Trail Droppings 2034-3 Castoffs Pitching Great

[indiansfan]

Castoffs Pitching Great

The most fun players to watch succeed are the ones that other teams discarded or undervalued. The Pioneers have several pitchers that fall into this category that are making big contributions this season. One was picked up on waivers, two were grabbed in the Rule 5 draft and one was remarkably available in free agency.

SP Mike Manning was claimed off waivers from California at the beginning of the season. We also like Manning and wanted to give him one more shot so we claimed him and left him DFA until the proverbial April starting pitcher injury hit. Jake Dickson didn’t disappoint, and when he went down Manning took his place in the rotation.

Now Manning has generally been viewed as a bust. He was the 2nd overall pick in the 2025 Draft by Madison, but didn’t sign and went back into the draft. In 2027 he was taken as the 1st overall pick in the draft. That means two different teams thought he was a can’t miss, Nebraska potential, starting pitcher. Then he lumped. Jacksonville dealt him to California for a has been and a never was. He never made it to the majors with the Crusaders and finally gave up on him.

Well he is 7-1 with Calgary with a 4.35 ERA in 11 starts. Now some of the stat heads will point out a higher than average WHIP and he doesn’t have the greatest BB/K ratio, etc., but he wins games. I’ll take a guy that figures out how to win any day of the week, especially when he was free. Thanks, Ted!

RP Curro Madrid was signed in December when he became a free agent. I’m not sure why New Orleans let him walk, but we were sure happy to sign him and give him a raise. With Esteban Ortiz getting up in age (37), the team had the goal of bringing in another lefty reliever as insurance. Somehow Ortiz keeps getting it done, so Madrid was sent to the minors to start the year. However, he has been pitching so well at St. Paul (20 games 1.56 ERA, 1.10 WHIP0 that we had to make room for him in Calgary. So far in 6 games of middle relief he is 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP). Not bad for a guy that cost us nothing but cash.

RP Omar Ayala was drafted from Louisville in the Rule 5 Draft. We liked his movement, his pitches and his stamina, and hey, he was free. If nothing else he could be a good reliever conversion candidate. The plan was to give him some starts in Spring Training and in the event of injuries he would provide depth. We got out of the Spring basically injury free, so now the problem was finding a place for him. Well we sent some guys down that deserved a spot on the roster and put Ayala out there in long relief. He has now worked himself into the middle relief pool and we are very glad we made a spot for him. He is 2-1 in 27.1 innings pithed with a 2.63 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Who is the GENIUS now?

RP Carlos Rodriguez was taken off Edmonton’s roster in the Rule 5. He has the pitches to be a starter, he has the stamina, but he has major control issues. Even when he fully develops he will be a 4 control and right now he is a 3. So this guy is going to walk a bunch of people, but he is also going to strike a lot of guys out. If he ever gets a control bump he could be a quality starter. We didn’t have room, but we made room and gave him the limited role as a righty specialist. Well he has pitched in 32 games with a 3.38 ERA. He has a 1.30 WHIP vs Righties who are hitting .184 against him. Yes he has more walks than strikeouts, but he is doing his job and boy are we hoping for a control bump.

[RonCo]

Interesting.

I wonder if this is a factor of the number of young players coming available, too. It suggests there will be lots of options for GMs throughout the year to pick up useful pieces.

[felipe]

I’m glad Omar is initially performing well for a mid tier team

Unfortunately he just isn’t good enough for Louisville to protect

Just too much awesome in Louisville and not enough sauce to cover it all

[indiansfan]

I thought I saw you in my rear view mirror

[udlb58]

Manning is on pace for 120 K, 80 BB, and 30 HRA over the course of an entire season. Just because he's lucked into a few wins doesn't mean he isn't a bust. I was very close to taking Mick or LaFitte over him. Anything less than a #2 pitcher with the #1 overall pick is a bust and Manning is barely rosterable.

[recte44]

Manning is quite the lucky pitcher so far this year, it simply can't continue. However, I could see him sticking around the league for a while as a LOOGY.

[indiansfan]

I think I jinxed Manning. He has pitched worse since the article and now is going in the bullpen. Other 3 are going strong.