David Hess and the Remainder of the Season

[BohKnowsBmore]

Hess had a decent game in his most recent start, but has not been able to capture anything close to the magic of his the first start of the season. His biggest issue seems to be the HR ball. Do you think this something fixable or is it just who he is?

Personally, I would like to see him have a few decent outings for confidence purposes, then go down to the minors to try and fix what has ailed him (if possible). If that were to happen, who provides innings in his stead for the remainder of 2019? Cobb is probably the most obvious answer, but let’s say he replaces Cashner (even if he’s just dealt for a lotto ticket at the deadline). Other than him, what options exist? Akin?

[waroriole]

The magic of his first start was a truly terrible Blue Jay lineup. What’s the record for HR allowed in a season? Let’s see him break records. 

[Moose Milligan]

It's who he is.

[Aglets]

Every so often i have to catch myself and i remember....oh that's right.   Alex Cobb is still on the team right now. 

[terphoopsfan]

First off, Akin won't be called up until Sept at the earliest. Hess just isn't a good SP,  maybe he could have some value as a RP but unless he stops throwing those meatballs up to the plate it won't matter. Below is his scouting report from '18, seems accurate except no mention of an extremely straight FB.

 He doesn’t have blazing stuff: his fastball sits in the low-90s, working 90-93 most of the time. He will occasionally reach back for a bit more but his delivery is relatively high-effort so it isn’t easy heat for him.

He has a full arsenal of secondaries with a slider, curve, and change-up. None of his pitches are spectacular, but none of them are bad, either; his stuff is average across the board with the slider showing the most potential for improvement. He is primarily a fly ball pitcher and can show some vulnerability to home runs if he makes a location mistake.

[Matt Bennett]

Probably should move him to the bullpen 

[Moose Milligan]

29 minutes ago, Aglets said:

Every so often i have to catch myself and i remember....oh that's right.   Alex Cobb is still on the team right now. 

Eh...but is he really?

[atomic]

1 hour ago, Cy Bundy said:

Time for K Aiken to enter the queue. 

He has got knocked around in Triple A recently.  Not sure what the point would be.  Unless another team DFAs someone better or Cobb decides to come back from vacation, Hess is starting.

[jabba72]

Akin's got a 4.50 ERA and is averaging a hair under 5 innings per start, he's not ready to be promoted, If at all this year. No one else in Norfolk is doing any better, besides Yefry, who the team doesn't like.  Knight is averaging 4.1 BB and 5.5 K in Frederick. Not ready. Lowther 3.8 BB and 9 K in Bowie. 

[Mayor McCheese]

David Hess is the next Mike Wright of the Orioles. 

We have seen enough of him as a starter to know that he is not any good.  He could linger around in the BP with the only purpose to eat innings.  His stuff is below average.

No soup for him, NEXT!

[MurphDogg]

1 hour ago, jabba72 said:

Akin's got a 4.50 ERA and is averaging a hair under 5 innings per start, he's not ready to be promoted, If at all this year. No one else in Norfolk is doing any better, besides Yefry, who the team doesn't like. 

To be clear, the International League as a whole is pitching to a 4.96 ERA. The Tides as a team have a 5.55 ERA. The MLB ball is wreaking havoc on AAA stats.

[Frobby]

32 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

To be clear, the International League as a whole is pitching to a 4.96 ERA. The Tides as a team have a 5.55 ERA. The MLB ball is wreaking havoc on AAA stats.

Good point.   Akin was doing pretty well for a while, but three of his last four starts have been poor.   It’s definitely not the right time to promote him, but it still could be later this summer if he regains his footing.  

[Philip]

Hess has shown himself. There is nothing more to “work on” he’s just a mediocre baseball player who is fortunate to be playing on a terrible team. I like him, and he has a degree in something exotic, so he’s definitely smart, but, no.

[Aristotelian]

I started a thread on this a couple of weeks ago. The other options were terrible then and are still terrible. I would get rid of Straily and keep Hess in the bullpen. Just not sure who to bring up. If it is Akin or Lowther, we would have to lose someone from the 40 man.

Herb is a possibility for a placeholder type.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Off to the bullpen for Hess and Josh Rogers gets his spot in the rotation.