Gausman being called up?????

[Can_of_corn]

Again. He has awesome stuff against small bats at the AA level. I don't see how that translates to MLB level success. I wish him well and will be the first to admit I was wrong if he's a soaring success. But I believe it's an over reactionary move being made to address starting rotation issues that should have been resolved in the off season. Whatever.

There are folks that have the job of doing just that.

The O's are not going to risk Gausman achieving Super 2 status if they do not think he is a better option for the rotation.

Keep in mind he doesn't need to be anywhere near the level of a "soaring success" to be an improvement over what we have been seeing.

[crissfan172]

Again. He has awesome stuff against small bats at the AA level. I don't see how that translates to MLB level success. I wish him well and will be the first to admit I was wrong if he's a soaring success. But I believe it's an over reactionary move being made to address starting rotation issues that should have been resolved in the off season. Whatever.

His fastball and change-up were MLB ready when he was drafted. The only question is whether or not his breaking ball is ready. I have to trust DD and assume that he's making his decision based on the reports he's getting and not just numbers/need.

[sevastras]

There are folks that have the job of doing just that.

The O's are not going to risk Gausman achieving Super 2 status if they do not think he is a better option for the rotation.

Keep in mind he doesn't need to be anywhere near the level of a "soaring success" to be an improvement over what we have been seeing.

He also does not have to dominate AA bats to have success at the MLB level. I am sure that many people are paid to watch pitchers and make evaluations on what they see and not what the stats say. Just because he records hits and earned runs, doesnt mean they were actual hits and runs. If an outfielder makes a bad jump and doesnt touch the ball and the guy makes it to second on what appeared to be a routine fly it doesnt get counted as an error. It seems from what I have heard, there have been a fair share of plays not made on his behalf that would have been made by your average MLB fielder.

I dont know how he will do, but I am excited for this. He very well may be the most talent pitching prospect in all of baseball that isnt named Bundy. And yes, above Walker, Wheeler, and Cole. We very well may have the top 2 pitching prospects in all of baseball, very exciting times ahead of us. Gausman is the most ready of all of the top 10 pitching prospects in baseball.

[Frobby]

Take a look at his minor league thread here & watch how he has progressed from the beginning of the season up til now. He has only gotten better with each start. He was dominating them by the end.

They have indeed called him up early so that he will probably qualify for Super Two status.

A player with almost 3 years of Major League service time may become eligible for arbitration.

To qualify, a player must:

• have at least 2 years of service, but less than 3, and;
• have accumulated at least 86 days of service in the previous year, and;
• rank in the top 17% of all 2-year players in service time

The cutoff point generally falls between 2 years, 128 days of service and 2 years, 140 days.

It basically means they are eligible for salary arbitration earlier than the original contract. Which means a lot more money they can earn earlier in their career if they are performing well. If he has earned it, pay him.

If he doesn't perform well in Baltimore, it's not like they can't always just send him back down for more seasoning. They will put innings/pitch count limits on him to help prevent him from being "burned" out. I believe it's somewhere around 180 innings for him this year. Also, I think Strasburg has help fuel this uneasiness with top prospects getting called up early. But you have to remember not every arm is the same, as some pitchers make it through their careers barely missing any time at all. The Nats shut down Strasburg early last year because he was coming off a major arm surgery & he was on a very strict limit. Gausman they will be more flexible with.

The Super Two rules were changed in the new CBA and it is now the top 22% of players between 2 and 3 years of service time, not 17%. So, the amount of time needed to qualify is less than it used to be. Best estimate right now is that June 2 is the "magic date."

[jamalshw]

I fully expect a perfect game with 22 strike outs finishing the game with 100 pitches. But I will be content with a 7 inning shut out.

No way will 7 innings of shut-out ball be enough! Perfection or Bust!

[Can_of_corn]

No way will 7 innings of shut-out ball be enough! Perfection or Bust!

Opposing team is going to take their ball and go home after 7 innings.

[stomperspc]

He also does not have to dominate AA bats to have success at the MLB level. I am sure that many people are paid to watch pitchers and make evaluations on what they see and not what the stats say. Just because he records hits and earned runs, doesnt mean they were actual hits and runs. If an outfielder makes a bad jump and doesnt touch the ball and the guy makes it to second on what appeared to be a routine fly it doesnt get counted as an error. It seems from what I have heard, there have been a fair share of plays not made on his behalf that would have been made by your average MLB fielder.

I dont know how he will do, but I am excited for this. He very well may be the most talent pitching prospect in all of baseball that isnt named Bundy. And yes, above Walker, Wheeler, and Cole. We very well may have the top 2 pitching prospects in all of baseball, very exciting times ahead of us. Gausman is the most ready of all of the top 10 pitching prospects in baseball.

Matt Harvey's AA stats as a 22 year-old: 12 GS, 9.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 8.7 H/9, 59.2 IP, 4.53 ERA

Of course he started 20 games as a 23 year-old in AAA the following year but his stats were not remarkably better (K's went down slightly, walks up slightly, but hits and ERA went down). Now he is leading the National League in H/9 IP (4.5) and has had a great two first two months to the season (to go along with his strong ML debut in 2012). Not trying to compare Harvey to Gausman necessarily since their backgrounds are a little different. Just providing example of a guy who did not dominate in the minors but whose stuff has played even better in the majors. There is too much noise in minor league statistics to use them entirely to determine whether a pitcher is ready for the majors or not.

[sevastras]

Opposing team is going to take their ball and go home after 7 innings.

I guess technically they will already be home, but they might shut the lights off and tell us to leave.

[sevastras]

Matt Harvey's AA stats as a 22 year-old: 12 GS, 9.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 8.7 H/9, 59.2 IP, 4.53 ERA

Of course he started 20 games as a 23 year-old in AAA the following year but his stats were not remarkably better (K's went down slightly, walks up slightly, but hits and ERA went down). Now he is leading the National League in H/9 IP (4.5) and has had a great two first two months to the season (to go along with his strong ML debut in 2012). Not trying to compare Harvey to Gausman necessarily since their backgrounds are a little different. Just providing example of a guy who did not dominate in the minors but whose stuff has played even better in the majors. There is too much noise in minor league statistics to use them entirely to determine whether a pitcher is ready for the majors or not.

Exactly

[vab]

Man I hate to be pessimistic but I've heard all this before so many times. Maybe the law of averages will catch up with us on this one.

[Il BuonO]

Again. He has awesome stuff against small bats at the AA level. I don't see how that translates to MLB level success. I wish him well and will be the first to admit I was wrong if he's a soaring success. But I believe it's an over reactionary move being made to address starting rotation issues that should have been resolved in the off season. Whatever.

He hasn't faced only AA bats. He faced some good hitters in ST who came out and said he had the best stuff of anybody they had seen. I'm thinking it was Gomes, but there were others.

That notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure the scouts we have and people in minor league development have a little better handle on this than the average fan.

[Frobby]

Again. He has awesome stuff against small bats at the AA level. I don't see how that translates to MLB level success. I wish him well and will be the first to admit I was wrong if he's a soaring success. But I believe it's an over reactionary move being made to address starting rotation issues that should have been resolved in the off season. Whatever.

His "stuff" is what it is, regardless of the competition. It's a matter of whether that stuff will be effective at a higher level. By all accounts, his fastball and change were major league ready, and it was a matter of developing his breaking pitch to the point where it was a solid major league pitch. I've read some reports that his breaking pitch is much improved. I guess we're about to find out.

[Can_of_corn]

His "stuff" is what it is, regardless of the competition. It's a matter of whether that stuff will be effective at a higher level. By all accounts, his fastball and change were major league ready, and it was a matter of developing his breaking pitch to the point where it was a solid major league pitch. I've read some reports that his breaking pitch is much improved. I guess we're about to find out.

Really looking forward to his 12-14 MPH differential Change. A properly thrown Change is my favorite pitch to watch as a fan.

[Il BuonO]

Really looking forward to his 12-14 MPH differential Change. A properly thrown Change is my favorite pitch to watch as a fan.

Agreed, and it isn't used enough probably because there aren't that many guys who throw it effectively.

[sevastras]

Really looking forward to his 12-14 MPH differential Change. A properly thrown Change is my favorite pitch to watch as a fan.

There are many pitchers out there that live on fastball change up. Fernando Rodney is the first that comes to mind. When you are locating a 97+ fastball and then dropping in a 83mph change, how can you even hit that? He could possibly go threw an entire order on just those 2 pitches. Then when you are looking changeup, a slider comes in and makes you look silly. I am excited to see this slider, as most pitchers that throw 97, dont have a low 80's slider.