Can We Talk About Next Year Now?

[Sports Guy]

25 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Nobody is an ideal fit but I think we can make Snell work. Yes, we have to spend money on him, but we also get to keep our prospects which keeps future payroll down. Also, we can afford to coddle Snell during the regular season to maximize him.

No move is going to be risk free. I’m all for coddling Snell for years and letting him be our Ace in the playoffs. 

No move is risk free but some moves are riskier than others.  And 5+ years for any pitcher, especially one with a history of inconsistencies and health, is a risk we shouldn’t take.

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

Bradish had 9Ks through 4.2ip

The season ended with the Os having 2 of the top 3 pitchers in the AL since the AllStar break.  Those pitchers are 23 & 24 y/o and will continue to improve.  

You will be hard pressed to improve on our top two pitchers no matter what you are willing to spend or trade.  

Bradish was 26 this season, and turned 27 in September, but who’s counting?  

I am very bullish on both pitchers but they do need to come back next year and prove they can build on their success.  And of course, they need to stay healthy.  
 

[emmett16]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Bradish was 26 this season, and turned 27 in September, but who’s counting?  

I am very bullish on both pitchers but they do need to come back next year and prove they can build on their success.  And of course, they need to stay healthy.  
 

For some reason I thought he was only 1 year older than Grayson(who is about to turn 24 ) I stand corrected.  

[MCO'sFan]

3 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

25% K rate too high. His exit velocity was still there. Seems like his power numbers should improve.

Yeah, he definately pressed some. I am hoping that he's able to adjust. 

[Bemorewins]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

For me the tricky question is how much of our loss to Texas was not having top end talent, and how much was just the random timing of a baseball season.  I mean, the Dodgers just got swept, do they lack premium talent?

I can think back on several World Series winning teams where their most successful playoff pitchers were young guys who hadn’t yet fully established themselves as aces but eventually did.  

Saying that, I’d love to have 1-2 above average players who have had postseason success on this team.  
 

To answer your question about the Dodgers - I didn't believe that they would be successful in this year's postseason because of their lack of starting pitching. This was the worse pitching staff that they have had in many years IMO. On top of that, Urias was having a terrible season and then he had the off field incident that I am sure was an unnecessary distraction for their entire team. I am sure that they have plans to rectify their pitching issues this offseason though.  

[Bemorewins]

47 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

Bradish had 9Ks through 4.2ip
 

The season ended with the Os having 2 of the top 3 pitchers in the AL since the AllStar break.  Those pitchers are 23 & 24 y/o and will continue to improve.  
 

You will be hard pressed to improve on our top two pitchers no matter what you are willing to spend or trade.  
 

 

Edit: GRod is 23 & Bradish is 27.  

I love BOTH Bradish and Grayson. I felt the inexperience could be problematic because many pitchers struggle their first go at it in the postseason. My issue was not having an anchor around them (a more experienced veteran who is still good - NOT Kyle Gibson who has always been mediocre except for 1 season in TEX). 

But the greater issue that I had with our roster construction is that we didn't have anything besides Bradish and a rookie Grayson to reasonably rely upon. I even made the point several times on this board throughout the season that I felt it was asking an awful lot of a young pitcher like Grayson to be one of our main frontline guys in October. I was also concerned about relying on Kremer who is very inconsistent and had many inconsistent stretches through the season - he could give you 7 strong or just as likely bomb out by the 2nd/3rd inning which he did on multiple occasions this year. I again made the point about he and Gibson going all the way back to pre-Summer, that I would never want either starting for me in the playoffs and having to rely upon either with my season on the brink.

Bottom line is - Grayson and Bradish are good pitchers who I am comfortable with. Means while good in the past, is an absolute wildcard with the injury issues. Kremer is a good 5th starter. So beyond that I would like a reliable veteran with experience next year to do for us what Eovaldi did for the Rangers. Maybe a Snell/Eduardo Rodrguez/Aaron Nola?

[emmett16]

26 minutes ago, MCO'sFan said:

Yeah, he definately pressed some. I am hoping that he's able to adjust. 

In game power is the last tool to materialize.  

[MCO'sFan]

40 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

In game power is the last tool to materialize.  

Let's hope it does. Certainly taking him awhile. Hopefully, he will get everyday at bats. 

[Oriole1940]

I know pitching and defense are always most important in a rebuild, but I will always believe that this years failure was in the hitting department for lack thereof.   I have said multiple times that we needed a MOO  RBI man.  Nothing happened to make me believe this  less.  We were correct to work on pitching and defense, but at this stage in rebuild, ie,  lets concentrate on that 1 or even 2  additional bats that can put us over the top.  Asking the question of a successful season?   To me anything short of a WS victory  is not 100% successful.    

[linedrive]

You can never have enough pitching. Hopefully we can get at least one dominant arm for the starting rotation this off season, and get some legit bullpen arms to boot. I think we're good everywhere else, although I wouldn't mind getting a qualified DH for the middle of the lineup.

[Frobby]

9 hours ago, emmett16 said:

In game power is the last tool to materialize.  

I think that maxim applies more to raw power guys who haven’t yet hit for power in games at any pro level.  Westburg hit 27 homers in the minors last year, 18 in 67 games this year in AAA.  I would have expected more game power from Westburg than we got this year in the majors.  But, I’m not worried about it.  He’ll do fine.