Chart Observations: SEA @ KC

• Jarrod Washburn started for the Mariners and mixed all his pitches in. A pitcher that used to rely solely on his fastball has a strong repertoire to attack hitters. He features a high 80's fastball, mid to high 80's cutter, low 80's changeup, mid 70's slider and mid 70's curveball. Washburn has a pitch for every situation and looks like a solid # 4 starter once again. He will never do well enough to live up to his contract but he has value as an innings eater.
• Sean White attacked hitters with just a 92-94 mile per hour fastball and showed some command issues. He has a good fastball but he has to have something else.
• Brian Bannister went against what I thought. He threw a ton of fastballs as opposed to masterfully working multiple off-speed pitches. He is a very intelligent pitcher who studies his stats, which helps him get by with average (at best) stuff. He features a high 80's fastball that has a lot of cutting action, a low 80's changeup, a mid 80's slider and a high 60's to high 70's curveball. Bannister's 2nd best pitch is his changeup, which is also the only other pitch he has that moves to his arm side.
• Ron Mahay is not your typical LOOGY. He features a low 90's fastball, a mid 80's slider and a mid 80's changeup. This changeup is good enough to allow him to face (and get out) both righthanders and lefthanders. Likely pitching at his ceiling now, which is a middle reliever who doesn't kill you if you need him to throw the 8th.
• Juan Cruz features a power pitcher repertoire with command. I thought he was one of the better relievers available on the market and Kansas City was able to secure him for a significant discount. He features a mid 90's fastball that explodes on hitters, a low 80's slider and a rare changeup (he threw one today at 85). I still see closer stuff, the only question is if he has that mentality.
• I actually like Cruz as a closer better then Joakim Soria. Soria is very good, but he doesn't have as explosive stuff, featuring a low 90's fastball, a mid to high 70's slider and a high 60's curveball. He does have much better command then Cruz and he is extremely durable. But, you can't really go wrong with either of those 2 in their roles.