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Maybe too soon to ask about Mike Wright

Philip

By Philip
in Orioles Talk

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LookinUp Hangout Grand Counsel

LookinUp

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Several schools of thought on this.

1. Wright has an established history of being terrible. Don't hold your breath. Very true.
2. It's 4 IP in spring training. Stop it with the SSS analysis! Also very true.

Then there's my school of thought. 

I saw Arrieta leave and turn great. I've seen Gausman and Bundy under perform. Tillman had some pretty good years, but nothing great. Matusz never was. I've watched an organization not develop a really good SP since Mussina, and even he was a polished college guy. Britton was great out of the bullpen, long after he was a MiL starter. The list goes on and on. Our good pitchers usually developed somewhere else. It's not a coincidence.

In short, I believe good athletes succeed when they're put into a position to succeed, and don't when they're not, unless they're truly great athletes. I'm operating under the assumption that this regime will really click with at least one really good arm this year. Maybe Wright. Maybe Castro. Maybe some guys in the minors who haven't put it together yet. I don't know who, but when the old regime talked about how the ball came out of a pitcher's hand, it was a joke. When this regime talks about that, it's informed by advanced metrics and video. 

So yeah, there's reason to hope that Wright is that guy, even though #'s 1 and 2 above help tilt the odds pretty strongly against that possibility.

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El Gordo Hangout Grand Counsel

El Gordo

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Just now, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Three more scoreless innings for Wright today and 0.00 for the spring so far.

I won’t read anything into this since Wright has pulled off brief stints of looking good in the past.  Wright is going to make the team if he keeps this up. 

Wright's biggest problem was/is his head. Maybe Hyde screwed it back on right?

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interloper Hangout Grand Counsel

interloper

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No one else in the game of baseball has 10 scoreless innings in spring.

I don't like Mike Wright because he's been very bad, but I gotta give it to him. And then Yefry comes on and allows 4 homers (but K's 6), and it's starting to look like he's getting the #4 spot in the rotation.

What I like this time around is he's picking his spot to throw the 94mph heater (and that it appears to be back in the first place). It's usually up in the zone or up and away, and he's getting some K's with it. I'm still not crazy about his cutter, but he's getting some grounders with that. His slider is hit or miss. He's not walking guys (yet). 

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interloper Hangout Grand Counsel

interloper

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The increase in confidence is no secret. Wright freely admits it. His head is in the right place, along with his arm slot.

“I think absolutely more confidence than in a while, maybe since 2016,” he said. “It’s 100 percent because of the work we’re putting in here, the work that we’re doing with the coaching staff top to bottom. Even with Chris Holt, the minor league coordinator. Everybody is on the same page and it’s exciting.

“They say, ‘This is what you’ve got. Go out there and use it this way.’ And it’s just exciting to put that work in and seeing the results right now.”

The data provided via a truer commitment to analytics clearly is benefitting Wright, who has a career 5.75 ERA and 1.517 WHIP in 228 2/3 major league innings. Spin efficiency is one area that’s become a focal point for pitchers in camp.

“They tell me what I need to hear on a daily basis in between bullpens and in between starts, and we’re working on different machines. Right now the confidence and the results are kind of speaking for themselves,” Wright said.

“Confidence is huge. I can’t really stress that enough. It seems weird for people who don’t go out there every single day, but it’s big and obviously it helps your confidence when you’ve got defense behind you like we played today.”

The bond with new pitching coach Doug Brocail keeps getting stronger for Wright.

“He’s awesome,” Wright said. “Everything we talk about, just everyday life, walking around the clubhouse, I’m really excited about what this year holds.”

Wright’s fastball was 90-93 according to the radar gun at LECOM Park, and he used it liberally. Heaters and the splitter.

He isn’t throwing anything in his repertoire with greater or less frequency than previous years.

“It’s just a little different and a little more conviction behind them because of what the stats say about different things,” he said, declining to elaborate and tip off opposing hitters.

“I’ve shared pretty much what I’m comfortable sharing,” he said.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2019/03/wright-stays-on-roll-while-unsure-of-role.html

Interesting.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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7 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

There is no way he isn’t making this team. 

Now, whether or not it works in the regular season we shall see.  

1.   You are probably right, mainly because he’s out of options.   

2.    Wright still has probably 3 more outings and will be trying to go 4+ in each of them.    He hasn’t pitched half the innings he’ll probably pitch this spring.   Still plenty of time for the wheels to come off the cart.    Hopefully, they won’t.   

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