- Jon Garland was on the bump for the Diamondbacks and he commanded his pitches extremely well. He showed a low 90's sinker, high 80's cutter, low 80's slider and low 80's changeup. He is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, though he does mix in the other 2 fairly often. His sinker is above average, but everything else he throws is just average. Facing the Padres offense helped him, but he showed plus command. He is pitching at his peak right now, a below average # 3 or solid # 4. Not too much left with this guy.
- Jake Peavy struck out 12 in 7 innings. He was utilizing his low to mid 90's fastball, high 80's cutter, mid 80's slider and low 80's changeup. Peavy was primarily fastball-cutter the first time through the order and then morphed into a fastball-slider pitcher the rest of the way. He is still an ace, though you have to wonder about his slow start and if the WBC had anything to do with it, as his command was still iffy at times.
- Edward Mujica threw just his 93-95 mile per hour fastball in the outing I saw. No idea what to think of him based off that, but he appears to be a fly-ball reliever and those tend to do pretty well at Petco.
- Tony Pena throws a mid 90's fastball and high 80's slider and everything about him screams power reliever. He has a little herky jerk in his delivery, but it is nothing major. Both his fastball and slider are plus pitches and the only issue with him is that his command can disappear at times. I think he profiles decently as a closer, but he is a strong late inning reliever as a setup man.
- Chad Qualls attacked hitters with a low to mid 90's sinker and a mid to high 80's slider. He appeared to struggle a little bit with his command, but neither pitch is one that gets you overly excited, as the sinker is above average and the slider is a tick above average. He gets by with good command and that wasn't there last night. He allows the ball to be put in play a little more often then I like from a closer, but he is a solid late guy.
- Justin Upton looked phenomenal. He is all about when you see him, as if you would have seen him early in the season, you would have thought he should be in AAA. In this game (2 HR's) he kept his weight back and had a plan at the plate. He did a great job looking for pitches he could hit and then not missing him. Both home runs were over 400 foot shots. He will likely continue to be streaky for the next couple of years (he is only 21, turns 22 in August), but come his age 24 or 25 season, he will be a legitimate # 3 hitter.
Looper vs. Owings at 7:05. Shoot me now.
How do you think Peavy's early inconsistency/health questions will affect his trade value? I personally thought they should have traded him in the off-season. To me his contract lowers his trade value somewhat. His current contract is very fair, but to accept a trade he'll likely require his option year to be picked up.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure a team will give up three quality prospects (what the Padres were asking in the off-season) for a guy with some health issues who will be making $48 million from 2010 to 2012. It's rare to get both a ton of salary relief AND elite prospects out of one trade, and I think San Diego may find that out (if they haven't already).
Yea, San Diego probably should have dealt him in the offseason. But, Peavy is a # 1 starter and their demands are through the roof. I think they are hoping that a contender gets desperate (Yankee style) and pays their huge demand.
ReplyDeleteThe Cubs are one team that if they are in it, would probably trade a package centering on Josh Vitters. Other guys like Jake Fox, Darwin Barney, Tony Thomas, Andrew Cashner and Tyler Colvin may also be involved. I would be somewhat surprised if Peavy isn't dealt by the deadline.