Just wanted to start a thread regarding this young, super prospect since he is due to pitch against the O's tonight. They've adjusted his mechanics so that he can get better movement/control on his fastball. His bread and butter pitch is his amazing change up, which is proven to be a deadly pitch if thrown correctly: i.e. Johan, Hamels, Shields, etc. Also has a plus curve and with the big club, he tends to throw his secondary offerings (53.3%) more often than his fastball (46.7%). Check out Fangraph.
He has been dominant at AAA although not quite to the 07 level. As with most young pitcher learning his craft, he will hit some bumps on the road but I'd like to see some projections for the remainder of the 08 season.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
13-14 or so starts, 1.20 WHIP (Assuming he still has some trouble with the walks every now and then), 3.40 ERA, 85 IP, 93 K's.
Note to Joba owners. Trade him for Buchholz now. I've always said that he's a better pitcher and you won't have to worry about his WHIP being so bad with Joba still getting accustomed the the new role of pitching 100 times a game.
It's Buchholz' time to lock down that #3 spot for the Red Sox (Although I think he's probably going to be as good as Beckett from here on out and in the future.)
Note to Joba owners. Trade him for Buchholz now. I've always said that he's a better pitcher and you won't have to worry about his WHIP being so bad with Joba still getting accustomed the the new role of pitching 100 times a game.
Jeepers! I wouldn't go that far. Joba is going to be solid as well. Uunless one gets injured I think they will have similar careers with Joba.
I see Clay going .500. I think he will struggle after his first start. He will be much more consistent in September and aid the Sox in another run at the pennant.
If the Yankees fall further behind in the standings you have to think they'd shut Joba down during the fantasy stretch run. Falling behind is not quite their MO, but protecting Joba is. A couple ESPN fantasy guys have said the same thing, about Clay > Joba over the second half. Yeah yeah ESPN is no good, whatever, but the opinion exists elsewhere.
I actually like both Joba and Clay for the second half. It will take some time for Joba to get acclimated to pitching as a starter and he's only pitched a handful of games at this level. He'll definitely take his lumps but he is so dominant and improved so quickly that I have little doubts about him.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
Hey, say what you want about the Avatar, but I'm not biased to Buchholz because he plays for the Red Sox. It's a matter of (As yoda pointed out) that Joba hasn't been a starter in almost a year, and let's face it but he can't continue to have that horrible WHIP and get guys out like he has been.
It's not a knock on Joba at all because I like him alot as well and depending on how his pitches and demeanor develop he could be better than Clay on a long term basis, but at this point you have to like Buchholz, IMO.
That hammer curve is always going to be an awesome out pitch for Buchholz and while Joba's slider is great as well, I just don't think he knows how to use it as well as Clay can with the hammer...
Kingctb27 wrote:Hey, say what you want about the Avatar, but I'm not biased to Buchholz because he plays for the Red Sox. It's a matter of (As yoda pointed out) that Joba hasn't been a starter in almost a year, and let's face it but he can't continue to have that horrible WHIP and get guys out like he has been.
It's not a knock on Joba at all because I like him alot as well and depending on how his pitches and demeanor develop he could be better than Clay on a long term basis, but at this point you have to like Buchholz, IMO.
That hammer curve is always going to be an awesome out pitch for Buchholz and while Joba's slider is great as well, I just don't think he knows how to use it as well as Clay can with the hammer...
I see your point about Joba but I'm not sure if I agree. I've watched most of his starts and what he is lacking is consistency right now, hence the high number of BB's that usually come in bunches. Also, a lot of the hits he's been giving up are just great hitting by someone or weakly hit bloopers and singles that fall in. So he puts a fair number of men on base but because he is so dominant, he's able to get out of trouble: i.e. Kazmir, Wood, Lincecum, or any young dominant pitchers with a high K rate and WHIP.
I think Joba will continue to improve and we'll start seeing more great outings versus crappy ones.
As far as Buchholz is concerned, it will come down to his fastball. Hitters will simply sit on his fastball and hammer it if he is not consistent with it.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
Someone watching the game fill us in here, but it looks as if Buchholz has certainly settle down since he gave up 2 runs in the 1st. 3 hits and 5 Ks through 4.
Yeah, I have the game on MLBTV and like I said before that Hammer is just a sexy pitch. It just breaks soooooooooooo much... 1st inning he struggled with some control issues, but has settled in nicely since then.
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by Yoda » Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:43 pm 
