Eduardo Rodriguez called up
- Thread starter Corsi
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We haven't seen anyone since Papelbon come right up and just blow guys away with his stuff - until now.
Farrell, on whether EdRo is going back to Pawtucket: "The only way he's going back to Pawtucket is if he stops there on the way to Baltimore"
Now we can all go back to liking Farrell, right? Clearly, Edro gives him the best chance to win games now, and he is making that call rather than deferring to Masterson/Kelly, which is great news for us fans who actually have to watch these games.Laser Show said:
Does this mean Kelly gets sent down to the minors or switched to the bullpen? Having a power arm like his would improve the back end.
There is already plenty of performance worth replacing and let's not forget the 7th stiff that's stashed on the DL.
pokey_reese said:
Why are we assuming this is Farrell's decision? Doesn't Ben decide who gets sent to Pawtucket?
What's he's done in his two starts is quite historic.
@EliasSports: Rodriguez is the 1st pitcher since 1900 to go 7.0+ IP and allow no more than 1 run and 3 hits in his first 2 MLB outings.
@EliasSports: Rodriguez is the 1st pitcher since 1900 to go 7.0+ IP and allow no more than 1 run and 3 hits in his first 2 MLB outings.
Still has a way to go to match FernandoMania --- 1st 8 starts......8-0......0.50ERA(!)......8CG(!!)......5 shutouts(!!!)....68Ks...... 43H....(he pitched 10 games in relief at the tail end of 1980) and he hit .360 during that stretch.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=valenfe01&t=p&year=1981
I LOVE seeing this kid work. Get the ball, throw strikes. Its refreshing. Its nice to have a good lefty back in the rotation too. Eddy is making this year watchable again.
TigerBlood said:
Unfortunately probably close to as similar to Doubront and Johan, but I see lots of good things. Actually reminds me more of Washburn than either of those other guys.
The two things that have impressed me so far are:
1) Pounding the zone with plus fastballs. Today he had two swinging strikeouts on 0-2 fastballs that caught a lot of the plate.
2) His release seems to make it very difficult for RHB to recognize his breaking ball and lay off it even when it finishes down and in. Today on the 3rd inning strikeout of Robinson it was really obvious, but he has had more of those throughout the first two starts. The fact that he also throws it for a strike will also help people from just laying off it.
#1 is always a personal favorite of mine, but #2 if not a SSS mirage is actually what made Randy Johnson special, and it is particularly effective when paired with the fastball strikes. I'm hoping to see him survive the second time through teams without having either of those two great qualities getting eroded by a changed approach in opposing lineups, but so far I'm really impressed and optimistic.
And that is before even considering his really decent changeup, which while not having a traditional lefty change-artist arm angle, I think has the potential to be a great third pitch to avoid being too predictable.
rembrat said:
More likely they'll move Wright to long relief after tonight. Hopefully Farrell will start pulling out the quick hook when one of he other starters doesn't seem to have it on any given day.
[mods, feel free to move this to a non-Edro thread.)
koufax37 said:
Yes, I think this is the variable that limits Edro's ceiling as a pro pitcher -- can batters adjust to him? I'm inclined to think that his changeup isn't that easy a pitch to hit even when the batter guesses offspeed. For one thing, he throws it tailing away or low most of the time, so he's not (yet) wild in the strike zone with his secondary pitches.
For another, velocity separation again in a full 7 mph. That's not great by MLB standards, but it is enough to miss a few bats, change a few eye levels, and upset a few timing clocks. What I love about Edro's command in addition to pounding the strike zone is that he was throwing inside fastballs to RHB all game long, and he hit his spots without hitting any batters. When the primary pitch averages 94 mph and hits the spot, almost any offspeed pitch will do, and Edro's got two.
The Twins packed their lineup with RHB and got nothing to show for it, except for Dozier's HR off a down-and-in fastball. It appears that the Red Sox' book on Dozier was to throw low in the zone, and Dozier showed that he could handle the low fastball.
That's a great candid interview from Hunter. It's cool to get some insight into how he sees pitchers.
I don't see the Edro-Santana comparison. Santana's fastball was never that much of a primary threat within the PitchFX vault. Great location, yes, but he could not blow the ball by major league hitters by 2009. Equally so, Santana's changeup was always a swing-and-miss pitch, in the same league with Pedro's, while Edro's changeup doesn't baffle, it just changes the pace and the movement, preferably outside the strike zone.
Maybe Johan Santana's fastball once looked like Edro's, but I never saw it. I'm in awe of you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zQAYTbKVfs
Maybe Johan Santana's fastball once looked like Edro's, but I never saw it. I'm in awe of you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zQAYTbKVfs
Yeah, it's pretty amazing that he can throw a fastball right down the middle and get strike three swinging.
Some thoughts about Eddie's second outing (I looked at his first outing on .com, Eduardo Rodriguez Dominated in His First Start).
On his first outing, he only threw his slider to left-handed batters. Yesterday, he only faced righties, so he didn't have that option. It's really interesting that Hunter has a relatively low opinion of the slider per se ("His slider, his third pitch, about a 5. That's just enough because he throws so hard, the third pitch doesn't have to be great. Just enough") , because outcome-wise it looked pretty good:
Of the 16 he threw yesterday, he got 4 called strikes, three swinging strikes, and seven fouls; only two were actually put into play. Hunter saw four of the sliders, all in the same at-bat, and fouled off three (plus one called strike).
Here's his pitch/outcome/velocity by inning:
Like his first start, he mixed his change in more the second time through the order, though he (or his catcher) isn't religious about it -- there are some earlier on too. He maintained his velocity reasonably well through the game, though his first inning was significantly faster than the rest. He did the same thing first time out -- adrenaline? Setting the batters up? But even in the final inning he was up there with a fastball that exceeded 95 mph.
In the first and third inning he threw three pitches that PITCHf/x called generic fastballs ("FA"). I think those were just sliders, and PITCHf/x will probably revise the naming in a day or two.
There are other charts here showing his other pitch types and inning-by-inning breakdowns if anyone is interested.
On his first outing, he only threw his slider to left-handed batters. Yesterday, he only faced righties, so he didn't have that option. It's really interesting that Hunter has a relatively low opinion of the slider per se ("His slider, his third pitch, about a 5. That's just enough because he throws so hard, the third pitch doesn't have to be great. Just enough") , because outcome-wise it looked pretty good:
Here's his pitch/outcome/velocity by inning:
In the first and third inning he threw three pitches that PITCHf/x called generic fastballs ("FA"). I think those were just sliders, and PITCHf/x will probably revise the naming in a day or two.
There are other charts here showing his other pitch types and inning-by-inning breakdowns if anyone is interested.
Kilgore A. Trout said:
Oversimplifying a lil bit, because arm strength on breaking pitches generally adds tighter spin, but not more velocity. An older pitcher losing their FB is also likely to lose a little bite on their breaker compared to their prime, especially if they really spun that bitch (again, see Beckett, or maybe K-Rod). Another variable confusing all this is where the pitcher lies on the max-effort-every-pitch vs Mazzone-style 85% effort; the latter generally have a couple more years of slack before age catches up with their slower pitches.
Presuming he stays in the rotation, is there an innings ceiling he's working against and what could that be?
I think at this point I'd rather have the fastball control than the tantalizing breaking stuff. We've had so many pitchers over the last ten years with a nasty this or that who've never been able to put it together like we had hoped because they couldn't locate a fastball to one side of the plate, nevermind two.
Here's an interesting article to that effect on Lester and his obsession with pitching in on righties. In my layman's understanding, so much of his success in the latter half of his career has been predicated on him being able to pitch to both sides of the plate. Of course, I don't want to make too many comparison's between the two: the only real similariity is they both got electric fastballs for LHP.
It looks like, from BB, that Rodriguez was mostly trying to bury change-ups away, and hitters were fouling them off or taking them for called strikes. There was one strikeout on a fastball away.
The action on Rodriguez's change, combined with the velocity, actually reminds me more of a splitter. Does that make sense? Or is it the way it comes out of a guy's hand that matters more?
Here's an interesting article to that effect on Lester and his obsession with pitching in on righties. In my layman's understanding, so much of his success in the latter half of his career has been predicated on him being able to pitch to both sides of the plate. Of course, I don't want to make too many comparison's between the two: the only real similariity is they both got electric fastballs for LHP.
It looks like, from BB, that Rodriguez was mostly trying to bury change-ups away, and hitters were fouling them off or taking them for called strikes. There was one strikeout on a fastball away.
The action on Rodriguez's change, combined with the velocity, actually reminds me more of a splitter. Does that make sense? Or is it the way it comes out of a guy's hand that matters more?
On mobile so I can't get fancy. This start Eddie was using the classic fastball-in-change up-away pattern, but last start he was quite different (fastballs for strikes down, showing for balls up and out; changes down to RHB, inside to LHB ). Both starts suggest good fastball command, and a solid game plan whether it was his or the catcher/coaches who called it.
gryoung said:
In 2013, he threw 145 IP. In 2014, he threw 120. He's thrown 63 or so thus far in 2015.
I think they'd aim for 170-180.
Have not felt as excited after two starts by a homegrown pitching product since Clay Buchholz threw a no-no in his 2nd start. Would have to go back almost to Juan Pena for another homegrown guy who was this electric to start out of the gate - still stings thinking about Pena after over 15 years.
Sprowl said:
I don't like his changeup enough yet if it were his second pitch and don't think he could Glavine/Buhrle/Moyer/Hamels with it given his arm slot and the slightly lower separation. But because it is his third and righties appear to have difficulty reading his breaking ball which he both got called on the inside corner, and chased down and in off the plate, it can really compliment and keep hitters honest who are sitting fastball while thinking about the inside breaking ball.
Having an offspeed that you can control away and tails away plus one you can control inside and moves inside is a pretty great combo. If he can continue to command all three weapons it really counteracts any change in approach by opposing lineups. And while I love him pounding the zone with fastballs, I think a few too many of his were down the middle, so I would like to see him move it in and out better over his next few starts.
Overall I think he definitely has the surprise stuff to continue to do well when facing a team for the first time, and I am cautiously optimistic he has enough variety and command that he will not be an easy mark the second time a team faces him.
Tim Britton @TimBritton 1h1 hour ago
Rodriguez will start Tuesday against the Orioles, his old organization.
Rodriguez will start Tuesday against the Orioles, his old organization.
You missed an awesome trade deadline last summer I see. Eddie was acquired from Baltimore in the Andrew Miller trade.jscola85 said:
I'd much rather have Kelly go to the pen than Wright. Kelly's stuff transitions to the pen much more smoothly than Wright. The pen badly needs a power setup arm.
Jason Mastrodonato @JMastrodonato 13s14 seconds ago
With that outing, Eduardo Rodriguez becomes the fourth pitcher in 100 years to begin his career w/ 3 starts of at least 6 IP & 3 H or less.
With that outing, Eduardo Rodriguez becomes the fourth pitcher in 100 years to begin his career w/ 3 starts of at least 6 IP & 3 H or less.
I didn't see tonight's game, but judging by Eduardo's pitch count through 6 innings I gather it was a bit more of a slog than his previous outings. Still, no runs is no runs. He has now allowed 1 run through his first 20 major league innings. I wonder how often that happens?
@Shesta_Sox: Per @EliasSports, Eduardo Rodriguez is 1st in baseball history to go 6.0+ IP while allowing no more than 1 R or 3 H in each of 1st 3 games.
Missing high and away arm side and down and glove side a decent amount, usually a sign a pitcher is having trouble finding his release point. Wasn't bad by any means, as he wasn't missing over the plate and generally to where Swihart was setting up, but command wasn't quite as good as previous two starts. Long-term, he still needs to improve his secondary stuff, but he has a FB that is plus to plus-plus right now that he can generate swings and misses on.Savin Hillbilly said:
Good observation on the release point. His release point on Pitchf/x shows that he was releasing at or above 6 feet when in his first two starts and he was at or below six feet last night. Hopefully it's something they notice and correct.Chuck Z said: