Comments on: Keepers: Slowey vs Joba vs Cueto

By: Louis Rizzo

Louis Rizzo — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:28:58 +0000

They all have upsides. Slowey relies more on pinpoint control than raw “stuff” so i consider his ceiling to be that of a #3ish starter. He seems reliable enough, but until e decreases his homeruns allowed, i dont see success more than or equal to that of Cueto and Joba.

Cuetos problem was homeruns, and considering his increase in ground balls, I think hes a reliable option, because even if hes reached his cieling, hes shown that he can make adjustments, which makes me think that he possibly could have a higher ceiling.

Joba has probably the best stuff of these three, but he walks way too many, and he needs to learn to “pitch” rather than “throw”, reminiscent of A.J Burnett. Im also worried about him possibly breaking down because of his violent delivery, and the fact that his fastballs been slowly loseing velocity, granted this could just be conservation considering his brief move to the rotation.

So in short: #1: Joba #2: Cueto #3: Slowey. This is ranked only in upside. If it were reliablility and predictability the order would probably be reversed. My opinion is that Joba can pull a Felix Hernandez if he is able to take a step forward, Cueto can adjust and is a good mix of reliability and upside, and Slowey is probably the safest choice.

By: R M

R M — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:44:08 +0000

Well, I guess that’s a matter of opinion. I think 8% is enough to be significant…. especially with the increase from 2008.

By: Zach Sanders

Zach Sanders — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:50:54 +0000

Realize he throws a change, but not enough for it to really count as part of his arsenal. And yes, those pitch numbers don’t say much about future success, but I still feel he is already closing in on his ceiling.

By: R M

R M — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:04:29 +0000

2006:
w/FB: -6.6

2007:
w/FB: -8.9

Guess who? Felix Hernandez. Those stats are pretty cool, but they don’t say much about the cieling of a 23 year old pitcher. Plus, Cueto throws a fastball, slider and changeup.

By: Colin

Colin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:04:45 +0000

Slowey has extreme value with his K/BB and Whip. HR rate is never going down though because his stuff does not match his control and he refuses to pitch outside the strike zone, he’s always going to have a high HR rate leading to a higher than expected era, but still a top class pitcher.

By: The A Team

The A Team — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:51:03 +0000

On the other hand, if you have Yankee fans in the league you may be able to find a lovely prize with Joba.

In that position I’d try to move both Joba and Cueto for a better player (assuming somebody has an extra keeper slot and is looking for an upgrade.

By: Zach Sanders

Zach Sanders — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:43:23 +0000

2008:
wFB: -8.5
wSL: -2.2
wCH: -1.4

2009:
wFB: -2.3
wSL: 0.6
wCH: -3.4

That would be what I am referring to. Also, I prefer a starting pitcher with more than two pitches, especially when one (slider) doesn’t move much.

By: R M

R M — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:27:35 +0000

Cueto doesn’t have much of an arsenal? Who are you confusing him with?

This is quoted from a David G article from a while back….

“Johnny Cueto remains an extremely talented young pitcher. His 93 MPH fastball and mid-80’s power slider can be nearly impossible to hit at times, as evidenced by his minuscule 76.9 Contact% (9th-best in baseball, sandwiched between Cole Hamels and Johan Santana). However, he may want to utilize his changeup more often in 2009, as he threw his slider over 32% of the time (the 5th-highest rate in the big leagues) while using the change just 6.7%. When he threw it, Cueto’s change was a nasty looking pitch, with horizontal movement that was identical to his fastball and a whopping 7 inches of vertical drop compared to his heater.”