DL Hall to be optioned to AAA and turned into a reliever for the rest of season?

[RZNJ]

On 8/14/2022 at 4:26 AM, winning said:

 

I agree. He pitched as expected. Which was poorly. So why have him on the mound during a playoff hunt if he blows. 

Odds are that he wasn't going to be good but there was always a chance he might have been on that day.  Just look at the game thread after his first inning and then after his second inning.   Not too many people were complaining after the second inning. 

It is puzzling but they gave him a shot and he knows he needs to be better.

[Aristotelian]

32 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Odds are that he wasn't going to be good but there was always a chance he might have been on that day.  Just look at the game thread after his first inning and then after his second inning.   Not too many people were complaining after the second inning. 

It is puzzling but they gave him a shot and he knows he needs to be better.

Very true. It was a high risk-high reward play that didn't work out. If he had his good command and put up say 6 IP 10 K (which we know he is capable of) it would have been a brilliant decision. Throughout the season, most of the board has been clamoring for him to be called up. Now apparently it was the dumbest decision ever. 

[SilverRocket]

2 hours ago, nvpacchi said:

Everyone has always raved about Hall's stuff, but I wanted to see if the numbers backed it up.  So I was checking DL Hall on Cameron Grove's pitching bot app, which is basically a stuff metric based on pitch qualities... just like Eno Sarris's stuff+

Needless to say Hall graded out remarkably on his stuff in his first start

On the 20-80 scale

75 four-seam!

55 change-up

50 slider

65 weighted

Between this grade and stuff+, this is reassuring. I honestly like how Hall was handled here. He has to be moved to short stints because of the inning count, but this gives him a taste of the role he's ultimately striving to get to. There was a chance he puts up one of his better starts but it just didn't happen that day.

Hopefully now the message is clear that he just needs to throw strikes. He could probably be effective aiming near the middle and letting the pitch end up wherever it does.

[interloper]

This is fine or whatever, but I still don't really understand why he wasn't converted to relief while still in AAA and then brought up for his "taste of the big leagues". As wild as it is to say, Spenser Watkins almost certainly would have given the team a better chance to win that day. No qualified ML pitcher has a walk rate as high as Hall does in AAA. None! I think he definitely has a chance to be a good SP in this league, but it wasn't going to happen this year. That walk rate isn't likely to go down after being promoted to the big leagues this year.

So, was this something to appease Hall and throw him a bone so he doesn't think they're converting him forever? I don't really get why the change wasn't made in AAA first, is all. 

Otherwise, not a huge deal. 

[jabba72]

 A 6.0 BB9 in Norfolk isnt going to play up here. Hall needs to show more command in Norfolk before they use him again as a starter, otherwise its a waste of time.  Hopefully his elbow gets more time to rest this offseason whenever they decide his innings limit is. 

[RZNJ]

13 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

 A 6.0 BB9 in Norfolk isnt going to play up here. Hall needs to show more command in Norfolk before they use him again as a starter, otherwise its a waste of time.  Hopefully his elbow gets more time to rest this offseason whenever they decide his innings limit is. 

I agree but I don't think he's that far off.  I like the idea of using him as a reliever and just telling him to use two pitches.  Obviously, one would be the fastball.  The other would be changeup or slider.    Hall needs at least one pitch that he has confidence in throwing a strike in in any count.  Right now, I assume he has none.    Use two pitches and gain confidence in throwing strikes with those two pitches.

He had a 4 appearance stretch at Norfolk.

July 1 - 4 IP, 1 BB, 8 K's

July 6 - 6 IP  2 BB 10 K's

July 12 - 5.2 IP 4 BB 8 K's

July 17 - 5 IP 1 BB  10 K's.

 

Aftter that stretch, I think a lot of us actually thought he was ready.   Then the All-Star break and he hasn't been locked in since.

Edited August 15, 2022 by RZNJ

[Babkins]

He actually struck out 14 on July 6, not 10. But to your point, I definitely wanted to see him in Baltimore after this stretch. Then he had that odd, supposedly scheduled one-inning outing after the break and hasn't been consistent since.

[Roll Tide]

7 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

Very true. It was a high risk-high reward play that didn't work out. If he had his good command and put up say 6 IP 10 K (which we know he is capable of) it would have been a brilliant decision. Throughout the season, most of the board has been clamoring for him to be called up. Now apparently it was the dumbest decision ever. 

He pitched less than an inning, 4 innings, and 5 innings in his last three starts, walking 8 batters in his last 2 games combined. There was a less than 1% chance that he’d pitch 6 innings

[RZNJ]

33 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

He pitched less than an inning, 4 innings, and 5 innings in his last three starts, walking 8 batters in his last 2 games combined. There was a less than 1% chance that he’d pitch 6 innings

I don't think anyone expected 6 innings even if things went well.    I would not have been shocked if he went 5 innings and gave up 2 or 3 runs which would have been perfectly acceptable.    What was the chance of that?   25%  10% 

[Roll Tide]

8 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I don't think anyone expected 6 innings even if things went well.    I would not have been shocked if he went 5 innings and gave up 2 or 3 runs which would have been perfectly acceptable.    What was the chance of that?   25%  10% 

Last three starts at AAA, .2, 4, 5.1 ….. 6, 5, & 2 ERs, hits + walks 6, 11, 8. 
 

based on the last 3 starts I’d say less than 10%. If you can’t do it at AAA you chances aren’t good in the MLBs. 

[RZNJ]

27 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Last three starts at AAA, .2, 4, 5.1 ….. 6, 5, & 2 ERs, hits + walks 6, 11, 8. 
 

based on the last 3 starts I’d say less than 10%. If you can’t do it at AAA you chances aren’t good in the MLBs. 

He had a nice 4 game stretch which I pointed out.   If he had come up after that stretch, what were the odds?    Now, did you expect him to turn it around at Norfolk?    If the answer is yes, then it's possible his next start at Norfolk could have been a good one.    Maybe.   I agree it was a long shot he was going to have that good start in MLB.

[Alasdaire]

https://twitter.com/ryanripken/status/1559273034854404098?s=20&t=SZGS5JUVi5X0kYZLy-sAv

Still just mind numbing that Hyde thought 24-year-old Adley needed the rest badly enough to have him not catch a highly touted prospect's first and only start.

[Can_of_corn]

34 minutes ago, Alasdaire said:

https://twitter.com/ryanripken/status/1559273034854404098?s=20&t=SZGS5JUVi5X0kYZLy-sAv

Still just mind numbing that Hyde thought 24-year-old Adley needed the rest badly enough to have him not catch a highly touted prospect's first and only start.

That Adley had caught before and the backup hadn't.

[Alasdaire]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

That Adley had caught before and the backup hadn't.

Not only caught before, but his good friend and likely a calming force. I just think it was a big moment for DL, and you should set him up for success as much as possible.

[Alasdaire]

Another former player expressing confusing as to why Adley wouldn't have caught the game. And why they chose this particular game for Hall.

I'm sure others will think this is the big leagues and you have to roll with the punches, but I personally hope the guys who get called up over the course of the next few years are treated with a bit more consideration.