Ed NobleEd Noble, SP/RP
Hometown: Inglewood, CA
BBA debut: Jul 31, 2053
Ed Noble has forever been an enigma. Even when he was drafted, scouts were conflicted: Was he going to be an elite starting pitcher, or just good? Was he even going to be a starter at all?
Aaron Weiner, BBA’s Amateur Draft guru, had this to say when Boise selected Noble sixth overall in 2050:
All of which is true. His curveball borders on elite. The 18 inches of lateral movement on his 2-seam fastball jams hitters into making weak contact, leading to plenty of ground balls, which are his bread and butter.Noble is a well-developed starting pitcher who has a ton of talent. He’s made huge strides in each of the last three seasons, and already can throw three pitches for very effective strikes and could produce at the major league level, though scouts claim he’s not ready yet. Durable with good endurance, no history of injuries, and passable intangibles are all plusses with Noble. Overshadowed in college by teammate Samuel Nebraska, Noble could be a very notable pro.
Except sometimes he’s not that pitcher at all. He struggles to find the zone, which accounts for his 4.6 career BB/9 rate. His changeup floats out there like a wet noodle, and gets absolutely hammered. Fans seeing Noble in these moments would be amazed that he was ever a first-round pick.
This Jekyll-and-Hyde characteristic has followed Noble his whole career, and was on display in his performance in 2053. In Triple-A, where he started the year, he would routinely throw seven or eight scoreless innings, then in his next outing give up 7 runs and take an early shower.
But upon being promoted to the BBA, “Good Noble” showed up. In 18.2 innings of relief work, he managed an ERA of 1.93, and kept opponents to a .185 batting average. Still, Bad Noble’s presence was felt, with the same walk demons that have always plagued him, allowing nearly 6 free passes per nine innings.
Noble has certainly earned another shot in the bigs, maybe even as a starter, but Boise will have to wait and see which Noble shows up when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. If it’s Bad Noble, his stay could be pretty short.
