Chasing The Storm 2054-7 Pitching Review

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Chasing The Storm 2054-7 Pitching Review

Post by njherdfan » Wed May 10, 2023 1:50 pm

As we've discussed at some length before in these pages, Seattle has spent quite a bit in terms of draft resources over the past decade on its starting pitching. Those picks were made, obviously, with the hope that those starting pitchers would eventually develop into top of the rotation mainstays that would help lead Seattle back to the postseason. Obviously, that has not happened yet. As Seattle's record has started to improve, it now appears less likely that Seattle will be picking in the very top of the draft in the near future (although there's clearly no guarantee about that).

Put differently, there's a good chance that Seattle's current pitchers are who we'll see on the mound for much of the foreseeable future, so we'll have to evaluate those pitchers on their own terms. With that in mind, let's look at how some of Seattle's pitchers performed this past season.

Lucio Juarez led Seattle's rotation with a 4.17 ERA this past season. Interestingly enough he was Seattle's only rotation mainstay who didn't vastly under-perform his expected stats (or, alternatively, he was Seattle's only starter who wasn't too victimized by his defense). Juarez had a FIP of 4.18. He did a better job keeping the ball in the ballpark than he has in past, but he also increased his walk totals from years past. Seattle still holds out some hope that Juarez will develop into more of a strikeout pitcher, but it's clear that, as of now at least, that's not who he is. Few pitchers could use an excellent defense behind them more than Juarez.

Doug Eckhoff has a 2054 season that was fairly similar to his 2053 campaign, at least superficially. After posting a 4.40 FIP last season, Eckhoff has a 4.43 FIP this season. He slightly increased his strikeout rate this season and did a much better job of limiting home runs. Unfortunately, as you can probably guess since his FIP barely moved, those gains were largely offset by an increase in walks. Seattle's front office has, off-the-record, expressed some confusion about Eckhoff and why he hasn't taken the proverbial leap to become a better pitcher. He's only 25, though, so no one is giving up on him, and they are hoping for more next season.

Finally, in his rookie year, Steve Nebraska actually outperformed Eckhoff with a FIP of 4.26. Going into this season, Nebraska's calling card was striking hitters out and limiting home runs. As a rookie, he accomplished one of those goals, as he only allowed 12 home runs in 134 innings. What Nebraska will need to improve upon, however, are his strikeout and walk totals. In those 134 innings, he struck out 100 hitters and walked 59. Not to put too fine a point on the issue, but it's very difficult to succeed with a K:BB ratio like that. While Seattle's scouts don't think Nebraska's control would ever be called "pinpoint," they do expect to see his walk numbers improve, and they're equally hopeful that his strikeout rates will improve as well.

Next year promises to be an important milestone in the development of all three pitchers as Seattle hopes to improve on the baby steps they took in 2054.
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