For the better part of the year, it appeared as though our starting rotation would be our greatest strength in 2017. Through the end of July, Stephen Strasburg was a strong candidate for the NL Cy Young award. He owned a 2.68 ERA at that point, and an opponents' OPS of just .571. He then injured his elbow -- again -- and made only five more starts before shutting it down for the season. Naturally, he was so horrendous in those five starts that it jacked his ERA up to 3.60 and his OPS up to .637. In just five starts, he went from a Cy Young contender to a mid-rotation starter. He will also be limited to just 167 innings next season.
We had very high hopes for Stephen Matz heading into this season. Through the end of June, it looked as though he would join Strasburg as two possible Cy Young contenders in 2017. At that point, Matz owned an ERA of just 2.27 with an opponents' OPS of .566. Then, he hurt his elbow and was forced to abandon the slider that greatly contributed to his success. His ERA ballooned to 3.40 over his next five starts and remained at that level until he was inevitably shut down in September. He was shut down repeatedly throughout the season and managed to throw only 132 innings, which gives him 145 innings of usage next season.
We weren't expecting much from Matt Shoemaker this season, but by the end of April he managed to wildly surpass even our lowest expectations. After five April starts, Shoemaker owned an ERA of 9.15. Seriously. We practically begged someone to take him off our hands. Fortunately, no one took us up on that offer. On May 21st, Shoemaker fired seven-plus innings of shutout baseball, with no walks and twelve strikeouts. That began an amazing streak where he posted an ERA of just 1.87 over his next eight games. By September, he managed to lower his overall ERA to 3.88. Then...he hurt his shoulder, and was shut down for the rest of the season. With 160 innings on the season, Shoemaker is now the "workhorse" of the 2017 Salem Cowtippers.
We had high hopes for rookie Jon Gray as well heading into the MLB season. Through the end of May, however, he owned an ERA of 5.56, and looked to be a lost cause for our 2017 rotation. Then he discovered a new grip on his slider. Over his next 11 starts, he posted an ERA of 2.60, with an opponents' OPS of .625. He managed to lower his ERA all the way down to 3.77 -- a remarkable feat for a Rockies pitcher. By the middle of August, we were beginning to think that he might become the ace of the Salem rotation in 2017. Then...he went into a massive slump. Over his last ten starts of the season, he owned a 6.41 ERA with a .771 opponents' OPS. He finished the season with a 4.61 ERA in just 168 innings. Another mid-rotation starter (at best.)
We've always liked Rubby de la Rosa, and were happy to have snagged him in trade last winter. By the end of April, that trade was looking like the work of a genius. De la Rosa owned an ERA of 4.18 and an opponents' OPS of .650 pitching in the tough pitcher's environment of Arizona. In his last start in April, he fanned ten batters in seven shutout innings. His future looked bright. His position in the 2017 Salem starting rotation seemed a lock. He managed to lower his ERA to just 3.53 by the middle of May. Then...you guessed it...he hurt his elbow. He made just one more start, missed the entire months of June, July, and August, tried to pitch out of the bullpen in September, and was ultimately shut down and introduced to Dr. James Andrews.
In MLB 2015, Mike Fiers managed a 3.69 ERA for the season and fanned 180 batters in 180 innings. If nothing else, we expected him to provide us with some innings at the back of our 2017 rotation. Instead, he gave us a 4.48 ERA in MLB 2016, with 26 home runs allowed in only 168+ innings, with only 134 K's and a league-leading 17 wild pitches.
That is our 2017 starting rotation as it stands today: four mid-rotation pitchers, three with elbow problems, a mostly useless #5 starter, and so many usage issues that we'll be forced to add another starter just to make it through the season.
IP H HR BB K Splits Strasburg 148 119 15 44 183 615/658 Shoemaker 160 166 18 30 143 705/745 Matz 132 129 14 31 129 698/686 Gray 168 153 18 59 185 694/712 Fiers 169 187 26 42 134 749/843
No comments:
Post a Comment