what's wrong with schmidt?

[bleach168]

Pitchers shouldn't be taken with 1st round picks.

I don't regret my Santana pick.

[Jack-In-A-Box]

Pitchers shouldn't be taken with 1st round picks.

I don't regret my Santana pick.

Me either!

But a friend of mine and I were talking and got to thinking. Wasn't it last year that majority of all players caught for steriods were pitchers? It's purely speculative sure.. but it makes you think. I'm not saying he did use it was just something that got us thinking because of how much different he looks from a year ago. FB topping out at 92 and his control is way off and we've heard nothing from him saying he's having any kind of injury. I hope it's not true but something has to be going on for this kind of problem.

[RAmst23]

I thought of the steroid argument here too, but I'm not sure it fits with this paticular case. Schmidt gave up 6 walks tonight, and his control has been off. Yes, his velocity is down, but his control is wayyy off too. It's not just one problem with Scmidt, it's several.

I'm going to go out on a limb and see if I can grab this guy in a couple leagues. Maybe a DL stint is coming up, but a healthy ace for only 3 months is still a great player to have. Hope the risk pays off

[BobbyRoberto]

After 2 starts, Schmidt was 2-0 with a 1.39 ERA and had 16 strikeouts and 5 walks in 13 innings. Nothing wrong with those numbers.

In start #3, he was shaky (5 inn, 8 h, 4 er, 3 bb, 5 k) and threw 103 pitches in 5 innings. 103 pitches isn't a lot for one game but when you consider it came in just 5 innings, that's not good.

Start #4 wasn't bad: 7 inn, 6 h, 3 er, 1 bb, 5 k, 107 pitches.

At this point, he's still 2-1, 3.24 with a 26/9 K:BB ratio in 25 innings.

Start #5 looks like where the damage was done: 6.2 inn, 8 h, 3 er, 4 bb, 7 k, 131 pitches. That's 131 pitches in less than 7 innings of work. When I saw that, I told the guy who owns Schmidt in my league, he better watch out the next start.

Start #6: 6.2 inn, 8 h, 4 er, 5 bb, 4 k, 121 pitches. The 5 walks in less than 7 innings, along with 121 pitches in less than 7 innings, are bad signs.

Today, it got even worse. Start #7: 3.2 inn, 6 h, 6 er, 6 bb, 3 k. 6 walks in 3.2 innings is very unlike Schmidt. And even though he was knocked out in the 4th, he still threw 92 pitches.

The guy has had some pretty bad abuse heaped on his arm already, and we're just into May.

[wrveres]

I'm going to go out on a limb and see if I can grab this guy in a couple leagues. Maybe a DL stint is coming up, but a healthy ace for only 3 months is still a great player to have. Hope the risk pays off

I like your thinkin'

[wrveres]

Healthy arm: Prior to Jason Schmidt's start Saturday, Alou acknowledged that the right-hander's velocity has been down this year. But Alou was quick to add that he doesn't think it's a health issue.

"He's not hurt," Alou said.

Instead of the 96 or 97 mph fastball that Schmidt once showed, Alou said Schmidt has generally been in the 92-93 mph range. But Alou pointed to Schmidt's 131-pitch outing in his previous start as evidence that there is no arm problem.

"If a guy can throw 130 pitches, there's nothing wrong with his arm," Alou said. "A guy would disintegrate after 80 or 90 pitches if there was an arm problem. And you wouldn't be able to answer the bell for the next time out."

Something is wrong with Schmidt, and he knows it. He swears his arm is not sore. But he has lost his fastball, unable to crack 92 mph, and has little command. He also has no answers, other than a bad case of "dead-arm."

"I've had my fastball since I was 16," Schmidt said. "I know other ways to get guys out, but it's just like I'm playing long-toss right now. Maybe I'm paying for what happened last year," when he threw 3,608 pitches in 225 innings.

"Whenever I really try to throw it up there, it's just everything I can do to get it to home plate. Nobody is more frustrated than I am. We had an uplifting hit by Moises. That was huge. The next inning was big. I tried to shut them down, but physically I'm not able to do it. I don't know what it is. The arm is fine, but physically, there's nothing in it. I can't throw strikes. I'm just waiting for one game when it clicks."

[Iconoclastic]

Damn, will I actually have to bench my 2nd round ace?

[wrveres]

Well since his next two starts are ..

@ Hou
@ Col

thats not bad advice.

[ocmusicjunkie]

Pitchers shouldn't be taken with 1st round picks.

I disagree, that's too general of statement. It depends on the format, the stats used, and your strategy. Last season, my friend won a very competitive H2H league by picking pitchers his first three rounds.

[Madison]

Something is wrong with Schmidt, and he knows it. He swears his arm is not sore. But he has lost his fastball, unable to crack 92 mph, and has little command. He also has no answers, other than a bad case of "dead-arm."

"I've had my fastball since I was 16," Schmidt said. "I know other ways to get guys out, but it's just like I'm playing long-toss right now. Maybe I'm paying for what happened last year," when he threw 3,608 pitches in 225 innings.

"Whenever I really try to throw it up there, it's just everything I can do to get it to home plate. Nobody is more frustrated than I am. We had an uplifting hit by Moises. That was huge. The next inning was big. I tried to shut them down, but physically I'm not able to do it. I don't know what it is. The arm is fine, but physically, there's nothing in it. I can't throw strikes. I'm just waiting for one game when it clicks."

I really, really didn't want to read that.

Thanks though!