Anthony Ranaudo had a good, bad and ugly start against the Yankees.
The good: he pitches around the plate most of the time, has reliable velocity on the fastball, and a lot of hop on his heat (92.5 avg, 94.5 peak velocity, and +10.5" vertical movement). He also displayed the bitingest true curve seen around these parts since Beckett went slurvy in 2010. His release point and movement look quite consistent to me, which suggests that he can control his excellent movement, and will eventually be able to command it. Ranaudo's average vertical break on 3 curveballs in the first inning: -8.5". His curve became more slurvy (ie, more horizontal and less vertical movement) as the game went on, but it's easy to see why the scouting reports identify Ranaudo's curve as a potential out pitch.
The bad: Ranaudo did not miss many bats: only 3 whiffs all game, 2 on the fastball and one on a curve. The changeup is purely a waste pitch at this point: all 4 went for balls. He couldn't always throw strikes when he needed to, walking Brent Gardner twice (Ranaudo is vulnerable to patient hitters) and walking the leadoff hitter three times. He's not afraid to throw strikes, which is good, but he's wild in the strike zone, which is bad, and some of his marinara has a lot of meatballs in it, which is downright ugly.
The ugly: Ranaudo grooved a lot of pitches just above the belt. The Yankees didn't make him pay for this cheesy lasagne, taking a lot of middle-middle fastballs for called strikes, but a better lineup will chow down on it:
Just in case the title wasn't too obvious, many of us grew up haunted by this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlNAYCcxgUw
The good: he pitches around the plate most of the time, has reliable velocity on the fastball, and a lot of hop on his heat (92.5 avg, 94.5 peak velocity, and +10.5" vertical movement). He also displayed the bitingest true curve seen around these parts since Beckett went slurvy in 2010. His release point and movement look quite consistent to me, which suggests that he can control his excellent movement, and will eventually be able to command it. Ranaudo's average vertical break on 3 curveballs in the first inning: -8.5". His curve became more slurvy (ie, more horizontal and less vertical movement) as the game went on, but it's easy to see why the scouting reports identify Ranaudo's curve as a potential out pitch.
The bad: Ranaudo did not miss many bats: only 3 whiffs all game, 2 on the fastball and one on a curve. The changeup is purely a waste pitch at this point: all 4 went for balls. He couldn't always throw strikes when he needed to, walking Brent Gardner twice (Ranaudo is vulnerable to patient hitters) and walking the leadoff hitter three times. He's not afraid to throw strikes, which is good, but he's wild in the strike zone, which is bad, and some of his marinara has a lot of meatballs in it, which is downright ugly.
The ugly: Ranaudo grooved a lot of pitches just above the belt. The Yankees didn't make him pay for this cheesy lasagne, taking a lot of middle-middle fastballs for called strikes, but a better lineup will chow down on it:
Just in case the title wasn't too obvious, many of us grew up haunted by this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlNAYCcxgUw