Mike Wright

[allstar1579]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2012/05/three-os-minor-league-clubs-about-to-go-with-six-man-rotations.html

Steve Melewski reports differently.

Yeah, but look at the 6th member of the rotation, that's temporary cause he'll only be there a few starts.

[allstar1579]

Anything is possible. Just look at all of the college pitchers picked in the first 3 rounds of the 2011 draft. Very, very few started at AA. That would have been a very aggressive start off point for Wright as well. As of now, pitchers like Jed Bradley, Taylor Jungman, Matt Barnes and Gerrit Cole, all much more highly regarded than Wright are still in High A ball. Maybe Wright is more polished than those guys? Whatever.

Like I said, it comes down to stuff and what they are working on. Wright is more of a finished product, but not as good as those guys. His pitches are what they are, he's not working on anything like every one of those other pitchers are. Ignore the regarded and future potential and look at the now stuff.

Don't know why you are so hung up on it being so aggressive? Because it doesn't correspond to someone being a top 50 prospect? They are all different shapes and sizes, and Wright is pretty much done cooking, he just needs to experience pitching in the pros, and AA might actually challenge him, where high A wasn't.

[allstar1579]

I don't know how anyone can say Wright wasn't being challenged by High A pitching. Carolina League hitters have a .266 average against him and he gave up 8 hits and 5 runs the start before his last. This conversation is getting tiresome. Frobby, a very reasonable poster saw the obvious. Wright's promotion to Bowie is aggressive considering most college pitching prospects, especially 3rd rounders, and past Oriole top prospects. Of course Wright is not a finished product. In this article http://www.mdprosports.com/2012/05/talking-with-blaine-beatty-about-wright-simon-and-schrader/ his own pitching coach at Frederick talks about him improving his fastball command and his slider.

You can argue why he was promoted all you want. The fact is that it was a quick promotion. That's not really debatable but you don't want to acknowledge that. Very strange. It is you that is hung up on that one.

It's only obvious because it's your opinion. Plenty of people have no problem with it and don't find it strange. I wouldn't have considered it strange given his skill-set if he started in AA, because he could pitch in relief in AAA right now, so the quick move isn't that odd. You just can't wrap your head around it, so you have a problem with it.

[allstar1579]

Aren't you the one who has him pegged as a future reliever because he doesn't have the skills to be a starter? Yet, you think his skill set warranted him starting out in AA as a starter? Yes, help me wrap my head around your logic.

I said started in AA, not AS a STARTER in AA I still think he ends up a RP, but I think his stuff isn't going to change, and if I think he could get AA and AAA hitters out as a RP, then it stands to reason he could probably hold his own ok as a starter in AA. Bascom seems to do well there and he isn't any better than Wright.

[LookinUp]

Am I mistaken or isn't Wright the guy who came into the spring training game as a reliever throwing 96 with filthy movement?

If so, that profile doesn't seem to be holding up with the reports of his starter "stuff." Maybe he's a JJ type of guy whose stuff really plays up out of the pen.

[allstar1579]

Actually, that doesn't stand to reason. Assuming because a guy might be able to get guys out for 1-2 innings by going all out that they should be okay going 6 or 7 innings as a starter in the same league? No, that makes no sense. Bascom pitched about 3 years in High A before he even got to AA. You said that Wright had nothing left to prove at High A. You really believe that?

Yeah, for polished college kids, high A is kind of a joke. He's not the most talented guy, and I still say he gets moved to a RP to be MOST effective, but he's about as good as he's going to get, and he should be able to do OK at AA. Bascom is terrible...that is the point I was making.

[allstar1579]

Am I mistaken or isn't Wright the guy who came into the spring training game as a reliever throwing 96 with filthy movement?

If so, that profile doesn't seem to be holding up with the reports of his starter "stuff." Maybe he's a JJ type of guy whose stuff really plays up out of the pen.

Yeah I think he's going to be much better as a RP, and probably would have moved him there and fast tracked him myself...but the team seems insistent on using him as a starter for a while, and that won't hurt anything, so whatever.

[paulcoates]

Mike Wright (L, 0-1)

6.0 IP

8 Hits

4 ER

0 BB

7 K

1 HR allowed

6.00 ERA

[accinfo]

Mike Wright (L, 0-1)

6.0 IP

8 Hits

4 ER

0 BB

7 K

1 HR allowed

6.00 ERA

Not great results but not horrible either. 0 walks 7 K's are encouraging. I'd love to hear from someone who was there. Obviously at least one hit was hit hard giving up a HR.

[allstar1579]

Not great results but not horrible either. 0 walks 7 K's are encouraging. I'd love to hear from someone who was there. Obviously at least one hit was hit hard giving up a HR.

Just did the math, I'm going to miss him by a couple nights my next game out there. Bummer. I'll try to catch one of his starts soon.

[allstar1579]

The game stats show him with 89 pitches, 72 strikes thrown. That's an amazing number and looks legit. After a very rough first two innings, he settled down and pitched decently. It could be that he just throws too many good strikes and needs to locate better within the zone. As for Allstar, his insistence that Mike Wright can get no better than he already is seems way out there. You have a 22 year old pitcher with reports of good stuff whose own pitching coach says he needs to learn better fastball command and improve his slider. Like almost any young pitcher he has room to improve. If you want to say his ceiling is limited because he doesn't have great stuff, fine but that's not what he said. Another thing he said was that High A is a joke for polished college pitchers. There must only be 2 or 3 polished college pitchers each year because that's about how many start at AA. Brian Matusz wasn't polished? High A was a joke for him? And Wright isn't even supposed to be nearly as polished as Matusz was. Just one silly statement after another. Lets see what we have so far.

1. Wright is as good as he's going to get

2. High A is a joke for polished college pitchers

3. Wright isn't that talented but he could be fastracked to the majors as a reliever

4. If a pitcher can get hitters out for one inning they should be just fine as a starter at the same level

5. Even though you have him pegged as a reliever and don't believe he has much talent as a starter you think AA is an appropriate level for him because other guys without much talent are doing okay there albeit with 3-4 years more experience than Wright.

I love when you put words in my mouth...not really.

His PITCHES are as good as they are going to get.

High A is a joke for GOOD college pitchers.

If he were more talented he'd stay a starter. As a RP he could be in the majors late this season/next season.

NEVER said that, I said he'd be ok as a starter at this level because I've said all along he's going to top out as a starter at this level no matter how many years before you put him here.

There are worse pitchers than him in AA.

As usual, you get a hardheaded perspective on something and want to mock and look down on other people, when we've had these arguments 100 times, you and Nick have had arguments 100 times, yet I RARELY see you come out on the correct side of the argument. You just seem to argue when you don't understand something. I don't know why it's so hard to understand why I feel like a guy that could be a good RP in AAA RIGHT NOW, is ok to let pitch as a SP in AA. He's going to put up average numbers there...not great enough to move up as a SP, not bad enough to demote. When he goes to the pen, he will fly.

And 72 strikes in 89 pitches is in no way correct. It's been talked about on here with Bundy, they don't accurately track pitches and strikes in the minors.

[eb45]

I dunno, 89 pitches sounds like something he could throw in six innings, and 72 strikes doesn't seem too crazy considering that he doesn't walk anyone. I'm more inclined to believe because it's attributing balls even though he didn't walk anyone, and it's not recording a strikeout as three strikes and any other out as one. 89 and 72, while unusual, is something that a pitcher could actually put up. While there could certainly be errors, it's not a situation like it was with Bundy where they weren't even trying to track pitches.

[Vandy]

It seems that pitches/strikes are kept for AAA and AA games and that data is rarely ever posted for any lower levels. Based on a few AAA games I've attended this year, the data was accurate within a pitch or two, so I could see Wright's number being close to reality.

[bnw7870]

I am very good friends with the Wright family and i was told by his dad that he was moved up so he might be able to throw out of the pen in september.

[Gurgi]

I am very good friends with the Wright family and i was told by his dad that he was moved up so he might be able to throw out of the pen in september.

IF this is true then the Orioles must really like their chances this year.

IF this is true then I could see Bundy getting a spot in the bullpen at the end of the year also.