Where Does Perez Fit?
(Jorge Perez working his way back from injury)
Starting pitching was supposed to be a problem for the 2035 version of the Brooklyn Robins. Francisco Ruiz was said to have ace like stuff, yet never demonstrated it. Juan Hernandez was a homer prone miscast considered to be so bad that the Robins gained a starting CF and two prospects just to take him off of Huntsville's hands. Manual Romano was a promising prospect but was surely not ready. Ken Bates was brought in from Las Vegas in a deal many scrutinized for being a sell high, buy low deal. And at the back end, Juan Jose Fuentes and Jorge Pérez were two guys who may or may not be viable starting pitchers in the BBA.
Perez was sent to AAA to start the season. It wasn't due to merit. Brooklyn was counting on him giving them 180 league average or better innings this season. It was just that a 5th starter was not needed and Jorge had options. Rather then having him sit on the bench for a week, Brooklyn opted on him starting a game for the San Francisco Doves as a tune up. It sounded like a good idea, In hindsight, maybe he would have been better off taking it easy.
In the third inning of this start, Perez tore a muscle in his back and was deemed to be out for at least 4 months. This appeared to be a deathblow to the Robins as they had spent a lot of money and gave up several prospects hoping to play .500 ball and compete this season. Perez was a big part of the equation for this to happen. With him on the DL it looked to be the start of another train wreck of a season for Brooklyn.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the ballpark. The Robins won a couple of games. Then they won a couple more. In the blink of an eye, we are here at the all star break and the Robins are playing .600 baseball, dueling with Rockville in a thrilling mid season back and forth battle for first place in the JLA. A big reason for this has been the over achieving(or coming together) of the starting staff. Hernandez, Ruiz, Fuentes, Romano, Bates and a supporting cast of 8 other starters(13 in total) have combined for the 2nd best starter ERA in the Johnson. So the big question becomes... will there be a spot in the rotation for Perez when he comes back?
That's an easy answer here. Yes...and no. Brooklyn is all about playing the matchups. They use pitchers niche to their advantage by only starting them in situations that are advantageous to them. Perez is extra tough on RHB, so he can face righty heavy teams. Unlike a lot of Robin starters, he throws a lot of strikes. So he'll also be deployed against high OBP teams as well.
It's a chess match with many different layers that Brooklyn has been doing for years, but seem to have perfected in 2035. If an opponent has a lot of HR hitters, Brooklyn throws a groundball pitcher. If they have groundball hitters, they throw a fly ball pitcher. If a team has a lot of lefty pull hitters, they will stack their versatile better defenders on the right side. If a team runs a lot, Sean Smith will be behind the plate to stop them. If a team has poor defense at a certain spot, Brooklyn inserts players they feel are most likely to hit the ball in that specific directions.
It's an in depth process that is not for the casual GM. The Robins generally spend about an hour going through all these factors plus many more when setting their rosters and 7 day lineups each week. The results are never 100% effective. Most of the time when you accentuate one area, you leave another vulnerable. But every once and a while they hit that perfect storm and can pull off huge upsets.
The most importants variable in this process is depth. You can never have too much. Perez will give Brooklyn another starting option and when it's deemed he is not a good fit to start, he can be a rubber arm relief pitcher. Needless to say, Brooklyn is anxiously awaiting his return.
