Quote:
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch
I’d go 3/20 on him right now. Yes I liked what ai saw quite a bit. His stuff is still there and he’s got really good command of the zone high and low. He had a couple blowup games that inflated his ERA. Honestly I don’t know why he hasn’t been more successful, I can totally see why he was a top-20 prospect all those years and always has an mlb job.
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I went over it a bit when you traded for him, but the bullpen conversion wasn't good for him once he figured out how to succeed, IMO.
He needed a 3rd offering and found one with an excellent curveball. And he knew it too; he fully understood the value of his curve. Then with the move to the bullpen and a rough patch in CHC he ended up losing the feel for it and feel is absolutely vital for a curveball pitcher. When he lost his confidence and kept getting sent out there for a contending Cubs team, he never had the runway or situation to try to rediscover the feel for that curve - he couldn't get beat with it in the 7th inning of important games.
I felt like a return to the rotation and a spot on a rebuilding squad could be huge for him to let him get that curve back. More pitches, more time to work between outings, a little more rope if he's struggling. All that will allow him to find that curve and then pitch off it.
If he's stuck trying to succeed strictly fastball/changeup, he's a pinata.