A take on Keegan Akin

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, VaBird1 said:

Except the team had not purchased the equipment.  Now they have.

How does that change anything?

The principle is the same. 

It isn't accurate to say that "it can't hurt to try to get better".  Certain courses of action are more likely to end up with favorable outcomes.

 

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

How does that change anything?

The principle is the same. 

It isn't accurate to say that "it can't hurt to try to get better".  Certain courses of action are more likely to end up with favorable outcomes.

 

Honestly, this is not a topic I think most of us are qualified to opine on.    And, I don’t think the answer is the same for every pitcher.   

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Honestly, this is not a topic I think most of us are qualified to opine on.    And, I don’t think the answer is the same for every pitcher.   

I think we are all qualified to opine on it in the general sense.  I can spend my resources trying to learn to dunk a basketball but I don't think it will be a fruitful endeavor.

Akin might be better off concentrating on two pitches.  It could be a waste of resources for him to "try and get better" at throwing breaking balls.  Those resources could potentially be better off being allocated elsewhere.

 

[Philip]

Is there any research addressing the question of whether “learning a new pitch” is more or less effective  than “refining an existing one?”

I just searched the phrase and got nothing in response.

Refining a skill is like charging a battery. The better you get, the harder it is to get better. 
So it seems logical that a guy with a good but not elite pitch would be better served by learning a new one than by trying to develop his good pitch into elite status.

However, there are doubtless multiple highly successful examples of each option, so the question would have to be settled on an individual basis. I hope the Bmore coaches see the right things and offer the right guidance.

[VaBird1]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

How does that change anything?

The principle is the same. 

It isn't accurate to say that "it can't hurt to try to get better".  Certain courses of action are more likely to end up with favorable outcomes.

 

It changes everything.  He didn’t have the information to help before.  Now he does.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, VaBird1 said:

It changes everything.  He didn’t have the information to help before.  Now he does.

First off the information was available before this year.  That stuff was purchased before the 2019 season.

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/orioles-pitchers-using-technology-in-camp-c304073646

 

Secondly it doesn't change the point I was making.  You stated, I'm paraphrasing because I've already directly quoted you numerous times, that no harm can come of him working to refine a breaking ball.  I don't agree and I think there is at least a possibility that the better course of action will be to concentrate his efforts into improving other parts of his game.

[VaBird1]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

First off the information was available before this year.  That stuff was purchased before the 2019 season.

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/orioles-pitchers-using-technology-in-camp-c304073646

 

Secondly it doesn't change the point I was making.  You stated, I'm paraphrasing because I've already directly quoted you numerous times, that no harm can come of him working to refine a breaking ball.  I don't agree and I think there is at least a possibility that the better course of action will be to concentrate his efforts into improving other parts of his game.

That article actually says that they did not have Rapsodo in 2019.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, VaBird1 said:

That article actually says that they did not have Rapsodo in 2019.

And they did have other tools that they seem pretty excited about.  Did they have Rapsodo in 2020? 

[murph]

On 12/24/2020 at 7:29 PM, OrioleDog said:

Re-visiting Arthur Rhodes B-Ref, I would not have guessed his first 50 appearances across four seasons were 100% starts.  

He gets a free look with an easy rotation job starting next year, but Akin, Hall and Harvey are an aspirational A/B/C relievers for a 2022 bullpen that will hopefully scare somebody late in the year.   Obviously the odds are against going 3-for-3 getting SP out of Baumann/Hall/Rodriguez, and bullpen Hall is perhaps in play.

I think by the mid-20's the gap between super relievers like Akin and Hall and back rotation guys like Kremer and whoever of Lowther, Smith, Stallings, Bradish etc shows out behind Grayson, Means and Baumann won't be much more than like 25ish IP, and the manager will pick higher leverage for the 80-ish from the reliever Akin/Hall type guy.    Obviously there's a #3 SP-sized hole in that forecast if Baumann proves unavailable.   

Its almost impossible to overstate how Mike Leake pigeonholed Kremer is in my mind as a set and forget #4 SP who might not make your postseason roster.

By entering 2023, if an SEC ace like Leiter, Hill or Rocker with some new wart becomes our pick this July they could be in the picture too.  We seem to like the SEC, though I couldn't say if that is more than anyone else - just looking at Kjerstad reach followed by Westburg/Servideo, and selection of Smith and Stallings in recent trades there.  Maybe that is all a byproduct of those few weeks of 2020 SEC before the shutdown being the highest level minor league games played all year.

Unless Akin really astonishes with a third pitch breakout, I suspect him remaining among the team's 5 best SP more than another year or two will be a bad sign, but the game itself is actively searching for his Glass Half Full and I think a contributor is there.

Does anyone else really enjoy Orioledog's posts and spend several re-reads just to make sure they completely got what he was writing?  Just me?   Even if so, please carry on Orioledog!

As for Akin, I am Wildcard optimistic.  I am hoping for a two pitch lefty (three if he doesn't spend too much valuable time learning a third at the expense of bettering the two primary pitches in his arsenal. I see you CoC) that ends up as a dominate, can get through the lineup 3+ times starter with a sub 3.00 ERA.  12+K/9 and the beginnings of a HOF career!

Oh and the Eggnog was exceptional tonight.  

[AnythingO's]

Do we know if he has both a 4 seam and a 2 seam FB? Wouldn't a 4 seam play up in the strike zone and the 2 seam play down and lead to GBs? Assuming they are thrown with the same motion, would that give him another pitch in the mix so he wouldn't need to show the curve as much?

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, AnythingO's said:

Do we know if he has both a 4 seam and a 2 seam FB? Wouldn't a 4 seam play up in the strike zone and the 2 seam play down and lead to GBs? Assuming they are thrown with the same motion, would that give him another pitch in the mix so he wouldn't need to show the curve as much?

Per Statcast he’s exclusively a 4-seam guy.   

[OriolesMagic83]

On 12/25/2020 at 1:28 PM, Can_of_corn said:

I think we are all qualified to opine on it in the general sense.  I can spend my resources trying to learn to dunk a basketball but I don't think it will be a fruitful endeavor.

Akin might be better off concentrating on two pitches.  It could be a waste of resources for him to "try and get better" at throwing breaking balls.  Those resources could potentially be better off being allocated elsewhere.

 

8 foot rims?

[Frobby]

38 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

8 foot rims?

I am 6’2” and in my youth had rather limited hops.   On my best day I could get my fingers maybe 1-2” over the rim.  But I often wondered, if someone offered me a million dollars if I could dunk a basketball within a year, whether I would have been motivated enough and able to train myself to do it.     Obviously it ain’t happening now at age 63, but at 22-23 I think I could have done it if it was worth it to me.    

[Can_of_corn]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

I am 6’2” and in my youth had rather limited hops.   On my best day I could get my fingers maybe 1-2” over the rim.  But I often wondered, if someone offered me a million dollars if I could dunk a basketball within a year, whether I would have been motivated enough and able to train myself to do it.     Obviously it ain’t happening now at age 63, but at 22-23 I think I could have done it if it was worth it to me.    

So it's probably a good thing you concentrated on law school and not dunking.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

On 12/25/2020 at 6:31 AM, Can_of_corn said:

Maybe they could trade him to the Angels?