Grayson Rodriguez 2023

[Sports Guy]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Has anyone noticed how often Grayson draws a really tough opposing pitcher?   So far he’s faced off against Jacob deGrom, Dylan Cease, Eduardo Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Shohei Ohtani, Jon Gray, Shane McClanahan, Gerritt Cole, and now tonight he’ll face Framber Valdez.   Well, I guess he won’t be intimidated come playoff time!

Yea, it’s crazy how it has worked out but it prepares him very well. Tough teams, tough pitchers, etc…it’s what we envision him being able to do..go toe to toe with the best.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Sports Guy

[baltfan]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Has anyone noticed how often Grayson draws a really tough opposing pitcher?   So far he’s faced off against Jacob deGrom, Dylan Cease, Eduardo Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Shohei Ohtani, Jon Gray, Shane McClanahan, Gerritt Cole, and now tonight he’ll face Framber Valdez.   Well, I guess he won’t be intimidated come playoff time!

When you are effectively the 5, this can happen a lot since rotations between teams get out of sync over the course of a year.

[Baltimorecuse]

51 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

You should have gotten flamed. 

For agreeing with Ben MacDonald?  

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Baltimorecuse said:

For agreeing with Ben MacDonald?  

Well first of all, it’s McDonald.

Secondly, psychological issues is extremely over dramatic and makes it sound way worse than it is. He just has some maturity issues that he has to get over, mostly from experience.

If you are blowing it up to make it more than it is, which you probably were, people had every right to “flame you”.

[Frobby]

I think some people hear “psychological” and think you’re saying there’s something wrong with the guy.   I do think Grayson has gotten flustered at times.  Also, I’ve noticed that he’s so determined to get through the sixth inning that he starts overthinking things in the sixth.   He’s had a whole bunch of games go south in that inning, and I don’t think it’s fatigue.  His last start was a good example. 

There’s little doubt in my mind that he’s going to overcome these issues as he gains experience.  
 

[Baltimorecuse]

9 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think some people hear “psychological” and think you’re saying there’s something wrong with the guy.   I do think Grayson has gotten flustered at times.  Also, I’ve noticed that he’s so determined to get through the sixth inning that he starts overthinking things in the sixth.   He’s had a whole bunch of games go south in that inning, and I don’t think it’s fatigue.  His last start was a good example. 

There’s little doubt in my mind that he’s going to overcome these issues as he gains experience.  
 

Go back and look at that last inning GR pitched before he was sent down.  It looked to me like he was having a temper tantrum out there. Then he sneered at Hyde when he was lifted.   Since he's been back it looks to me like Hyde is making every effort to make sure he's not overloaded.  

We all know pitchers can't be chronic hotheads.  They need to stay in the moment.  

[scarey1999]

If I’m not mistaken, in addition to these tough matchups, he’s also had to deal with more weather related delays, etc than any other Orioles SP. 

[Baltimorecuse]

5 minutes ago, scarey1999 said:

If I’m not mistaken, in addition to these tough matchups, he’s also had to deal with more weather related delays, etc than any other Orioles SP. 

Not to mention pitching in tropic humidity.  He's still looked terrific.  

[Frobby]

Good effort by Grayson wasted last night.  6 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s.  63 strikes in 93 pitches.  

[e16bball]

When Grayson got sent down, I made a post about his staggeringly high HR/FB rate and the possibility that it was evidence of the pitch tipping concerns. His HR/FB rate was 27%, which was one of the highest anyone has posted in recent memory. He gave up a shocking 11 HRs in his last 21 innings in the bigs before being demoted.

Whatever they changed in Norfolk, it seems to have pretty effectively addressed this particular issue. He hasn’t given up a single HR since returning. Including his time at Norfolk, he’s now gone about 40 innings without yielding one. 

That’s a pretty remarkable mid-season change.

[sportsfan8703]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

Good effort by Grayson wasted last night.  6 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s.  63 strikes in 93 pitches.  

I don’t think it’s wasted. That’s now back to back really good outings against playoff teams. I think Grayson is at where we need him to be. He just has to maintain. Of course he could be better and bump up to 100 pitches from 90, but 90 is pretty much to be expected in a playoff type start. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I don’t think it’s wasted. That’s now back to back really good outings against playoff teams. I think Grayson is at where we need him to be. He just has to maintain. Of course he could be better and bump up to 100 pitches from 90, but 90 is pretty much to be expected in a playoff type start. 

I only meant that the team wasted the opportunity he gave them to win the game.  It’s not a waste in terms of his development.  

As to pitch counts, I think Grayson can throw 100, but at 93 he wasn’t going to finish another inning and I think the O’s just wanted to give a reliever a clean inning.  If the 6th hadn’t gotten extended  by that close play at 1B and follow-on single, I think they might have let Grayson try to get through 7.   Really a good outing from him though.  
 

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Frobby said:

I only meant that the team wasted the opportunity he gave them to win the game.  It’s not a waste in terms of his development.  

As to pitch counts, I think Grayson can throw 100, but at 93 he wasn’t going to finish another inning and I think the O’s just wanted to give a reliever a clean inning.  If the 6th hadn’t gotten extended  by that close play at 1B and follow-on single, I think they might have let Grayson try to get through 7.   Really a good outing from him though.  
 

He wasn’t facing the top of the lineup again.

[Sports Guy]

 

[Frobby]

37 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

 

I might add, of the 11 ER, 4 were inherited runners that the relievers let score.   Since returning, he’s left 6 runners on base, 4 of whom scored.  The first two were in the Dodgers game where Grayson left with nobody out, runners on 1st and 2nd.  Baker came in and got two outs, then walked a guy and yielded a grand slam.  The second two were in the Blue Jays game where Grayson left with two outs and runners on first and second, and Fuji came in and walked the next guy and then hit two batters, scoring both of Grayson’s runners.   

Pitchers leave runners on base at their peril, but 4 out of 6 scoring is a below average outcome.  On average, 33% of inherited runners score.  The probabilities vary depending on what bases are occupied and how many outs there are when the pitcher exits.  But that’s still a below average result taking those factors into account.