Jason Hirsh, a good Rockies pitcher?

[Inukchuk]

Very nice numbers in the minors, but he seems to get forgotten among all the young talent this year (I'm guessing because he pitches in Coors). If nothing else, I'm very comfortable starting him on the road. Does anyone have any info that says he won't become a very good pitcher?

[masterpinky0509]

His home ballpark? Or his team, which will limit his wins potential?

Actually I'm a Hirsh owner right now in a 14-teamer and I really like him. I watched some of his games and he seems to me like a very Chris Young-type pitcher. He throws an 88-90 mph fastball that has good downward trajectory from his arm angle, and his best pitch is probably a change that comes off that fastball and surprises hitters. His breaking stuff is mediocre but can get the job done.

[jake_harv88]

His home ballpark? Or his team, which will limit his wins potential?
Actually I'm a Hirsh owner right now in a 14-teamer and I really like him. I watched some of his games and he seems to me like a very Chris Young-type pitcher. He throws an 88-90 mph fastball that has good downward trajectory from his arm angle, and his best pitch is probably a change that comes off that fastball and surprises hitters. His breaking stuff is mediocre but can get the job done.

Whats your basis for this argument? Yeah the rockies were last in their division last year but they had a decent offense last year finishing right behind the red sox in runs scored. What led to all of their losses was probaby the fact that they were in the bottom 10 in team ERA. However, team ERA is not indicative of a specific pitcher. If Hirsh can pitch effectively i think he'll get a ton of run support this year. That being said Hirsh fell off the radar last year after he flopped in the big leagues for a short stint. This made him go largely undrafted or in the much later rounds (i snagged him in the last round of my 16 team league). However his minor league numbers suggest that hes better than what he showed last year. I personally expect his minor league success to carry over into this year. The comparison to chris young is pretty adequate. I see no reason why he can't finish at:

13 wins, 3.75 era, 150 Ks, 1.25 WHIP

I'm sure you could do much worse in a lot of leagues.

[avsfan4ever33]

Hirsh has been great so far this season. I've been surprised with his strikeout totals, as I didn't think he was a big strikeout pitcher in the minors. His changeup has been filthy and his fastball has been good.

Hope he keeps it up!

Oh, and on a side note, five Rockies related threads in the Leftovers forum in the past day or so!

[x_Momentum]

Yeah, Hirsh is good to go. He's one of the Rockies pitchers im not afraid to start at home.

[100MPH]

There is no such thing as a good Rockies pitcher. That park is murder. Look what Coors did to Mike Hampton.

Year Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA

2000 NYM NL 15 10 33 33 3 1 217.7 194 89 76 10 99 151 8 10 929 5 0 3.14
2001 COL NL 14 13 32 32 2 1 203.0 236 138 122 31 85 122 8 6 904 7 0 5.41
2002 COL NL 7 15 30 30 0 0 178.7 228 135 122 24 91 74 7 9 838 4 2 6.15
2003 ATL NL 14 8 31 31 1 0 190.0 186 91 81 14 78 110 1 10 823 4 1 3.84

This is the same pitcher that went 22-4 with Huston and had an era of 2.90. We can agree Mike is a quality picter and Coors inflated his era.

I do not trust any starters inside Coors.

[teddy ballgame]

There is no such thing as a good Rockies pitcher. That park is murder. Look what Coors did to Mike Hampton.

Year Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA

2000 NYM NL 15 10 33 33 3 1 217.7 194 89 76 10 99 151 8 10 929 5 0 3.14
2001 COL NL 14 13 32 32 2 1 203.0 236 138 122 31 85 122 8 6 904 7 0 5.41
2002 COL NL 7 15 30 30 0 0 178.7 228 135 122 24 91 74 7 9 838 4 2 6.15
2003 ATL NL 14 8 31 31 1 0 190.0 186 91 81 14 78 110 1 10 823 4 1 3.84

This is the same pitcher that went 22-4 with Huston and had an era of 2.90. We can agree Mike is a quality picter and Coors inflated his era.

I do not trust any starters inside Coors.

Look at the years. It's not the same place it was back then.

[LukeW9027]

There is no such thing as a good Rockies pitcher. That park is murder. Look what Coors did to Mike Hampton.

Year Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA

2000 NYM NL 15 10 33 33 3 1 217.7 194 89 76 10 99 151 8 10 929 5 0 3.14
2001 COL NL 14 13 32 32 2 1 203.0 236 138 122 31 85 122 8 6 904 7 0 5.41
2002 COL NL 7 15 30 30 0 0 178.7 228 135 122 24 91 74 7 9 838 4 2 6.15
2003 ATL NL 14 8 31 31 1 0 190.0 186 91 81 14 78 110 1 10 823 4 1 3.84

This is the same pitcher that went 22-4 with Huston and had an era of 2.90. We can agree Mike is a quality picter and Coors inflated his era.

I do not trust any starters inside Coors.

Look at the years. It's not the same place it was back then.

Very true, dont underestimate the power of the Humidor.

[bceagles04]

Hirsh may be good, but it is a great time to sell high. I just got Escobar for him

[jake_harv88]

Hirsh may be good, but it is a great time to sell high. I just got Escobar for him

I might agree that one should sell high on jason hirsh right now. But Escobar is definately not an upgrade. Given his history of injuries and the fact that i think hirsh will be productive all year, I would not be surprised to see hirsh finish in the same area as escobar. That being said I think Hirsh will continue to be productive all year, and wouldn't be surprised if he has a run better than the one hes on now and that his value will be higher later. Not too mention Hirsh has really fallen off people's radars, and there might be people who dont know much about him...