Fangraphs: Where Do the Orioles Go From Here?

[Bahama O's Fan]

How about trying something like this?

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/three-man-rotation-bill-james-bullpen-112515

Crazy. Tillman would probably have a fit. Buck probably never goes for it. But it would allow the O's to run Tillman & Gausman out every 3 days and would maximize the value of our biggest pitching strength, our bullpen.

If you had three starters, then you could also have three long men so if the bullpen needed a break, they could be like your fourth, fifth and six starters that would only have to go through a lineup twice as well, hopefully.

[bluedog]

If you had three starters' date=' then you could also have three long men so if the bullpen needed a break, they could be like your fourth, fifth and six starters that would only have to go through a lineup twice as well, hopefully.[/quote']

Yeah - putting Jiminez & Gallardo in the pen as mop up guys so that you don't waste your bullpen on nights where you aren't likely to win.

If we could get 5 innings of 2 or 3 run ball followed by Givens, O'Day (when healthy), Brach and Britton we'd win a lot of games.

[monarchO]

Rich Hill or Drew Pomeranz

[DrungoHazewood]

Here's what I don't understand. The Orioles have apparently placed a soft innings count on Dylan Bundy. That seems understandable with his injury history. But then I look at the Pirates. They have Jameson Taillon who's missed two full seasons due to various injuries. So far this season, Taillon has pitched 90 innings and is on pace to pitch over 175 innings this season. I know the Pirates will try to limit Taillon's innings. They've already made a procedural move to put him on the DL so he can skip a start before the all-star break. But it's a virtual certainty that Taillon will pitch well over 100 innings this year. Why is it that the Pirates aren't afraid to let Taillon loose yet the Orioles continue to treat Bundy with kid gloves? What's wrong with putting Bundy in the rotation and having him skip a start every now to keep his arm fresh and his innings down? The Orioles could also put Bundy on a strict pitch count for his first few starts and gradually increase his pitch count as he makes more starts.

Bundy's FIP/xFIP are slightly above average/somewhat below average as a fairly lightly-used reliever. He averages 6.3 K/9, well below average for a reliever. In general the transition to starting adds a full run to one's ERA. I don't think we have any good evidence that he'd be an asset as a starter, not one worth the longer-term injury risk.

[Can_of_corn]

Bundy's FIP/xFIP are slightly above average/somewhat below average as a fairly lightly-used reliever. He averages 6.3 K/9, well below average for a reliever. In general the transition to starting adds a full run to one's ERA. I don't think we have any good evidence that he'd be an asset as a starter, not one worth the longer-term injury risk.

His K rate his first month or so was extremely low. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that 6.3.

He looks significantly better now than in April.

[spiritof66]

Bundy's FIP/xFIP are slightly above average/somewhat below average as a fairly lightly-used reliever. He averages 6.3 K/9, well below average for a reliever. In general the transition to starting adds a full run to one's ERA. I don't think we have any good evidence that he'd be an asset as a starter, not one worth the longer-term injury risk.

I'm not sure what you're saying. If Bundy were anywhere near "average" as a starter, by which I assume you mean league-average, he'd be a very large upgrade over what we have now. I would call that a significant asset, even after weighing the loss of Bundy from the bullpen corps. I'm not able to weigh that against the increased risk of injury.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm not sure what you're saying. If Bundy were anywhere near "average" as a starter, by which I assume you mean league-average, he'd be a very large upgrade over what we have now. I would call that a significant asset, even after weighing the loss of Bundy from the bullpen corps. I'm not able to weigh that against the increased risk of injury.

What I'm saying is that if you take his performance as a reliever and use the back of a napkin to convert it to starting you have a guy with an ERA somewhere north of 4.50, maybe quite a bit north. That barely moves the playoff needle .

Now, that's less than 40 innings, so I could be convinced that napkin isn't entirely valid.

[weams]

Yeah - putting Jiminez & Gallardo in the pen as mop up guys so that you don't waste your bullpen on nights where you aren't likely to win.

Ryan Flaherty would be glad to pitch on those nights if that's what you are after.

[Can_of_corn]

What I'm saying is that if you take his performance as a reliever and use the back of a napkin to convert it to starting you have a guy with an ERA somewhere north of 4.50, maybe quite a bit north. That barely moves the playoff needle .

Now, that's less than 40 innings, so I could be convinced that napkin isn't entirely valid.

And I'll say again that a case could be made for not giving much weight to his early season results. He obviously isn't a 2K/9 guy like we saw in April.

Frankly I'm not sure what they have, but I am certainly interested in seeing what he can do next season.

[DrungoHazewood]

And I'll say again that a case could be made for not giving much weight to his early season results. He obviously isn't a 2K/9 guy like we saw in April.

Frankly I'm not sure what they have, but I am certainly interested in seeing what he can do next season.

I'm interested, too. But cautious and naturally skeptical. Maybe he can be a latter day '96 Rocky Coppinger.