Bud Norris

[bandrus1]

So is this dude for real? Prob wont get you W's but man can he sit some guys down

[J35J]

He's been a sleeper for a couple years now....good overpowering stuff but has trouble with command. If he figures out how to "pitch" and keeps the free passes to a minimum he'll be a good solid pitcher.

[juliown1028]

He's been a sleeper for a couple years now....good overpowering stuff but has trouble with command. If he figures out how to "pitch" and keeps the free passes to a minimum he'll be a good solid pitcher.

Exactly. He reminds me of Jonathan Sanchez in that sense. High K-rate, good stuff, and capable of keeping the ERA down as long as walks are limited.

[MasterX1918]

I like him a lot but he gets hit hard, great K/9 potential though. Keeping the walks down will obviously benefit, but that doesn't change his high h/9.

[J35J]

I like him a lot but he gets hit hard, great K/9 potential though. Keeping the walks down will obviously benefit, but that doesn't change his high h/9.

Well the same reason why he has a high walk total is at least part of why he has a high hit total...his command isn't good. You can be wild in more ways than just missing outside the strike zone... missing inside the strike zone can actually be more of a problem. If he improves his command enough to limit his walks then his command will likely improve inside the strike zone which means he's not leaving pitches belt high middle of the plate. No matter how good your stuff is if you leave it in hittable areas then it will get hit.

I will always use Kyle Davies as an example because I get to watch him pitch and he actually has good stuff in terms of radar gun and just watching how his stuff moves. His problem is not only does he tend to walk guys at bad times but he'll miss INSIDE the strike zone too much and it gets hit hard. But on paper and in a scouts eye his fastball is good, his cutter is nice, his curve is good and his change is good but he has a hard time keep the ball down and out of the middle of the plate.

[hot4tx]

I'd still call Norris a hold to slight add. He has had good stuff for a couple years, as JJ said, but when he has a bad game it really hurts your team. And because his issues aren't a matter of hitter quality as much as his own control, you can't spot start him against bad teams very successfully. He's just as likely to get blown up by the Padres as he is the Cards. However if he "figures it all out" he could be a 2010 Ryan Dempster for very cheap.