63 replies to this topic

[Diamond Don Aase]

Masterson has been optioned to Portland, Corey called up per Extra Bases:

http://www.boston.co...rson_to_po.html

Those two-thirds of an inning that Corey has pitched since April 9 should leave him razor-sharp for this weekend. Gronkiewicz or Hull would have been a much better choice at this time.

Edited by Diamond Don Aase, 24 April 2008 - 05:24 PM.

[SoxScout]

I admittedly don't follow the minor leagues that well, but every mention I'd heard of Masterson was his eventual use as a 6th-7th inning guy in the bullpen. Has that concept been ditched; or, considering how uninspiring the current pen is, could Masterson be converted to a reliever for this season?

They obviously will stick with him as a starter long term as long as he has success.... but I think they chances of him in the Boston bullpen sometime this summer are about 98%.

[SaveBooFerriss]

Masterson has been optioned to Portland, Corey called up per Extra Bases:

http://www.boston.co...rson_to_po.html

I am a little surprised they didn't send him to Pawtucket. There is no doubt he could handle AAA. I can only imagine that they do not feel there is much difference pitching in AA or AAA for his development.

[Cuzittt]

I am a little surprised they didn't send him to Pawtucket. There is no doubt he could handle AAA. I can only imagine that they do not feel there is much difference pitching in AA or AAA for his development.

Who would you move out of the Pawtucket rotation to slot him in? Besides, there are likely some things things that they do want him to work on in AA (and with Pitching Coach Mike Cather).

Clay Buchholz was moved to Pawtucket last year after 16 games. I would expect a similar scenario with Masterson (barring injury scenarios in Pawtucket).

[Lollardfish]

Who would you move out of the Pawtucket rotation to slot him in? Besides, there are likely some things things that they do want him to work on in AA (and with Pitching Coach Mike Cather).

Clay Buchholz was moved to Pawtucket last year after 16 games. I would expect a similar scenario with Masterson (barring injury scenarios in Pawtucket).

Masterson is presumably second in line for the big club if any major injuries struck the rotation? Colon first (presuming his health), then Jedi.

My concern, watching today, is how much of his success is due to a semi-side-arm delivery of such a great sinker, and whether teams will catch up to that after seeing it enough (in person or on tape). Still, the Angels didn't really adjust. A more patient team might.

It's nice to have depth on the farm.

[Paul M]

I don't think he'll struggle to handle lefty batters a la Jeff Weaver or Arroyo. I see a promising change-up and a slider that's decent, especially to righties. I think Anaheim did lay off pretty well and drew some walks. I see a starter prospect and not a reliever but team needs could dictate that. So, in sum, I expected better fastball command but was fairly impressed with the variety of pitches which I was not expecting.

[rembrat]

I admittedly don't follow the minor leagues that well, but every mention I'd heard of Masterson was his eventual use as a 6th-7th inning guy in the bullpen. Has that concept been ditched; or, considering how uninspiring the current pen is, could Masterson be converted to a reliever for this season?

I could be wrong here but I don't think the Sox envisioned him as a bullpen guy before drafting him, it just seems like another one of those draft scouting reports that stick to a guy until he has proven he can start successfully. There is little doubt in my mind that Masterson will pitch out of the bullpen this summer given his arsenal and the constant need for relief help. I think it's really great that this organization has learned from it's mistakes and seems to have a set template on how to break in young pitching.

With (possibly) Wakefield and Schilling currently in their last hoorah, it would be safe to expect Masterson to be in line to compete for the #5 spot in the rotation come 2009, correct?

Edited by rembrat, 24 April 2008 - 09:04 PM.

[gibdied]

His slider was somewhat inconsistent. The deep flyout by Hunter and HR by Napoli were both on sliders that kind of spun and hung. But his 2-seamer was terrific and it was great to see the all the groundballs he got in the minors translate to the majors as well as his stuff generating some swings-and-misses. His sinker gets all the talk, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him throw some quality 4-seamers too. They seemed to have good movement, and though there was no gun on the FSNW broadcast I watched, it looked like they were around 92-94. Good stuff.

[The Allented Mr Ripley]

I think wherever Masterson ultimately ends up this year (starter or bullpen), it will be need-based, but Theo has always stated that he feels it's best to break in rookie pitchers as relievers, assuming you have the luxury to do so.

Edited by The Allented Mr Ripley, 25 April 2008 - 08:07 AM.

[OCD SS]

Masterson's ace in the hole, IMO, is his IP limit. If he's kept to a reasonable workload in the minors he'll be able to come up in July/August and pitch in the rotation through to the playoffs. He could essentially become the 6th man in the rotation, giving everyone else the extra rest to keep them sharp. At that point he can move into the pen replacing someone like Tavarez (or Lopez) as the long man/ designated ground ball guy.

[Lollardfish]

Masterson's ace in the hole, IMO, is his IP limit. If he's kept to a reasonable workload in the minors he'll be able to come up in July/August and pitch in the rotation through to the playoffs. He could essentially become the 6th man in the rotation, giving everyone else the extra rest to keep them sharp. At that point he can move into the pen replacing someone like Tavarez (or Lopez) as the long man/ designated ground ball guy.

He's been held to 5 innings (or so) in his starts in Portland so far, which I think is a good sign that the management is trying to keep his innings under control.

[behindthepen]

His slider was somewhat inconsistent. The deep flyout by Hunter and HR by Napoli were both on sliders that kind of spun and hung. But his 2-seamer was terrific and it was great to see the all the groundballs he got in the minors translate to the majors as well as his stuff generating some swings-and-misses. His sinker gets all the talk, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him throw some quality 4-seamers too. They seemed to have good movement, and though there was no gun on the FSNW broadcast I watched, it looked like they were around 92-94. Good stuff.

The Fenway gun had the 4 seamer at 92, the sinker at 88, and I think the change at 77-78.
Didn't notice the slider very often, but I was pretty impressed with how off-balance the changeup got guys. In particular there was an 0-2 count where someone just barely got to the change and popped it up.

Personally am not very happy that he didn't come out for the 7th, especially given the state of the rest of the rotation.

[TheYellowDart5]

Personally am not very happy that he didn't come out for the 7th, especially given the state of the rest of the rotation.

Masterson was at 95 pitches after six. Given how low his pitch counts have been in AA so far this season, taking him out at that point was the right thing to do.

[TomRicardo]

Masterson's ace in the hole, IMO, is his IP limit. If he's kept to a reasonable workload in the minors he'll be able to come up in July/August and pitch in the rotation through to the playoffs. He could essentially become the 6th man in the rotation, giving everyone else the extra rest to keep them sharp. At that point he can move into the pen replacing someone like Tavarez (or Lopez) as the long man/ designated ground ball guy.

He pitched around 150 IP last season so I assume he would be in line for around 180 much like Buchholz. Also to answer Cuzitt question, I would bump Chris Smith and not remember his name two weeks from now.