Hangout Poll: Who do you think will be the 5th starter?

[kyleott]

Any thoughts on Matusz's outing yesterday? Two scoreless.. He's the guy I am rooting for as fifth starter. Lots of upside if he's right.

His breaking ball was very crisp. In the first inning, he was having some difficulty locating his fastball, but he tightened it up in the 2nd. Overall, an impressive outing.

[Il BuonO]

I looked at the stats before I commented on them. I tend to look at sinkerballers numbers a little differently. Particularly a guy that doesn't give up HR's and could theoretically improve with a good IF defense. A 3/9 walk rate is pretty good for a sinkerballer imo. While you'd always like a K rate 2/1 or higher, it's pretty acceptable for a sinkerballer imo.

I'd pretty much have the same concern for any sinkerballer. Not an easy gig. Particulary one transitioning from the minors to the majors.

I probably haven't seen enough (and probably won't) to make an informed opinion yet. Just that I understand why they might see something in him. He might be one injury away (Matusz or Patton from making the roster though). My initial impression is that I like the way he drops down, I like his stuff, and he looks pretty hard to square up. He looks like a guy with an easy motion that could maintain his release point and be tough on both RHB's and LHB's.

Good points. ST isn't over and I did like the movement I saw on his pitches. I'm less inclined to accept the walk rate if he has the improved defense though. You have the better defense behind you now, throw strikes.

And I thought Matusz looked better yesterday. Like to see them all get stretched out next week for another inning.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Good points. ST isn't over and I did like the movement I saw on his pitches. I'm less inclined to accept the walk rate if he has the improved defense though. You have the better defense behind you now, throw strikes.

And I thought Matusz looked better yesterday. Like to see them all get stretched out next week for another inning.

Yeah he's obviously a fringe guy. Still wouldn't mind keeping him if they could work out a trade. Matusz did look pretty good yesterday. What do you think about all those breaking balls from Tommy Hunter yesterday?

[Il BuonO]

Yeah he's obviously a fringe guy. Still wouldn't mind keeping him if they could work out a trade. Matusz did look pretty good yesterday. What do you think about all those breaking balls from Tommy Hunter yesterday?

I'm hopeful he's working more on that because they have a better idea where he's going to be used and in the pen he really only needs two pitches to get by. He should ditch the cutter and his change has never been that great. Maybe he feels more comfortable with the CB. He's got good command of the FB and at 95+ with one other secondary he can do some damage out of the pen.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm hopeful he's working more on that because they have a better idea where he's going to be used and in the pen he really only needs two pitches to get by. He should ditch the cutter and his change has never been that great. Maybe he feels more comfortable with the CB. He's got good command of the FB and at 95+ with one other secondary he can do some damage out of the pen.

His changeup is terrible. He was really getting over the top on his cb yesterday and getting some good bite. Looked like he was also throwing a slider which I think was a throttled back cutter. Pretty interesting outing.

[Il BuonO]

He's always had good SO/BB rates and if you look at what he did last Sept not allowing HRs I think he could be good in a closer role. If we are going to keep Johnson then we could at least market Hunter that way. There are going to be times during the season when Johnson has thrown too many nights or innings. Maybe Buck gives TH a shot instead of Strop or DOD. I'd prefer him to Strop until I see Strop's command improve. I'm probably in the minority on that.

[Grt 2BA FL Gator]

His breaking ball was very crisp. In the first inning, he was having some difficulty locating his fastball, but he tightened it up in the 2nd. Overall, an impressive outing.

Good news.

[isestrex]

After today, I wonder what Gausman's odds have risen to now...

3 scoreless innings with 3 K's

[Il BuonO]

After today, I wonder what Gausman's odds have risen to now...

3 scoreless innings with 3 K's

If there wasn't a service clock issue he'd be the best option.