raiders_umpire wrote:I think we see him in Tampa in another month or so. He has been pretty good so far in Durham this year. His control has been fairly good and his K rate is great. He has struggled a bit with runners on, but that should get turned around with a bit more experience. As far as projections, I think he could turn into a stud SP even in Tampa and the AL East. I honestly think he will be the ace of the Devil Rays staff as soon as next year over Kazmir and Shields.
Really? The ace of the staff over Kazmir? That is a bold statement.
Not really bold at all, he has superior talent over Kazmir.
He did when he threw 96-99 MPH at Rice. Not anymore. I think people, Devil Rays fans in particular, forget just how good Kaz was last year before he was shut down.
Kaz's fastball is about as good as Niemann's, and he's a lefty, and his slider is probably slightly better than Niemann's as well, although it's close. Niemann will be a very good pitcher, but he hasn't exactly lit up AAA and he isn't as dominant as he once was at Rice.
Kaz was a 20 year old who came straight up from AA and pitched in the majors. You're really underestimating his talent here.
Niemann should be the better player. Their two top pitches are about the same skill wise, but Niemann has the edge with other pitches and his control. I am definitely not underestimating Kazmir as he has the ability to be a great pitcher, but I think Niemann can be just a bit better. If you don't think so, that is fine, but then again you might want to make the trip to Durham and see Niemann just blow by some hitters with his late movement on his FB. I have seen Kazmir pitch many times and his pitches just do not have the same late movement.
Then again I have been wrong on prospects before, but I will still be shocked if Niemann is not the best pitcher on the Devil Rays team in 2008.
Kaz has one of the best sliders in the game so I'm not sure that Niemann has better stuff. Plus Kaz is a lefty to boot. Both have injury concerns and without seeing what Niemann can do with MLB bats, I'd have to rank Kaz higher.
raiders_umpire wrote:Have you ever even seen Niemann pitch?
No I guess I should.
you should
I know he has great stuff but it's hard for me to believe that he is better than Kaz because the break on his slider is so late and impossible to pick up.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
raiders_umpire wrote: Have you ever even seen Niemann pitch?
No I guess I should.
Nothing more that I need to know then.
How many times have you seen him? I'll be watching him on MiLB.com on the 30th.
Just hard for me to believe since I've seen Kaz dozens of times completely fooling some great hitters with that late breaking slider.
Plus Kaz is a full year young than Niemann and he has been doing it in MLB for 3 years now. No knock on Niemann at all since he's been a top prospect for years.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
raiders_umpire wrote: Have you ever even seen Niemann pitch?
No I guess I should.
Nothing more that I need to know then.
How many times have you seen him? I'll be watching him on MiLB.com on the 30th.
.
Well since I only live about a hour from the Durham Bulls stadium, I guess I have seen him about every single time he has pitched at Durham this year. I guess that puts me watching him just a few more times then you, even though you have this great idea of how he pitches. Go read some more on him at Project Prospect and come back with some more great news about him for me to know.
raiders_umpire wrote: Have you ever even seen Niemann pitch?
No I guess I should.
Nothing more that I need to know then.
How many times have you seen him? I'll be watching him on MiLB.com on the 30th.
.
Well since I only live about a hour from the Durham Bulls stadium, I guess I have seen him about every single time he has pitched at Durham this year. I guess that puts me watching him just a few more times then you, even though you have this great idea of how he pitches. Go read some more on him at Project Prospect and come back with some more great news about him for me to know.
mmmk... no need to take it personally buddy. Oh and I don't know what Project Prospect is.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
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by deerayfan072 » Tue May 22, 2007 12:34 pm 
