Dean Kremer 2022

[emmett16]

For the record, I'm not down on Kremer.  Just nitpicking his performance.  I thought he battled and made a pitch when he needed to.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  I just want to see him keep getting better - it sure seems like that is what's going on here.  Hes learning how to pitch and is trusting his stuff, that's great to see.   

[emmett16]

37 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

BTW, you have no examples after the 3rd inning.  Nothing?

Those were the examples of 'deep fly balls'.  There were balls hit hard after the 3rd inning but no 'deep fly balls' 

[Jim'sKid26]

With exception of Bautista, the O's don't have a pitcher with elite stuff. We'll watch Verlander today and see a starting pitcher with elite stuff. Kremer doesn't miss a lot of Major league bats but he did miss a lot of minor league bats. If I remember correctly when he was at AA he led all of MiLB in Ks/9. I think he has embraced what the analytics guys have shown him about what he can do at this level to be successful. That's not a very easy thing to do when you have had some success doing something very different than what you need to do to be successful at the MLB level. 

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, emmett16 said:

Inning 1 - Altuve flies out to deep center (3-1 count hit to warning track)

Inning 2 - Bregman lines out to deep center (3-2 count, should have walked on the 3-1 count, not hit to warning track)

Inning 2 - Tucker lines out to deep center (3-2 count just shy of warning track)

Inning 3 - Hensley flies out to deep right center (0-1 count just shy of warning track)

Those balls were all just missed.  1/4 of an inch on the bat and those go as HR.   

 

In the second inning you have two “long” fly outs to CF.   According to the link SG posted, one went 340 feet and the other 342.   That’s not deep CF.

[emmett16]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

In the second inning you have two “long” fly outs to CF.   According to the link SG posted, one went 340 feet and the other 342.   That’s not deep CF.

Pretty deep for a *line out not a *fly out  

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

In the second inning you have two “long” fly outs to CF.   According to the link SG posted, one went 340 feet and the other 342.   That’s not deep CF.

Just watching the condensed version.  It’s really disingenuous to call either of those fly balls in the 2nd inning deep.   Very disingenuous.  I suggest you watch again.

[RZNJ]

5 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

Pretty deep for a *line out not a *fly out  

Give me a break.  Neither was a scorching liner.  Pretty routine plays for McKenna and he didn’t need to go back on either one.   

[RZNJ]

Altuve  hit the ball “hard” three times.  When Kyle Tucker has an Evo of 99 mph and the resulting fly ball goes 284 feet, that does not constitute a hard hit ball in my book.   I suppose there are popups with high exit velocities.  Let’s not get ridiculous with this stuff.

[emmett16]

8 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Just watching the condensed version.  It’s really disingenuous to call either of those fly balls in the 2nd inning deep.   Very disingenuous.  I suggest you watch again.

Again, my original comment (which comes directly from MLB gameday play by play) reads Tuker/Bregman line out to deep CF.....  A 342' line drive isn't a deep line out?  Just rewatched, looked to me that both balls were well struck and just missed.  

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

Again, my original comment (which comes directly from MLB gameday play by play) reads Tuker/Bregman line out to deep CF.....  A 342' line drive isn't a deep line out?  Just rewatched, looked to me that both balls were well struck and just missed.  

342 to CF is not deep no matter how you label it.    Just missed what?   Please stop!

I’m done.  Any reasonable person would see that neither ball was deep or hit very hard.  Both had plenty of hang time.  Two “routine “ plays by McKenna.   Good luck with using Gameday to form your opinions.

[tntoriole]

All the nitpicking aside.. I will take games like Kremer pitched every day and twice on Sunday!  He has become more and more reliable .. has a Mike Boddicker, Wally Bunker vibe to me . 
 

Today we shall see if Oriole Magic can slay the mighty Darth Verlander!! I believe!! 

[emmett16]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

342 to CF is not deep no matter how you label it.    Just missed what?   Please stop!

I’m done.  Any reasonable person would see that neither ball was deep or hit very hard.  Both had plenty of hang time.  Two “routine “ plays by McKenna.   Good luck with using Gameday to form your opinions.

I guess we will just have to agree that neither of those balls were hit to shallow CF...Not sure why you are so fired up.  

If you are stoked on Kremer's performance last night, then good for you.  I think he got bailed out by the umpire, a couple GIDPs, and a lot of line outs hit directly to players.  I'm happy they won.  Go O's!

 

But seriously a 96.8 EV lineout @ 340' doesn't' classify as a hard hit/deep line-out in your book?  Tough judge.  

[Tony-OH]

12 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Yep, but he also has a curve that he hasn’t really had since AA.  I wonder how he rediscovered it or reinvented it.

Actually, he's added more horizontal movement and a little less vertical to his curveball making it less of a 12-6 curveball going from 8.6 inches to 11.3 this year. He also throws it just 11.2% of the time vs 27.2% (2nd most of his pitches) when he first arrived. On top of it, since it's his 4th pitch, he's throwing it over more for strikes as a get me over since batters aren't looking for it.

The biggest improvement to his repertoire is his changeup, which was terrible in the minor leagues and when he arrived in the big leagues. He's added 11.7 inches of vertical movement and .5 inches of horizontal movement to what was once a straight hard change. 

The command of his cutter is another great improvement from last year to this year. He's keeping low and away and with it's late good break, it's like a nice little slider . Last year he missed too much in the middle of the plate where it becomes a bp fastball.

Kremer can now give a batter five looks with a fastball that can reach 95-96 on occasion with good riding life up in the zone, a cutter that moves away on righties, a change that moves away from lefties, a curveball that moves down and away on righties and even an occasional sinker instead of a cut on the fastball.

When you combine that with a career best 5.3% walk rate, you get a guy who is totally different then the one that arrived in the big leagues.

With his better command, it's hard not to like what he's done, even if he does still give up some hard contact and doesn't miss a ton of bats. For me, he's got a great chance tp be part of this rotation moving forward into the future, even if it's probably more like a 4th starter.

[Sports Guy]

11 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Actually, he's added more horizontal movement and a little less vertical to his curveball to making it less of a 12-6 curveball going from 8.6 inches to 11.3 this year. He also throws it just 11.2% of the time vs 27.2% (2nd most of his pitches) when he first arrived. On top of it, since it's his 4th pitch, he's throwing it over more for strikes as a get me over since batters aren't looking for it.

The biggest improvement to his repertoire is his changeup, which was terrible in the minor leagues and when he arrived in the big leagues. He's added 11.7 inches of vertical movement and .5 inches of horizontal movement to what was once a straight hard change. 

The command of his cutter is another great improvement from last year to this year. He's keeping low and away and with it's late good break, it's like a nice little slider . Last year he missed too much in the middle of the plate where it becomes a bp fastball.

Kremer can now give a batter five looks with a fastball that can reach 95-95 on occasion with good riding life up in the zone, a cutter that moves away on righties, a change that moves away from lefties, a curveball that moves down and away on righties and even an occasional sinker instead of a cut on the fastball.

When you combine that with a career best 5.3% walk rate, you get a guy who is totally different then the one that arrived in the big leagues.

With his better command, it's hard not to like what he's done, even if he does still give up some hard contact and doesn't miss a ton of bats. For me, he's got a great chance tp be part of this rotation moving forward into the future, even if it's probably more like a 4th starter.

The wall helps him.  But if he doesn’t start to miss bats and get more Ks, I think his ceiling is limited.

That said, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a piece at the back of the rotation, after all a 4th or 5th starter isn’t usually a position where we see over the top gaudy stats.

The Os seem to have a collection of 4/5 guys, which is great to see.  It’s why you don’t keep Lyles.  The key is upgrading the top end of the rotation.  

[ScGO's]

1 hour ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

With exception of Bautista, the O's don't have a pitcher with elite stuff. We'll watch Verlander today and see a starting pitcher with elite stuff. Kremer doesn't miss a lot of Major league bats but he did miss a lot of minor league bats. If I remember correctly when he was at AA he led all of MiLB in Ks/9. I think he has embraced what the analytics guys have shown him about what he can do at this level to be successful. That's not a very easy thing to do when you have had some success doing something very different than what you need to do to be successful at the MLB level. 

I agree with this. Kremer is probably average in a lot of his tools, although I think he can spin it a tick higher than the avg, hence the milb Ks.  It's amazing to see an intelligent, essentially league avg stuff pitcher, embrace analytics, put a plan together, and get better through a baseball game like he does. In my opinion, he is the prototypical #5 starter on a Championship caliber baseball team. Now we just need the other 4 to slot in. With no true #1 at the moment, I do think we have our potential 2 through 5 guys in line with GrayRod, Means, Wells, & Kremer. GrayRod may turn into that #1, but then we'll need a #2. Very important need for Elias to contemplate this offseason