Dean Kremer 2024

[interloper]

I've said this a lot about Kremer and received a little pushback, but I describe him as "mercurial". What I mean is not just that he's a starter that has good games and bad (they all do), but that he will fluctuate in velocity, in pitch selection, in breaking stuff shape, in sequence, even in demeanor on the mound. He will fall in love with the cutter, or the fastball, or the curveball, or whatever, seemingly at random. Sometimes he will make good in-game adjustments, sometimes he will be stubborn not to. 

Put all of this together and, despite his good or even great moments, he's a #5 starting pitcher. A good one, but a #5 on a good team. Because he simply cannot be trusted any more than that. He's a right-handed Cole Irvin. And before you argue that he's way better than Irvin, consider Irvin's Oakland numbers. Similar innings (~180), similar ERA (~4+). 

Dean is a guy I would put in the bullpen on a playoff roster, or start in a last minute injury replacement scenario, but if he's getting planned starts, it will mean that Elias has absolutely failed in finding pitching this deadline. Dean is perfectly fine as a backend starter during the season, but he is far too unreliable in a playoff scenario.

Edited July 10 by interloper

[Ceciltrav]

Kremer is what he is.  At the beginning of training camp he was fighting with Irvin and Wells for the 5th starter spot.  Then, the news broke on Means and Bradish and he was the number 3 again.  He's going to have outings where he keeps you in the game and some where he won't.  I would have pitched Burnes and had Burnes again Sunday verse the Yanks.  Now you have Povich and Kremer going against them.  

[LookitsPuck]

Kremer just doesn't have the stuff to routinely bail out the defense. He's similar to Cano in that regard. Do things unwind yesterday if this defense could put together a couple weeks of being exceptional? I don't think so, but we saw this same thing happen in the Brewers outing by Kremer - some dinks/dunks, poor defense, and when it was all said and done - he imploded. 

Kremer can't be your #3. Suarez can't be your #4. And I really like Povich long term, so he does need to get seasoning, but a mediocre #3 makes the rest of the rotation look problematic and lackluster.

The O's really need a stabilizing arm in the middle of the rotation. They just can't go forward with this middle/back of the rotation as currently set. 

[justD]

Gotta say I was pretty disappointed in his postgame interview.  I must have been watching a different game, or don't know how to assess a good or bad pitching performance.  "Issues with your command tonight? No, all my pitches were in or around the zone." 

The new splitter was lights out last time, apparently.  I did look it up this morning and he absolutely has his lowest BAA (.125) with that pitch.  So AR was calling for it a LOT in the first few innings, it seemed, and it would fly way up out of the zone and no one was fooled.  Over and over.  He kept throwing it anyway.  

It did seemingly induce the weak contact it was purported to - good lord the number of soft hits, either in the IF or short OF - but the defense couldn't handle weak contact, it seemed. 

This could be a really good outing for learning lots of things about his approach and use of his split-finger fastball and how the team can be better prepared for it next time out.  

All this being said, I may not know what the heck I'm talking about, either. 

[ShoelesJoe]

36 minutes ago, justD said:

Gotta say I was pretty disappointed in his postgame interview.  I must have been watching a different game, or don't know how to assess a good or bad pitching performance.  "Issues with your command tonight? No, all my pitches were in or around the zone." 

 

It looked to me like the pitches that got tagged were exactly where Kremer and Adley wanted them to be, which is not a good sign. Busch's first inning HR was on the outside corner, and he still pulled it on to the flag court. For Happ's 3-run HR that put the game away Adley placed his target high and on the inside corner which is where Kremer put it, and Happ still had no problem hitting it on to Eutaw St. 

If you're missing your spots and getting blasted at least you know what needs to be fixed. If you're hitting your spots and getting blasted maybe you're in the wrong line of work. 

[jabba72]

Its his 2nd start back from a triceps strain, we don't really know how much of an effect that could have had on his arm. Supposedly his velo is down. But for now he's our #3. For better or worse, until the O's find a better option Im willing to give him some more time to get things straightened out. 

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, justD said:

Gotta say I was pretty disappointed in his postgame interview.  I must have been watching a different game, or don't know how to assess a good or bad pitching performance.  "Issues with your command tonight? No, all my pitches were in or around the zone." 

The new splitter was lights out last time, apparently.  I did look it up this morning and he absolutely has his lowest BAA (.125) with that pitch.  So AR was calling for it a LOT in the first few innings, it seemed, and it would fly way up out of the zone and no one was fooled.  Over and over.  He kept throwing it anyway.  

It did seemingly induce the weak contact it was purported to - good lord the number of soft hits, either in the IF or short OF - but the defense couldn't handle weak contact, it seemed. 

This could be a really good outing for learning lots of things about his approach and use of his split-finger fastball and how the team can be better prepared for it next time out.  

All this being said, I may not know what the heck I'm talking about, either. 

Good info about the splitter.  Just like Cowser making contact, it's great when he does.  Kremer has a great splitter when teams chase it.  He's gotta have his fastball command to set the splitter up.  Hopefully, our analytics department will get him on the right track with pitch selection.  

[1fingerwillie]

13 hours ago, AlbNYfan said:

It certainly wasn't an acceptable performance by Kremer and others. Gunnar has to learn to eat the ball when he has no play. Urias?? The O's gave the Cubs excellent opportunities and it cost the O's runs. Extra pitches can lead to extra runs. I thought AR did a pretty poor job framing borderline low pitches. It was probably Kremer's inconsistency more than AR. Seemed like Kremer was having a problem with the heat too.

It could have been so much worse. Imagine if Coby Mayo instead of a gold glover was playing 3rd.

[Allan Bryant]

1 hour ago, 1fingerwillie said:

It could have been so much worse. Imagine if Coby Mayo instead of a gold glover was playing 3rd.

That’s why I’ve been saying put Mayo at 1st , not 3rd 

[Malike]

22 minutes ago, Allan Bryant said:

That’s why I’ve been saying put Mayo at 1st , not 3rd 

He hasn't been great there either.

[Allan Bryant]

4 minutes ago, Malike said:

He hasn't been great there either.

Would you rather he play 3rd base instead ?   Which position is more important defensively ?

[Malike]

1 minute ago, Allan Bryant said:

Would you rather he play 3rd base instead ?   Which position is more important defensively ?

I would rather he play 3B yes. Ever seen Gunnar Henderson try and throw a ball to first? You need someone there who can make great scoops and catches.

[Allan Bryant]

14 minutes ago, Malike said:

I would rather he play 3B yes. Ever seen Gunnar Henderson try and throw a ball to first? You need someone there who can make great scoops and catches.

Don’t we have a 3rd baseman named Westburg  ?  Haven’t heard any questions about his defense and his batting.281 . If it’s not broken , why fix it ?

[Malike]

8 minutes ago, Allan Bryant said:

Don’t we have a 3rd baseman named Westburg  ?  Haven’t heard any questions about his defense and his batting.281 . If it’s not broken , why fix it ?

Ever seen Westburg play second base? He's pretty damned good there and a big upgrade from Mateo. You seem to think the only way to get Mayo on the team is at 1B, that's just wrong.

Edited July 11 by Malike

[Allan Bryant]

1 hour ago, Malike said:

Ever seen Westburg play second base? He's pretty damned good there and a big upgrade from Mateo. You seem to think the only way to get Mayo on the team is at 1B, that's just wrong.

No I’ve haven’t seen Westburg play 2nd base . I think Westburg plays better at 3rd base but just my opinion . 
I’m with you that Mayo should be up now , but we just disagree on what position Mayo should play . Either way let’s hope we see him play soon