2014 Offseason

[romeo212000]

Two more snippets from the article referenced above. I think our top two pitchers are going to have great seasons.

Holland impresses in live BP

Rangers starting pitchers threw live batting practice again on Friday, and hitters were asking pitching coach Mike Maddux if Derek Holland was in midseason form.

"I told them, 'No, it's only Spring Training," Maddux said. "But the ball looked good coming out of his hand. The hard work he did this winter is showing up."


Yu Darvish also threw live batting practice, going up against Choo, Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland. Choo hit a home run off him.

"An Arizona home run," Darvish joked.

"The next pitch he threw me came inside," Choo said.

I think choo is going to have a big season as well.

 

[donaldson79]

Yes, I believer it was about Profar and Odor splitting time. It refers to your post in post #5757 and his post in post # 5756.

Thanks for doing a little diligence.

If this be the case, to think we had "two ML ready 2nd BM" before Profar's injury is ridiculous.

That's not opinion, IMO, but fact. Or at least the strong opinion voiced here, and within the organization. If Profar was so ML ready his trade value wouldn't be about zero.

 

[donaldson79]

I think choo is going to have a big season as well.

We're not two-of-two, but we've both been proponents of Choo coming back strong in 2015.

I think the guy is going to have a terrific season; just like most of his actually.

 

[DT LUNA]

Thanks for doing a little diligence.

If this be the case, to think we had "two ML ready 2nd BM" before Profar's injury is ridiculous.

That's not opinion, IMO, but fact. Or at least the strong opinion voiced here, and within the organization. If Profar was so ML ready his trade value wouldn't be about zero.

That's why I thought he meant MM/Prince. Two ML players and room for one. Something like that.

 

[Justinkm83]

Fraley: Why quartet of future Rangers pitchers is reminiscent of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz era in Atlanta | Dallas Morning News

They're definitely not the 4 I thought he was going to name. They might have come up together, and are RH, but the similarities pretty much end there. I don't consider these 4 the future of our rotation, besides Chi Chi, and maybe Asher.

 

[romeo212000]

Fraley: Why quartet of future Rangers pitchers is reminiscent of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz era in Atlanta | Dallas Morning News

They're definitely not the 4 I thought he was going to name. They might have come up together, and are RH, but the similarities pretty much end there. I don't consider these 4 the future of our rotation, besides Chi Chi, and maybe Asher.

I'll be honest with you. I'm much higher on Holland and Perez being in that category. Both of those guys have the potential to be flat out incredible.



Now I'm sad that Perez won't be a force again until 2016.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Agree. RF may be slightly smaller but requires more longer throws to 3b and the plate than LF. PLus as a LH Choo only has an advantage on plays that take him to the RF line. Any balls hit to Right Center gap will force him to turn around to make the throw. Which accentuates the potential issue he might have with not having a Nellie-like canon.

I have always thought LF was the easiest position on the field.

 

[romeo212000]

Agree. RF may be slightly smaller but requires more longer throws to 3b and the plate than LF. PLus as a LH Choo only has an advantage on plays that take him to the RF line. Any balls hit to Right Center gap will force him to turn around to make the throw. Which accentuates the potential issue he might have with not having a Nellie-like canon.

I have always thought LF was the easiest position on the field.

Maybe they're figuring Martin will make up that difference, but I'd be far more inclined to put Rua's arm in RF than Choo's

 

[Windingmywatch]

With Fraley and EG ... we are not well blessed with baseball thought leaders.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Maybe they're figuring Martin will make up that difference, but I'd be far more inclined to put Rua's arm in RF than Choo's

Agree again. Mitch has the better arm too. The reason Choo is in the lineup is to hit. Otherwise he's best suited for the spot on the field where he's least likely to get injured running and straining something.

If this were slow pitch softball -- Choo would be a great middle fielder.

 

[Justinkm83]

Cowlishaw: I still have a big concern about the Rangers | Dallas Morning News

I have to agree with Cowlishaw here about our offense, and our defense. Offense continues to be my concern. I'm not as concerned about the bullpen as most "experts." Feliz concerns me more than anything, always has.

 

[jta4437]

Fraley: Why quartet of future Rangers pitchers is reminiscent of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz era in Atlanta | Dallas Morning News

They're definitely not the 4 I thought he was going to name. They might have come up together, and are RH, but the similarities pretty much end there. I don't consider these 4 the future of our rotation, besides Chi Chi, and maybe Asher.

It's a tossup on who people like more; Eickhoff and Asher, Luis Ortiz is a guy I like more than any of them besides ChiChi maybe

 

[romeo212000]

Cowlishaw: I still have a big concern about the Rangers | Dallas Morning News

I have to agree with Cowlishaw here about our offense, and our defense. Offense continues to be my concern. I'm not as concerned about the bullpen as most "experts." Feliz concerns me more than anything, always has.

JD always manages to put a stellar bullpen together. Not worried about that. But I can't help but feeling we're a DH away from fielding a playoff contending offense. I'm out of patience with MM. If we could manage to fill that void, we'd have a great 1-6 in our order.

 

[Justinkm83]

I'll be honest with you. I'm much higher on Holland and Perez being in that category. Both of those guys have the potential to be flat out incredible.



Now I'm sad that Perez won't be a force again until 2016.

I was going along with his future statement. Holland is penciled in already, along with Perez. I was thinking Chi Chi, Thompson, and Ortiz were going to be 3 of the 4 that he named.

 

[jta4437]

Agree again. Mitch has the better arm too. The reason Choo is in the lineup is to hit. Otherwise he's best suited for the spot on the field where he's least likely to get injured running and straining something.

If this were slow pitch softball -- Choo would be a great middle fielder.

Well he's not worse than Rios, looking at the numbers

His arm is not really the problem, there are plenty of people that no one is concerned about that rate as worse,

His problem is his range, which was below average before the ankle injury

 

[romeo212000]

Well he's not worse than Rios, looking at the numbers

His arm is not really the problem, there are plenty of people that no one is concerned about that rate as worse,

His problem is his range, which was below average before the ankle injury

Again, I'm guessing they're thinking Martin's range will make up the difference.

 

[Justinkm83]

Well he's not worse than Rios, looking at the numbers

His arm is not really the problem, there are plenty of people that no one is concerned about that rate as worse,

His problem is his range, which was below average before the ankle injury

I remember wondering early on in Rios' career here where the good arm was that people always said he had. Plus he had good top speed, but did not accelerate very fast which hurt him with his jumps. Overall, I was very disappointed with his defense. I guess I always overrated him in the OF in CHI.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Texas Rangers sign Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar to one-year deals - ESPN Dallas

hadn't seen this posted earlier today ...

What is the conversation around town about how Choice fits into the OF mix? Is Rua insurance on Choice or Choice insurance on Rua? And who is the likely CF-capable 4OF?

Have always been a Mitch Moreland rooter. Goes back to the time when I found nothing about Smoak I liked. But I just can't see a spot for Mitch unless he goes to the bullpen as a lefty specialist. TEX could use one of them.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I was going along with his future statement. Holland is penciled in already, along with Perez. I was thinking Chi Chi, Thompson, and Ortiz were going to be 3 of the 4 that he named.

His article wasn't really about the future of the Rangers rotation as much as it was about how those 4 pitchers have developed together and have a rapport similar to what was seen in Atlanta in the late 80's/early 90's. He never really said "this is the future Rangers rotation" at all, even to the point of suggesting one of them may end up transitioning to a reliever depending on how their development turns out.

 

[Justinkm83]

His article wasn't really about the future of the Rangers rotation as much as it was about how those 4 pitchers have developed together and have a rapport similar to what was seen in Atlanta in the late 80's/early 90's. He never really said "this is the future Rangers rotation" at all, even to the point of suggesting one of them may end up transitioning to a reliever depending on how their development turns out.

The first line of the article : The four-headed future of the Rangers’ pitching rotation warmed up together Friday.