The 2012 edition of the Greeneville Astros had a strong bullpen. Let's take a look at some of the guys who came in to hold onto leads and cleanup other player's messes during the season.
My expectations for relief pitchers is to: not let inherited runners score, not let any runners score, throw strikes and keep the ball in the yard. I have put together a chart of the stats that are meaningful to me from the 2012 season for the eight relievers who appeared in the most games for the G-Stros this year. This chart looks at the following data:
Relief Games - Simply the number of times they took the ball in relief.
Innings Pitched - Gives you an idea if they were a long reliever (Garcia) or a one batter specialist (Zuloaga).
Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched (WHIP) - How many batters did they allow to reach base per inning pitched. In other words, did they throw gas on the fire.
Runners Left on Base % (LOB %) - How many guys did someone from the dugout have to bring them their glove. That is a lovely sight for a reliever. The league average for major league pitchers according to fangraphs is 70% to 72%. Thanks to fangraphs for providing this stat for minor league pitchers.
Strikeouts - Best way to avoid further damage is to get an out without the ball being put in play.
Strikeouts/Walks (K/BB) - Some pitchers with high strike outs also tend to walk batters.
Home Runs Allowed - All pitchers are supposed to keep the ball in the yard.
The * after the LOB% is to reflect that Bushue & Hauschild both had one start and there was no way to separate that outing from their relief appearances in that stat.
With those numbers in mind, let's review the production of these eight guys.
Jordan Jankowski was a strike out machine with his slider. He struck out 53 batters in 32 1/3 IP. To put that in perspective, in 2011, the team lead for strikeouts was 49 by a starter! He stranded 80.9% of runners on base. At 23, he is clearly ready for another challenge. It will be interesting to see which full season team he breaks camp with next year.
Mike Hauschild didn't have the strikeout numbers of Jankowski but he was almost as solid out of the pen. He left 82.9% of runners on base to end innings. He also had a solid 1.061 WHIP as a reliever and didn't allow a home run. At 22, Hauschild is also ready for a higher level of play. I expect he will be in full season ball next year.
Andrew Walter was repeating short season ball in 2012 and joined Greeneville in time to make 13 appearances. He stranded an amazing 93.3% of runners. He struggled some with walks in Greeneville. He gave up three HR but they were all solo shots. He will be 22 when players report next spring.
Scott Zuloaga was the lone lefty in the pen for much of this year. The sidewinder was repeating this year and was used in mostly match up situations. He left 75% of runners on base. He had five scoreless outings after his promotion to Tri Cities late in the season. He will be 23 when camp starts next season.
Christian Garcia pitched the most innings out of the pen, averaging almost two innings each outing. While he stranded 75.5% of base runners, he also allowed a great many as well with a 1.398 WHIP. He was just 20 this season, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in Greeneville or in TriCities next season.
Zach Dando was in Greeneville for his second season. He pitched one more inning than last year but allowed six less earned runs. He appeared to be working on pitching to contact more often. He left 68.3% of runners on base to end innings. He will be 22 when spring training comes around.
Michael Dimock struck out 36 batters in 30 innings pitched and struck out four batters for every one batter he walked. His stranded rate wasn't great at 57.1% but I am going to go out on a limb and say he was unlucky. His fielding independent pitching (FIP) was 1.70 which is significantly lower than his season ERA of 4.21. He will be 23 when spring training begins next March.
And finally, I want to talk about a guy I have heard more than a few folks write off as a lost cause. Tanner Bushue was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009 out of high school. He has bounced between GCL and Lexington for much of the last two years. When he got off to a rough start in Lexington this year he was sent to Greeneville to figure it out. It took two months but it looks like he has figured something out. For the month of August, he appeared in 7 games, pitching 15 2/3 innings. In those outings, he fanned 23 batters and only walked five. He had a WHIP under one for the month and an ERA of 0.57. The curve ball was breaking off and he was throwing it for strikes. He may not be the prospect he was when drafted, but I am not ready to throw him on the junk pile of used pitchers yet either. Let's give him another year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him more out of the pen in the future as well.
Next we will recap the catchers for the year.
Showing posts with label Bushue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bushue. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Eyewitness Report 8/27/12: G-Stros 2, Bluefield 5
Let's take a look at the next to last game of the season for the G-Stros. Here are my first hand observations.
On The Mound:
Francis Ramirez got the start and wasn't sharp but he battled well. He twice stranded runners at third to end innings. He hit two batters and walked two more. He threw 75 pitches with 48 of those coming in the first two innings.
Michael Dimock pitched one inning in relief. He was inconsistent as he had two three pitch strike outs and a four pitch walk. The run he allowed was on base due to a triple down the line.
Joe Musgrove came in and pitched the next inning. His 1,2,3 6th inning was aided by great defense by D'Andre Toney in center and Angel Ibanez at third. He came out to pitch in the seventh and got roughed up. He gave up a ground rule double that would have been a triple had the ball not rolled under the padding of the gate in RF. That was followed by a triple. During the next at bat, he unleashed a wild pitch that resulted in a play at the plate. Genoves' throw was low and Musgrove attempted to tag the runners hand while still standing up. He thought he tagged him, the ump disagreed and called the runner safe. Musgrove said something as he walked by the ump and he was tossed.
Tanner Bushue came in to pitch with a 2-1 count on the batter. The batter ended up walking but that walk was charged to Musgrove since the count was in the batters favor when Bushue entered. He then proceeded to pitch 2 2/3 innings of 1 hit ball with five strike outs.
I know folks are frustrated at the lack of development in Bushue since he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009. However, what he has shown in August gives me hope that something has clicked. He appeared in seven games this month (15 2/3 IP) and gave up just nine hits, five walks and one earned run; while striking out 23 batters. Had he gone to college, he would have been draft eligible this year. That makes me cautiously optimistic.
At The Plate
The G-Stros managed to get 11 base runners despite only getting four hits. They took five walks, had one hit batsman and reached on one error.
Brian Blasik had two of the teams four hits. He also stole a base and scored a run.
Ariel Ovando didn't get a hit but took two walks. One was a four pitch walk from a new pitcher. The other was a full count walk.
Jose Monzon hit a solid double for the best hit of the night. However, he earned my ire earlier in the game for getting picked of first by going back to the bag standing. Get your uniform dirty son!
In The Field
There was a bit of fruit basket turnover in the field after Mark Wik hit the wall chasing down the first triple of the game. When he left, Blasik moved from 2nd to LF and Jimmy Howick came in to play second.
Toney did an excellent job of tracking down a ball in deep left center.
Ibanez made a great play behind the bag at third and gunned the runner at first.
Ernesto Genoves threw out two base runners and did a nice job of dealing with a bunch of balls in the dirt.
Jimmy Howick did the little things well at second. A ground ball was hit to first that Martinez pulled up on to quickly. It would have been an error but Howick was moving on the play and Dimock was covering for the rare 4-1 ground out.
Overall Observations
It wasn't the best game I had seen them play. The team appeared to lack some energy at times. This is to be somewhat expected after being eliminated from the playoffs the night before. It was nice to see them battle back late in the game for some runs and even have the tying run at the plate in the 8th. One more game to go.
On The Mound:
Francis Ramirez got the start and wasn't sharp but he battled well. He twice stranded runners at third to end innings. He hit two batters and walked two more. He threw 75 pitches with 48 of those coming in the first two innings.
Michael Dimock pitched one inning in relief. He was inconsistent as he had two three pitch strike outs and a four pitch walk. The run he allowed was on base due to a triple down the line.
Joe Musgrove came in and pitched the next inning. His 1,2,3 6th inning was aided by great defense by D'Andre Toney in center and Angel Ibanez at third. He came out to pitch in the seventh and got roughed up. He gave up a ground rule double that would have been a triple had the ball not rolled under the padding of the gate in RF. That was followed by a triple. During the next at bat, he unleashed a wild pitch that resulted in a play at the plate. Genoves' throw was low and Musgrove attempted to tag the runners hand while still standing up. He thought he tagged him, the ump disagreed and called the runner safe. Musgrove said something as he walked by the ump and he was tossed.
Tanner Bushue came in to pitch with a 2-1 count on the batter. The batter ended up walking but that walk was charged to Musgrove since the count was in the batters favor when Bushue entered. He then proceeded to pitch 2 2/3 innings of 1 hit ball with five strike outs.
I know folks are frustrated at the lack of development in Bushue since he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009. However, what he has shown in August gives me hope that something has clicked. He appeared in seven games this month (15 2/3 IP) and gave up just nine hits, five walks and one earned run; while striking out 23 batters. Had he gone to college, he would have been draft eligible this year. That makes me cautiously optimistic.
At The Plate
The G-Stros managed to get 11 base runners despite only getting four hits. They took five walks, had one hit batsman and reached on one error.
Brian Blasik had two of the teams four hits. He also stole a base and scored a run.
Ariel Ovando didn't get a hit but took two walks. One was a four pitch walk from a new pitcher. The other was a full count walk.
Jose Monzon hit a solid double for the best hit of the night. However, he earned my ire earlier in the game for getting picked of first by going back to the bag standing. Get your uniform dirty son!
In The Field
There was a bit of fruit basket turnover in the field after Mark Wik hit the wall chasing down the first triple of the game. When he left, Blasik moved from 2nd to LF and Jimmy Howick came in to play second.
Toney did an excellent job of tracking down a ball in deep left center.
Ibanez made a great play behind the bag at third and gunned the runner at first.
Ernesto Genoves threw out two base runners and did a nice job of dealing with a bunch of balls in the dirt.
Jimmy Howick did the little things well at second. A ground ball was hit to first that Martinez pulled up on to quickly. It would have been an error but Howick was moving on the play and Dimock was covering for the rare 4-1 ground out.
Overall Observations
It wasn't the best game I had seen them play. The team appeared to lack some energy at times. This is to be somewhat expected after being eliminated from the playoffs the night before. It was nice to see them battle back late in the game for some runs and even have the tying run at the plate in the 8th. One more game to go.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Eyewitness Report: 8/18/12 Gville 2 - B-Royals 0
It was a great night at the ball park. I had the pleasure of watching the game with several Astros bloggers. It was nice to put faces with names. We had such a good time we talked for over an hour after the game ended.
The game itself was also a pleasure. It was a good pitching, good defense kind of game that was played in under two hours! Let's get to my observations.
On The Mound:
Adrian Houser took the mound and pitched pretty well. Most notably, it was the first time in eight starts that he didn't walk a batter. There were some hard hit balls off of him but they were at people and the Greeneville defense was solid. He was pulled after five innings. My unofficial pitch count for him at that time was 59 pitches.
Tanner Bushue came in and bounced back from a rough outing last time out, with a solid outing. He allowed just one hit in two innings and struck out three batters. His August ERA is 0.84.
Zach Dando earned his first save of the season with his mom and dad in the stands. He struck out four over two innings. His August ERA is a healthy 0.96.
In The Field:
There were some outstanding plays in the field. The best was by Carlos Correa who made a diving snag of a line drive by Bubba Starling to start a double play. Correa dove to his left and caught the ball inches off the ground. The runner on first was easily doubled off 1st because every one in the park expected that ball to get through.
The other good play was by Terrell Joyce. In the top of the second, Burlington's DH hit a double down the line with two outs. The Royal's manager chose to insert a pinch runner (IN THE SECOND INNING!). The next hitter singled on a ground ball to left field. Joyce was aggressive in fielding the ball on the run and came up throwing. His throw was perfect and catcher Ernesto Genoves did a nice job of not reacting to the throw until the last minute. The made the catch and the tag and the shutout was still intact.
At The Plate:
Correa continues to show he can hit. His two for four night moved his average since his promotion to .458. Again, I noticed how well he lets the ball travel in the zone. He was called on to sac bunt in this game and he did so effectively. He appears very fundamentally sound.
Angel Ibanez and Joyce had two hit nights as well. Ibanez scored both runs for the G-Stros.
Other Observations:
Ariel Ovando was held out of the line up for the second night in a row. This follows poor fielding performances on Wednesday and Thursday. I am not sure that is a coincidence.
The game itself was also a pleasure. It was a good pitching, good defense kind of game that was played in under two hours! Let's get to my observations.
On The Mound:
Adrian Houser took the mound and pitched pretty well. Most notably, it was the first time in eight starts that he didn't walk a batter. There were some hard hit balls off of him but they were at people and the Greeneville defense was solid. He was pulled after five innings. My unofficial pitch count for him at that time was 59 pitches.
Tanner Bushue came in and bounced back from a rough outing last time out, with a solid outing. He allowed just one hit in two innings and struck out three batters. His August ERA is 0.84.
Zach Dando earned his first save of the season with his mom and dad in the stands. He struck out four over two innings. His August ERA is a healthy 0.96.
In The Field:
There were some outstanding plays in the field. The best was by Carlos Correa who made a diving snag of a line drive by Bubba Starling to start a double play. Correa dove to his left and caught the ball inches off the ground. The runner on first was easily doubled off 1st because every one in the park expected that ball to get through.
The other good play was by Terrell Joyce. In the top of the second, Burlington's DH hit a double down the line with two outs. The Royal's manager chose to insert a pinch runner (IN THE SECOND INNING!). The next hitter singled on a ground ball to left field. Joyce was aggressive in fielding the ball on the run and came up throwing. His throw was perfect and catcher Ernesto Genoves did a nice job of not reacting to the throw until the last minute. The made the catch and the tag and the shutout was still intact.
At The Plate:
Correa continues to show he can hit. His two for four night moved his average since his promotion to .458. Again, I noticed how well he lets the ball travel in the zone. He was called on to sac bunt in this game and he did so effectively. He appears very fundamentally sound.
Angel Ibanez and Joyce had two hit nights as well. Ibanez scored both runs for the G-Stros.
Other Observations:
Ariel Ovando was held out of the line up for the second night in a row. This follows poor fielding performances on Wednesday and Thursday. I am not sure that is a coincidence.
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