John Smoltz is high on Tyler Wells as a starter

[wildcard]

Smoltz was on Glen Clark Radio and he is very high on the O's future especially Tyler Wells as a starter:

“I hope he goes to the rotation. This is a horse that can pitch above his No. 4 slot or No. 3 or whatever they decide,” Smoltz said. “Unless you’re going to make him a super utility reliever that pitches two and three innings at a pop, twice a week, I’d rather see him in the starting rotation.”

Here  is the whole interview.  Go to the bottom of the article for the audio.

https://pressboxonline.com/2023/10/23/john-smoltz-doesnt-see-why-orioles-cant-be-right-in-the-same-spot-next-year/

Edited October 24, 2023 by wildcard

[Sports Guy]

You can’t be a “horse” if you can’t be reliable past 100 IP.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Sports Guy

[clapdiddy]

Honestly, I prefer his idea of a "super utility reliever" for Wells.  If he can come out and blow people away for 2 innings a couple (or few) times per week, that could be  way more valuable than pitching half the season as a starter.

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Honestly, I prefer his idea of a "super utility reliever" for Wells.  If he can come out and blow people away for 2 innings a couple (or few) times per week, that could be  way more valuable than pitching half the season as a starter.

It’s the role I have said I would like to see Hall in.  But having 2 guys doing that role would be nice.

[Just Regular]

Here's a cherry pick of the 3 month span from 4.9 to 7.8 bracketing his good starts, as in hindsight his tank basically went to "I won't be able to throw effectively again for months".

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&type=2&season=2023&month=1000&season1=2023&ind=0&startdate=2023-04-09&enddate=2023-07-08&team=0&sortcol=13&sortdir=default&pagenum=1

Across that span, he was 11th MLB-wide in Pitches Thrown, while Bradish was beelined, Means was hurt, Grayson was terrible and Flaherty was in St. Louis.    I am curious to see how his 2024 might progress if the gas pedal isn't pushed so hard.     It could go either way, and I hope Wells already has clear marching orders for his offseason prep, but I'm lightly rooting for him to get a back of rotation role, and the Sigbot tries to get him through a season.

It might even be that deployment pattern maximizes his trade value for July 2024, in case next year's suppliers of Jordan Montgomery or Justin Verlander "want pitching".

[tntoriole]

I hope his arm endurance improves and he can start. 

[Jagwar]

58 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s the role I have said I would like to see Hall in.  But having 2 guys doing that role would be nice.

Isn't that also what Akin was doing in 2022? Seemed like he was very effective in that role during that season. 

[wildcard]

I asked myself "Who knows more about major league pitching.  Me or John Smoltz?    Somehow, amazingly,  I think the answer is John Smoltz.

But even if Wells is in the rotation the O's need to add starting depth especially in the 2nd half. At least a #4 starter in the playoffs.  How does all that work out?  That is what Elias is paid to figure out.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by wildcard

[Can_of_corn]

12 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I asked myself "Who knows more about major league pitching.  Me or John Smoltz?    Somehow, amazingly,  I think the answer is John Smoltz.

But even if Wells is in the rotation the O's need to add starting depth especially in the 2nd half. At least a #4 starter in the playoffs.  How does all that work out?  That is what Elias is paid to figure out.

 

 

I'm sure he does but how much has Smoltz seen Wells pitch?  Is he aware of how he faded during the season?  How much time does/can he devote to stuff like that?

 

[Frobby]

12 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I asked myself "Who knows more about major league pitching.  Me or John Smoltz?    Somehow, amazingly,  I think the answer is John Smoltz.
 

But if you had asked yourself who knows more about Tyler Wells’ career to date, the answer is you know more about it than John Smoltz.  

Most posters here think Tyler Wells is a good starter, when he’s available.  Availability is the issue, and I don’t think Smoltz knows much about Wells’ history in that regard.  
 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

But if you had asked yourself who knows more about Tyler Wells’ career to date, the answer is you know more about it than John Smoltz.  

Most posters here think Tyler Wells is a good starter, when he’s available.  Availability is the issue, and I don’t think Smoltz knows much about Wells’ history in that regard.  
 

Right..how is he even defining that he is a “horse”?

In all likelihood, he’s talking about his size and his size tells you that he should be endure a full season and pitch a lot.

Reality doesn’t say the same thing though.

[Sports Guy]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I asked myself "Who knows more about major league pitching.  Me or John Smoltz?    Somehow, amazingly,  I think the answer is John Smoltz.

But even if Wells is in the rotation the O's need to add starting depth especially in the 2nd half. At least a #4 starter in the playoffs.  How does all that work out?  That is what Elias is paid to figure out.

 

 

So are you back on the Wells as a starter train? This seems to be changing weekly with you at this point.

[wildcard]

17 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm sure he does but how much has Smoltz seen Wells pitch?  Is he aware of how he faded during the season?  How much time does/can he devote to stuff like that?

 

Did you listen to his interview?  Sounded like he knew all about it.   He said it's about preparing as a starter and working through the issues.

And remember Smoltz was both a starter and a reliever over his time in the majors.

Edited October 24, 2023 by wildcard

[wildcard]

9 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

So are you back on the Wells as a starter train? This seems to be changing weekly with you at this point.

My opinion follows the information I get.  Right now I am following what Smoltz thinks.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Did you listen to his interview?  Sounded like he knew all about it.   He said it's about preparing as a starter and working through the issues.

And remember Smoltz was both a starter and a reliever over his time in the majors.

He did?  I had no idea!

 

I'm not dismissing his knowledge but I don't think it's likely that he's had the time to closely study Wells' career.