Stockstill hints Matusz to Frederick is likely

[Guest Sailor Jerry]

Well when the farm director has it out for the scouting director, of course he's going to try to lowball the guy. Can't have the scouting guy's top pick start off TOO hot now.

[bigbird]

Hey Tony...Matusz or Arrieta? Who cracks the O's rotation first???

[Sports Guy]

How was he left down there too long? They would have promoted him but there was no point to move him to Bowie for four starts before the Olympics.

Arrieta should have been in Bowie by mid May, right before his injury.

[Sports Guy]

I talked tonight with a scout from another organization who saw Matusz in the AFL and he thinks he's major league ready right now. He thinks starting him in A-ball is too low, but according to him it doesn't matter because he's going to have success no matter what level he starts at.

Just some food for thought.

My issue is this...I personally believe he should start in AA but I don't really care that he starts in single A.

What i care about is that if he does as well as he should, that they are likely to keep him in Frederick for 3-4 months.

If he goes to Frederick and he dominates in his first 5-7 starts, there is no reason to keep him in single A.

But I don't believe they will do that...If he starts in single A, i believe he is there until late June/early July.

[Tony-OH]

Hey Tony...Matusz or Arrieta? Who cracks the O's rotation first???

I would bet Matusz if I had to choose. Matusz has more pitches and is more refined.

[Tony-OH]

Wow, that's awesome to hear.

Did he go into any detail as to why he thinks that way?

He said his curveball is major league ready and that he's probably already at his peak physically. He can understand of the orioles want to wait to start his arbitration clock since they are not going to compete for anything this year, but he believes Matusz is the O's second or 3rd best starter right now.

[Scrat1]

but he believes Matusz is the O's second or 3rd best starter right now.

I'm not sure whether to be really happy or really depressed about this haha.

[Moose Milligan]

He said his curveball is major league ready and that he's probably already at his peak physically. He can understand of the orioles want to wait to start his arbitration clock since they are not going to compete for anything this year, but he believes Matusz is the O's second or 3rd best starter right now.

Awesome, thanks Tony.

Hope and pray that Matusz doesn't have any durability issues...

[Old Beta]

Of course I don't know what their thinking is, but it wouldn't surprise me if one factor was they thought it wouldn't hurt if the first-round, instant millionaires coming out of college get at least a taste of what it is like at the lower level of the minors--long bus trips to small towns, guys with a lot less talent who had to bust their butts their entire careers to get even that far and who know they'll probably never see the big leagues but continue for the love of the game...

[Pheasants]

To me the key is that Stockstill is talking about moving him at the break, in other words, after two months. Like SG, I think this was the wrong plan for Arrieta and if they are just going to force Matusz to sit down there no matter what he does----maybe they'll wait until he learns how to never throw a HR ball---then they are doing a disservice to him and the team.

[clapdiddy]

Honestly, I think the fact that he's going to be in OUR minor league system is the worst part of it, no matter what level he's pitching.

We have shown an inability to develop players who are ready for the majors, and I am scared that they are going to ruin this guy. If he starts having command issues in Frederick, I'm really going to start to worry.

[Mackus]

but he believes Matusz is the O's second or 3rd best starter right now.

That's almost an insult!

[ChrisAF79]

I have no problems with him starting at Frederick. For high first-round picks that have played college ball, this is pretty much par for the course. See David Price, etc...

However, if he is dominating after 7-10 starts or so, you have to be ready to move him up to Bowie. Matusz is the type of pitcher who will benefit even more so from the challenge of facing upper-level hitters.

[Mackus]

I have no problems with him starting at Frederick. For high first-round picks that have played college ball, this is pretty much par for the course. See David Price, etc...

However, if he is dominating after 7-10 starts or so, you have to be ready to move him up to Bowie. Matusz is the type of pitcher who will benefit even more so from the challenge of facing upper-level hitters.

Exactly. Price started 6 games at A+, and then was moved up. He was, of course, absolutely dominating. If Matusz is striking out over a hitter per inning with a 5:1 K/BB ratio, I expect him to move up after a similar number of starts. If he's doing slightly less phenomenally, I think it could take 12 or so starts, or about 2 months. I'm fine with that general plan.

[TakebackOPACY]

Honestly, I think the fact that he's going to be in OUR minor league system is the worst part of it, no matter what level he's pitching.

We have shown an inability to develop players who are ready for the majors, and I am scared that they are going to ruin this guy. If he starts having command issues in Frederick, I'm really going to start to worry.

I don't know of any reason to think Blaine Beatty is part of the problem. Maybe there'll be some shuffling of the coaching staffs, but he's been there three years and has had pretty good success.

The argument for leaving a player in one place all the way to the All-Star break is that you allow him to adjust to post-college adulthood and the life of a professional with a consistency in routine: same apartment, same schedule, same coaches (and same message from the coach), same teammates, same grocery store, same corner bar, et cetera.

I think most of us agree that this should be a flimsy argument. What I mean by "should be" is this: There needs to be a good support system from the organization to help the players get situated and then to help them adjust to their daily lives without Mom. There needs to be some consistency in routines at different levels. i.e. stretching routine, weight room routine, overall message and philosophy from the coaching staffs. If these things are in place, then a quick jump in level for the rare player with a high level of maturity and talent (like Matusz, we hope) will be no problem.

My opinion is that I am all for the overall philosophy that it is better to leave players in one place for a length of time. But I am against the idea that that should be a policy. There are exceptions; and if you treat it as a policy that you are breaking for those 'exceptions', then others feel slighted. If you just say it's a preferred approach, you can sell a player on the benefits while assuring him that he'll get where he wants to be soon enough if he keeps working and performing.

Some of you know I'm about as patient as they come when it comes to player movement. Yet I would argue that if they are NOT prepared for the possibility of moving Matusz up quickly because they philosophically want to keep players in one place for a length of time, then they should consider starting him in Bowie. If I were running things, I'd go with the majority opinion here. Start him in Frederick and be prepared to move him after between 4-10 starts if he's dominant. If he's good to great but not dominant, then I'm fine with half a season.