33-year old knuckleballer Mickey Jannis

[Frobby]

“Mickey Jannis will be competing for a spot in the Orioles rotation this spring, and that’s encouraging news for knuckleball fanatics. The 33-year-old right-hander is one of the few purveyors of that particular craft currently active in pro ball, and while the odds aren’t in his favor… well, you just never know. Hoyt Wilhelm turned 30 a few months into his rookie season, then went on to pitch for two decades and get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those lofty heights are almost certainly beyond Jannis’s reach, but the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues isn’t.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing him in camp,” Baltimore GM Mike Elias said when I asked about Jannis’s chances. “Mike Snyder, our pro scouting director, has been a big fan of his. I think it will be great for the major league staff to get to see him, because we do think he’s interesting. As we saw last year with with César Valdez, there are guys with neat stories that figure out how to be successful in the major leagues, and we’re hopeful that [Jannis] can be one of them. He’s got a real shot.”

“Valdez made nine relief appearances for the Orioles last year at age 35, throwing his changeup an almost-unfathomable 83.2% of this time. It’s by no means unreasonable to believe that Jannis — a veteran of 10 minor-league seasons — could do much the same with a knuckleball. There may not be any Hoyt Wilhelm in Jannis’s future, but if the butterfly is floating this spring, there could very well be some César Valdez.”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-jonathan-schoop-needs-a-better-two-strike-approach-maybe/

[Aristotelian]

Cool. Between him and Valdez we have a shot at the lowest team average velocity in MLB. I would not be surprised if he and Valdez are 1-2 in MLB if they both make it.

[HowAboutThat]

Meanwhile, I have been hoping that the Orioles would sign Collin McHugh, only to read on The Athletic that he has signed with the Rats.

You will forgive me for my heart not going pitter pat of the idea of signing this guy, although knuckleballers have a very special career path, and if Charlie Hough can pitch well into old age, Maybe this guy can too. I’m sure he has had past success.....right?

[HowAboutThat]

Ummmm no, he hasn’t.

 

Sheesh.

[HowAboutThat]

Feeling nostalgic, I went and looked up Charlie Hough’s career stats...He pitched until he was 46, and was very successful. I’d rather have him than this fellow.

[MurphDogg]

45 minutes ago, Philip said:

Ummmm no, he hasn’t.

Sheesh.

He has only been a full-time knuckleball pitcher since 2015. He has had success at AA in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with ERAs of 3.60, 3.60 and 3.10. Knocked around in his 4 AAA appearances though. Seems like a fun guy to have in camp and I would rather have him filling the 5th spot in the Norfolk rotation than someone like Eshelman or LeBlanc.

[VaBird1]

27 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

He has only been a full-time knuckleball pitcher since 2015. He has had success at AA in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with ERAs of 3.60, 3.60 and 3.10. Knocked around in his 4 AAA appearances though. Seems like a fun guy to have in camp and I would rather have him filling the 5th spot in the Norfolk rotation than someone like Eshelman or LeBlanc.

I’m always pulling for the knuckleballer.   

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, VaBird1 said:

I’m always pulling for the knuckleballer.   

Should be entertaining with Severino behind the plate.

[VaBird1]

9 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Should be entertaining with Severino behind the plate.

Anything is better than strikeout, walk, home run!

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, VaBird1 said:

Anything is better than strikeout, walk, home run!

Nothing like some wild pitches and passed balls to speed a game along.

[VaBird1]

Agreed 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Should be entertaining with Severino behind the plate.

Both him and Sisco will get plenty of cardio for running after the passed balls/wild pitches atleast.

[Ripken]

He does have an extreme spin rate.

[HowAboutThat]

3 hours ago, VaBird1 said:

I’m always pulling for the knuckleballer.   

I don’t remember the name of our guy who tried to knuckleball, and I guess he did not succeed.

I don’t mind giving this guy a chance, I was knuckleballers, you never know, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

[Explosivo]

Here’s a cool story. I called up mlb radio on xm and talked about the kid you are referencing. They were intrigued and next week, they called him up and gave him an interview. Zack is a cool guy. He posted on a message board a long time ago and we interacted. He ended up sending me a signed ball and T-shirt his friends made for him. The “no spin zone”.