It's always refreshing to realize that no team has enough pitching, pitching, pitching - especially our former great rivals in New England, whose current rotation projects the testosterone of the Marianne Williamson presidential campaign. Ah, Boston! May they always grind our grist. But let's dismiss our Beantown buds, for now.
Only one comparison matters... Hot L Baltimore. And it's bleak.
The O's now have a genuine ace/Cy Young candidate in Corbin Burnes, obtained last week from Milwaukee. He joins a wave of talent from a farm system generally ranked No. 1 in all of baseball.
That said, eight of the O's top 10 prospects are position players. Only two - LH Cade Povich and RH Chayce McDermott - could crack the 2024 rotation. And in the name of Jhony Brito, we know how chaotic rookie pitchers can be. So, there is hope, right?
No. Forget hope. It's Baltimore we must fear. Last season, their No. 2, Kyle Bradish went 12-7 with an ERA of 2.83. He'll be 27 this year. He looks like the real deal, and, at least for now, stands head and shoulders above our projected No. 2, Carlos McCortschmidt.
Then comes Grayson Rodriguez, a long-prophesized RH prospect. He cometh last year, age 23, throwing 122 innings. If he improves... humina-humina-humina...
Then comes Dean Kremer, who went 13-5 last year, at age 27.
Listen: We have some marquee names. Cole. Stroman. Rodon. They have guys who are still growing their future contracts. Come 2030, they could be salting our rotation. Which is the problem, no?
With luck, the Yankees might stack up against Toronto and Tampa (though the Rays always unveil young arms, so we dismiss them at our peril.) Baltimore is the team to beat.
And if - say - Toronto were to sign Blake Snell...
It’s simple: if the Yankee rotation makes a deal at the crossroads and sells their collective soul for the optimal outcomes for all five starters they can match up with Baltimore. In all likelihood I wouldn’t be surprised if Weaver is making emergency spot starts by June (yikes) and Grayson Rodriguez lives up to his hype and is the best out of both staffs after Cole
ReplyDeleteInteresting predictions, Jaraxle. Weaver does seem destined to start this season when the injuries kick in (and they will). And it's great to see a younger guy hit the stage and make an immediate mark.
ReplyDeletePlus, if you'll forgive me for saying so yet again, sign Bauer. I mean, this is a no-brainer already.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to a heap of games with scores like 14-12, 13-9, and 19-7
@ JM....I agree with you that the Yankees should sign Trevor Bauer. They could get him under marketplace value. But Bauer is as likely to be signed by an MLB team as Colin Kaepernick has of being signed by an NFL team. I'm sure MLB has made an industry decision to blackball him and he should sue them. I'd bet there is a neon paper trail.
ReplyDeleteThe blow Jays and the 0's have pitching. TB will pull some guys out their ass. Boston cares less about winning the Hal does, but the Bombers have Cole and a bunch of guys that pitch like #2!
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ReplyDelete"In all likelihood I wouldn’t be surprised if Weaver is making emergency spot starts by June "
Jaraxle - You might be right. Gary Wright.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZYYe0kAtg
:)
Hello Everyone and please excuse/pardon his interruption BUT I felt that it was important to inform all of you fine peeps (yes even you Rufus) that Gary Sanchez has signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.
ReplyDeleteThat's it! That's all I have! ---> Please resume whatever embarrassingly cringy activity you were involved with prior to the blog post alarm going off.
Thank you.
Nobody ever has enough pitching, ever. Except the 1946 and 1998 New York Yankees. The goal is to have "less" never enough pitching than the other team. Remember 2009? The Yankees only really had three pitchers going into the WS, but it worked out fine because the Phillies only had one!
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