Maroth

[Jungle Bookie]

Who is this Maroth guy for the Tigers that pitched 7 scoreless innings in his first outing and is presently performing a one-hitter on the diamondbacks through 5 innings...anyone heard of him?

[Arlo]

Maroth is interesting. He's done well in the minors, and will of course benefit from pitching in Detroit (at least as far as era and whip are concerned; wins are a different story).

My thinking so far had been that, although he has a nice repertoire of pitches, none of them are more than slightly above average. Maroth gets by by mixing up his stuff and outthinking hitters; I'm not convinced that that will be good enough for the majors, especially when teams see him the second time around. Of course, I may be wrong about that - he showed a lot of savvy and pure guts in his two outings so far, and sometimes confidence can take you pretty far.

Still, I'd only pick him up in relatively deep leagues, preferably where k's don't count. You might be able to ride his success for a bit, but be prepared to drop him if things go sour. I love seeing guys like this succeed, but it's always a long shot.

[timkell]

Here's what sportings news says:
Latest Update
Jun. 15, 2002 - 12:06 a.m.
Maroth retired the first 12 batters he faced Friday and allowed three runs on five hits in eight innings. In two starts since being promoted from Triple-A Toledo, Maroth has allowed three runs and 12 hits in 15 innings.
Fantasy Spin: Maroth is a lefty in Comerica Park, so he has an advantage. Give him one more start to make sure he is for real, but don't hesitate to add him to your bench in AL-only leagues. (Patrick Finley/TSN)

Scouting Report
Jun. 9, 2002 - 6:49 p.m.
It was no surprise when Maroth got called up from Triple-A Toledo last week. He was 8-1 with a 2.82 ERA there, and Comerica Park seems ideal for southpaws. But it was surprising when Maroth, 24, pitched seven scoreless innings Saturday against Philadelphia in his major league debut. Maroth concentrates on keeping the ball down, moving it around, changing speeds. He has a decent fastball, is working on a slider and is confident in his changeup -- confident enough to throw one to Scott Rolen with a 2-0 count and a runner on second in the sixth inning of a 1-0 game. Rolen grounded out. (Reid Creager/TSN)
Fantasy Spin: Our take on Creager's scouting report? Minor league arm, big-league heart. Maroth lacks the shear stuff to dominate regularly in the big leagues, but he could surprise opponents in his first few starts and might be worth a look in deep leagues.