Zach Britton is Too Filthy for the Pen

[Norfolk orioles]

Holly Smokes:eek: Comparing Britton to Clayton Kershaw is a bit premature.

I wasn't comparing him......I'm just making the point that if a guy has a ton of talent and is "on", pitching him in middle relief seems like a waste of talent.

[Roll Tide]

I wasn't comparing him......I'm just making the point that if a guy has a ton of talent and is "on", pitching him in middle relief seems like a waste of talent.

Got it ...But I think Buck will wait for a guy to fail before bumping him to the pen.

[Aristotelian]

I disagree, not in mid-season, or even early season. Britton hasn't been stretched out to start in some time, and it would be irresponsible to switch roles at this point. The time to do that is spring training, which is over.

I agree. That said, some 2+ inning appearances can be great to groom him as an eventual replacement for Chen.

[DrungoHazewood]

I wasn't comparing him......I'm just making the point that if a guy has a ton of talent and is "on", pitching him in middle relief seems like a waste of talent.

Except that today's game is all about five pitchers throwing filthy stuff for nine innings. If you don't have 3-4 Zach Brittons pitching the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings you're behind the curve.

[Norfolk orioles]

Got it ...But I think Buck will wait for a guy to fail before bumping him to the pen.

And I agree, that's probably the right move.

He is valuable as a lock down reliever right now for certain, but long term, if he can continue to pitch the way he has this season, I honestly believe he should eventually be a starter again.

[Camden_yardbird]

I would like to see a season before he gets a shot.

Given injuries, I'm probably starting Gausman, Steve Johnson, and maybe one or two others before I get to Britton.

[Roll Tide]

I would like to see a season before he gets a shot.

Given injuries, I'm probably starting Gausman, Steve Johnson, and maybe one or two others before I get to Britton.

Gausman & Steve Johnson are not pitching well so far. The next man up from Norfolk right now is probably McFarland. So Britton to the rotation and McFarland to the pen;)

[JayThomas]

I disagree, not in mid-season, or even early season. Britton hasn't been stretched out to start in some time, and it would be irresponsible to switch roles at this point. The time to do that is spring training, which is over.

This is the tell. Buck didn't even try to stretch Britton out in ST. He slotted him immediately into the BP role. That is where Buck wants him this year. Why? Who knows. Probably because Buck wants to put Zach in the position to do his very best right now. Buck did, however, stretch out Matusz for the 2nd straight spring. Now, he has alterior motives there. He said he was doing so to give Brian more opportunities to work on getting right-handed hitters out. (But) when Buck was asked recently about giving a spot start to Britton, Buck included Matusz as an option in his reply.

I don't think Buck as any intention at all of starting Zach this season. As others have said, let Zach pitch 100 important dominating innings for us out of the pen this year. As Tony has said, let him start to work his secondaries in a little more and show that he can get guys out with them. Maybe Buck will explore Zach for the rotation next year. (But) you never know with Buck. He has not given Matusz a real shot at the rotation because he thinks he's too valuable in the pen. Britton might get pidgen-holed there by the same rationale.

In the meantime, enjoy it. The Arthur Rhodes comp is a great one and if Zach can do that for us then we look much more like a team that can go deep into October.

[Tony-OH]

I wasn't comparing him......I'm just making the point that if a guy has a ton of talent and is "on", pitching him in middle relief seems like a waste of talent.

I guess I don't understand how you see him being "wasted" in his current role? He's been huge in two wins and his ability to eat innings has saved the rest of the bullpen and allows them all to be fresher. How is this a waste? It's not like Buck is tossing him out there in blowouts.

[Frobby]

This thread should be "Zach Britton is perfect for this particular team's pen".

We have a host of starters that only go 7 innings on rare occasion. Miguel's outing was the perfect example. Only goes 5, but does well. Now you throw them a lefty flamethrower for 2 innings. Do that every couple of games when your starter inevitably struggles to go 6 innings.

Not to mention the fact that he's a nice compliment to a team with four right-handed starters.

Very good points here. Just thought I should add that of all the relievers in MLB, Zach is currently second in Win Probability Added. That means that not only is he pitching well, he is doing it in relatively high leverage situations. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=rel&lg=all&qual=0&type=3&season=2014&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=3,d In fact, he's 11th among all pitchers, including starters (just a tick behind Chris Tillman, who is 9th). http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=3&season=2014&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

[Aglets]

It certainly is an interesting question. Would you rather have a good pitcher throw a couple innings in more games, or just pitch once every five and start?

Logic would say you'd want him to start and get more innings out of him but he is definitely helping us out a lot in his role right now.

[PA724_Oriole]

Hypothetically, if Britton would become a.starter next.year and transitioned well from the pen and assuming Gausman (lives up to his potential) is in the rotation next year. Would be a top rotation in the league considering you would have guys like Ubaldo, Chen, Gonzalez battling for the 4 and 5 spots.

Although the right time and place to try out Britton as a starter has come and gone. Barring an overwhelming amount of injuries, keep him where he seems to be comfortable for now.

He'll get his chance next spring. But only if need be.

[Redskins Rick]

It certainly is an interesting question. Would you rather have a good pitcher throw a couple innings in more games, or just pitch once every five and start?

Logic would say you'd want him to start and get more innings out of him but he is definitely helping us out a lot in his role right now.

Some guys are more suited for relief work.

For a starter to be effective, they have to be able to get through the lineup multiple times during the game.

Relievers are spared that. So a very effect reliever, doesn't always translate into a very effective starter.

[OFFNY]

It certainly is an interesting question. Would you rather have a good pitcher throw a couple innings in more games, or just pitch once every five and start?

Logic would say you'd want him to start and get more innings out of him, but he is definitely helping us out a lot in his role right now.

With this team, I would rather stay with what we have now ...... Zach Britton as "The Bail-Out Guy" for when Oriole starters not named Chris Tillman have trouble going past 5 or 6 innings.

If Josh Stinson could materialize into "The Bail-Out Guy, Number Two," that would be ideal (in terms of eating more innings, and not burning up the rest of the bullpen.)

On numerous occasions, I have advocated for a "5 and-a-half man" rotation ...... pick a starting pitcher that has a tendency to be good for only 3 or 4 innings, and have a bullpen guy that is saved specifically for his starts, ready to come in as early as the 4th inning, and ready to pitch a good 4 or 5 innings himself.

Kind of like a buddy system with two specified pitchers on the staff.

[Roll Tide]

With this team, I would rather stay with what we have now ...... Zach Britton as "The Bail-Out Guy" for when Oriole starters not named Chris Tillman have trouble going past 5 or 6 innings.

If Josh Stinson could materialize into "The Bail-Out Guy, Number Two," that would be ideal (in terms of eating more innings, and not burning up the rest of the bullpen.)

On numerous occasions, I have advocated for a "5 and-a-half man" rotation ...... pick a starting pitcher that has a tendency to be good for only 3 or 4 innings, and have a bullpen guy that is saved specifically for his starts, ready to come in as early as the 4th inning, and ready to pitch a good 4 or 5 innings himself.

Kind of like a buddy system with two specified pitchers on the staff.

@ Rick ....Britton has a a good arsenal of pitches and therefore there is no reason to believe he wouldn't succeed in the rotation.

@ OFFNY .... TJ McFarland can be that could if Britton is moved to the rotation. He did a serviceable job last year so there is no reason to believe he would struggle. Plus he's off to a really good start at AAA.