Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
He was good, but he wasnt an ace, or top 10 pitcher in baseball like possibly Stras is.
Braves Will Be Even Better In 2014
- Thread starter AUTiger7222
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He was good, but he wasnt an ace, or top 10 pitcher in baseball like possibly Stras is.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
No, he's not.
Zimmerman is due for some regression, Stras is better than Zimmerman.
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
I don't think Stasburg is a top 10 pitcher in the majors. Here's my top 10 pitchers in the majors in no particular order.
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Matt Cain
4. Adam Wainwright
5. Justin Verlander
6. David Price
7. Yu Darvish
8. Cliff Lee
9. Chris Sale
10. Jon Lester
Strasburg would definitely be top 20 though. But I think Zimmermann is better than Stasburg.
I don't know how you value fWAR but Strasburg has not ranked in the top 10 in fWAR yet in his career. In 2012 he ranked 17th. In 2013 he ranked 35th. That's minimum 150 IP. His combined 2 year fWAR (7.3) total is ranked 20th. Zimmermann just for comparison is ranked 23rd over the last 2 seasons (6.9).
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Strasburg is the most talented pitcher in all of baseball. If he puts it together watch out. That said I also would put almost as good odds on him coming down with another injury. Guy has some bad timing issues.
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
How is Zimmermann due for regression?
2011 - 161 1/3 IP, .291 BABIP, 74.2 LOB%, 3.18 ERA, 3.16 FIP
2012 - 195 2/3 IP, .288 BABIP, 79.3 LOB%, 2.94 ERA 3.51 FIP
2013 - 213 1/3 IP, .271 BABIP, 74.4 LOB%, 3.25 ERA, 3.36 FIP
So where is the regression going to come from?
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
I don't disagree with that.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
I would take Strasburg over Zimmermann on talent basis but how is Zimmermann in regression? He had his "regression" year last year when his ERA got closer to his FIP. He's not as high upside as Strasburg, but I think he's a safer bet. I'd rather sign Zimmermann long term cause he'll be cheaper and I think less likely to break down (though who the hell knows with that)
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
I agree with that. I've just personally have always been high on Zimmermann. I had this discussion with a fellow Braves fan 3 years ago when we were discussing what Zimmermann's ceiling was. I said Zimmermann's ceiling was a #1 starter while the other guy was saying Zimmermann was nothing more than a #3 starter. Zimmermann isn't Clayton Kershaw but he's a lot closer to that than he is your average #3 starter (I'm thinking Kyle Lohse, Bronson Arroyo, ect.)
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
I said possibly, he needs a few more elite years, decent list though.
I do worry about his mechanics, such a violent delivery.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
They tried to sign him longterm this offseason but nothing got far.
Saw they may try to trade him next winter if they cant, agent is Boras i believe.
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
I really wanted to put Matt Harvey on there but he needs more time which won't happen in 2014.
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
Yep. Boras is his agent. The Nats have a lot of Boras guys, Stasburg, Harper, Werth are 3 guys I can think of right off the top of my head.
Heyward
<B>Voted Worst Poster <br>'13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner
AUTiger7222
Called Up to the Major Leagues
Jered Weaver. Totally forgot about him. Yes would take him over Lester. Cain had a down year in 2013 but I would still take him over Bumgarner based on track record.
We lost a hitter who gave us 20 homers and a .796 OPS and 2 pitchers who combined for 185 quality innings. How are we not worse?
Gattis can pick up some of the slack from losing Mac, but by doing so you lose the prodution he gave us off the bench. Mac is significant loss and worth at least a win or two by himself. Floyd and Wood producing better than Huddy and Maholm isn't an impossible challenge, but that's a lot of quality innings that must be replaced and definitely not a sure thing.
91 wins is about where I'd place us, give or take a couple wins depending on how healthy/good Upton and Heyward are. Obviously if Upton turns in an MVP type of season like he did in 20211 it changes things, but you can't expect that.
Except the Braves will indeed miss those players. Anyone who can sit here and say we are a better team WITHOUT Mac (who is at worst the 4th best catcher in baseball) and Huddy/Maholm is being a HUGE homer.
Hudson pitched only once every 5th day. I don't see how his injury and a winning streak have any correlation whatsoever.
And with Beachy, you are assuming he returns to previous form and pitches over 130 innings (what Hudson gave us last yr). We have no idea what to expect from Beachy.
Hanson through the 2011 all-star break had a sub 3 ERA for his career. He was also at around a strike out per inning. The only issue he had was he couldn't go deep into games, just like Strasburg. Yes I think Strasburg is more talented and the better pitcher but that doesn't take away from how good Hanson was before he started having his issues.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Nice list, but Jose Fernandez should be on there. I know he is just 21 and has only played one season in the majors. But to me he is an elite pitcher already.
We should also be getting two more months of Heyward as our right fielder. Not to mention that with Gattis as a full-time catcher we don't have to witness him embarrass himself in left field which did give runs back throughout the season. Even without any improvements offensively as a full time catcher he projects to be a low 3 high 2 win player. That will be a slight drop off from Mac but it won't be huge. Now if Gattis' BABIP corrects itself like I think it will then he will be much much better offensively.
Combined Hudson and Maholm gave us 284 innings at a 4.21 ERA. Those innings definitely have to be replaced but I wouldn't necessarily cal them quality, especially in Maholms case. Starters in the NL last year put up a 3.86 era so those were below average innings ERA wise. Which says a lot considering the Braves were 6th in starter ERA last year despite those two.