Don't get me wrong, I love Sale. I have him ranked as the 4th best prospect from this draft (Harper, Tailon & Machado). Those dominating numbers were in the pen though. He was put in that role so he can try to help the Sox this season. I sure hope for his sake, the Sox put him back in the AA rotation next year where I think he can be solid. Hate to see good starting arms turn into Neftali Feliz or even worse, Andrew Cashner. I think Sale could be a very good SP if he was put on a normal development path.
mblax10 wrote:Don't get me wrong, I love Sale. I have him ranked as the 4th best prospect from this draft (Harper, Tailon & Machado). Those dominating numbers were in the pen though. He was put in that role so he can try to help the Sox this season. I sure hope for his sake, the Sox put him back in the AA rotation next year where I think he can be solid. Hate to see good starting arms turn into Neftali Feliz or even worse, Andrew Cashner. I think Sale could be a very good SP if he was put on a normal development path.
A few things. One, I agree that he was the second best lefty in the draft and I wished the Reds would have taken him over Grandel since Mesoraco had his breakout season this year. I believe the White Sox view him as a starter long term and I think he'll get some AA-AAA time in the rotation next year. But I'm not at all against a young pitcher helping out a club win while in the bullpen. Current players like Johan, Liriano, and Wainwright all saw time in the pen before commanding the mound as a starter. I fully expect the Reds to use Chapman in that same mold. I also think Feliz and Cashner, who I still like, will be rotation bound in the next few years.
I don't mind the Sox putting a college pitcher in the pen after a full college season. He shouldn't have been starting for the whole summer imo. And they can use him for the stretch run also. But hopefully he is actually moved back to the rotation next season.
And the handling of Feliz is different than Johan, Liriano and Wainwright. They were in the pen because of solid rotations and had nothing left to work on in the minors. But the rangers had a bullpen need and now he's helping out. The biggest issue for him as a starter is the development of his secondary pitches but he's throwing 85% FB's as a closer. I don't like his odds of becoming a starter in the future.
kab21 wrote:And the handling of Feliz is different than Johan, Liriano and Wainwright. They were in the pen because of solid rotations and had nothing left to work on in the minors. But the rangers had a bullpen need and now he's helping out. The biggest issue for him as a starter is the development of his secondary pitches but he's throwing 85% FB's as a closer. I don't like his odds of becoming a starter in the future.
Well, considering Wainwright was the St. Louis closer (like Feliz), I'd say they needed bullpen help as well at the time.
I would seriously be worried about this kid and his long term viability. His delivery is pretty ugly I would guess his elbow goes in 2 years without a major change in his mechanics.
kab21 wrote:And the handling of Feliz is different than Johan, Liriano and Wainwright. They were in the pen because of solid rotations and had nothing left to work on in the minors. But the rangers had a bullpen need and now he's helping out. The biggest issue for him as a starter is the development of his secondary pitches but he's throwing 85% FB's as a closer. I don't like his odds of becoming a starter in the future.
Well, considering Wainwright was the St. Louis closer (like Feliz), I'd say they needed bullpen help as well at the time.
And Wainwright was a 24+ yr old at the time and he had developed his secondary pitches. And he continued to use them as closer. For Feliz to be a starter he really needs to spend a year in the minors working on his secondary stuff. And his year as closer has set him back in developing those pitches.
kab21 wrote:And the handling of Feliz is different than Johan, Liriano and Wainwright. They were in the pen because of solid rotations and had nothing left to work on in the minors. But the rangers had a bullpen need and now he's helping out. The biggest issue for him as a starter is the development of his secondary pitches but he's throwing 85% FB's as a closer. I don't like his odds of becoming a starter in the future.
Well, considering Wainwright was the St. Louis closer (like Feliz), I'd say they needed bullpen help as well at the time.
And Wainwright was a 24+ yr old at the time and he had developed his secondary pitches. And he continued to use them as closer. For Feliz to be a starter he really needs to spend a year in the minors working on his secondary stuff. And his year as closer has set him back in developing those pitches.
I'm not saying you're wrong on Feliz but that is a prediction and not a fact.
imnottheonly wrote:I would seriously be worried about this kid and his long term viability. His delivery is pretty ugly I would guess his elbow goes in 2 years without a major change in his mechanics.
I dunno. I've read the other sides opinions too. FIrst, he repeats his motion very well. Two, the movement isn't as violent as it is just a bit jerky. Three, never had any problems before despite pitching this way. John Sickels also didn't seem to be overly concerned about it either - nothing that should make him riskier than pretty much anyone else.
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by DbacksRback » Wed Aug 04, 2010 7:43 pm 
