to compare Wood's talent to Lincecum's talent. Not even a Braves homer can say those two are even in the same universe talent-wise.
The point was that unorthodox mechanics spell disaster more times than not, and sooner rather than later.
All pitchers are risky. Even the ones with textbook mechanics. Matt Harvey for example.
@nsacpi
Here's a highlights video of Harvey.
Watch his motion. Everything from leg kick to release is fluid and efficient. After he throws the ball, his throwing hand doesn't get to naturally follow through all the way and the momentum doesn't die naturally. Instead he forces his arm to re-direct back to the batter while his leg is kicked. That whiplash motion can cause serious effect to the tendon and ligament because of the force you need to snap your arm back from Point A to Point B after already using so much force to throw the ball. Instead of letting his own torso stop his arm on the follow through, he uses his elbow/shoulder to kick-back his arm. That twitch may not look all that dangerous but after repeating it over and over and over that whiplash effect can cause damage.
Forever Fredi
A few scouts actually said Lincecum's delivery was natural because it was lots of leg power, but that was proven somewhat wrong.
I never read a scouting report that complimented Hanson's delivery in any regard. Whether it was mechanical or efficient. The report on him since he was in the minors was that you could steal bases off of him ALL DAY.
Zito had the biggest boner for Hanson's mechanics and I adamantly went against him on it for 2 years.
Forever Fredi
The others was probably Sims and someone else.
He is the top prospect in the system, so they would have named him specifically if that was the case.
Most likely the package would have been Wood plus CB plus 2 of the "other" top 15-20 guys that are nothing more than fringe MLB lottery tickets.
If that's the case then I think I'd have to go ahead and make that trade.
Bowman said it was Sims.
Bowman writes: "To acquire him [Price] from the Rays, the Braves would have likely had to give up Alex Wood, Christian Bethancourt and two other top prospects, one of which would have likely been Lucas Sims, who has the potential to one day earn the rare distinction of being a legitimate ace."
So you think we could of got DAVID PRICE for Wood, CB, Northcraft, and Hale.
Or something along those lines.
I'd love to know what drugs you're on, because there is zero chance TB accepts that for Price.
Bowman already said it would of had to include Sims on top of CB and Wood.
TB would laugh and hang up right away if FW offered that, rightfully so.
Completely agree. I'm very high on him.
Look.....we need some luck this year but I think our rotation could match up with almost any if Beachy is healthy and Minor/Teheran continue to develop.
I like Wood but no way I keep him over Julio. I'd trade Wood in a second for Price along with CB and 2 other guys not named Sims.
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