Earning Ace reputation

[Just Regular]

The Mariners are a good occasion to consider the label, and this weekend is probably as pure a dress rehearsal for an ALWC series as the season is likely to give if the division can't be defended.

Corbin Burnes is, but are Kyle Bradish or Grayson Rodriguez?

Luis Castillo and George Kirby are, but is Logan Gilbert?

Some of it is the long haul, but the young Mariners guys start to show up even reaching back to 2022.

Last 2.25 years, fWAR suggests MLB's top dozen active roster aces are:

>10 fWAR: Wheeler, Gausman, Nola, Webb, Gallen, Cease

>8 fWAR: Verlander, Framber, Burnes, Kirby, Lopez, Castillo

I think there's a tier drop from that dozen to Sonny Gray (also at 8 fWAR, but I am skeptical of his age and HR magic) and down, with the Orioles and Mariners young guys some of the best looking bets with Paul Skenes to start kicking the older guys out.    Logan Gilbert is only about 15% down to the back of that list over the last three seasons, counting 2024 as one of them.

Edited May 16 by Just Regular

[sportsfan8703]

We're facing their big 3, but yet they aren't facing our big 3 of Burnes, Bradish, Grayson.  So it's not necessarily a playoff preview.  The back of the rotation will have to step it up.  2/3 would be huge here.  

[DirtyBird]

If Corbin Burnes is an Ace, why doesn't he perform like one?

[dystopia]

2 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

If Corbin Burnes is an Ace, why doesn't he perform like one?

If DirtyBird is an Orioles fan, why doesn’t he post like one? 

[Moose Milligan]

2.68 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP.  Seems pretty good to me.

[Just Regular]

6 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We're facing their big 3, but yet they aren't facing our big 3 of Burnes, Bradish, Grayson.  So it's not necessarily a playoff preview.  The back of the rotation will have to step it up.  2/3 would be huge here.  

Grayson TBD, but I think if Grayson and Burnes pitch, that's a quorum.

To @DirtyBird's point, if Corbin Burnes' jeans aren't fitting like they used to, maybe they'll give him an extra day to keep him fresh for the long haul.

There are tens if not hundreds of millions of onion layers to how that player and his club are regulating his intensity on the eve of being the strongest SP free agent since Gerrit Cole.     Burnes knows what he needs to do if he doesn't want the Blake Snell skepticism.

 

[DirtyBird]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

2.68 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP.  Seems pretty good to me.

MLB Ranks

ERA - 21st

WHIP - 16th

FIP - 36th

That is with the benefit of facing KC (twice), Angels, Oakland, and Washington

[Moose Milligan]

I'll take 200 innings of a 2.68 ERA for a season and a 1.000-ish Whip.  Should win a lot of ballgames with that.

[sportsfan8703]

7 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I'll take 200 innings of a 2.68 ERA for a season and a 1.000-ish Whip.  Should win a lot of ballgames with that.

Yes it should.  Also, maybe Burnes agreed to come to us if we played nice with load management in his walk year???

[Frobby]

27 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

2.68 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP.  Seems pretty good to me.

And on pace to throw 197 innings.  I’d sign for it in blood.  

Let’s remember too that last year, Burnes started slowly and got better as the season progressed.   So hopefully the best is yet to come.  
 

[Moose Milligan]

7 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Yes it should.  Also, maybe Burnes agreed to come to us if we played nice with load management in his walk year???

Well he was traded to us, I don't believe he had a say/so in the matter.

[G54377]

I've always thought the difference between "ace" and "#1 starter" is more to do with the established history and relatively injury free reputation. Someone is an ace if they have done it for years putting up the numbers and consistently pitch 30+ starts. A #1 starter has the stuff but might have had some injury derailing seasons or inconsistency (Cease).

[DirtyBird]

19 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I'll take 200 innings of a 2.68 ERA for a season and a 1.000-ish Whip.  Should win a lot of ballgames with that.

14th in innings pitched. I guess we should expect a lot of 200 inning guys this season, considering last season there were 4.

[Moose Milligan]

If he winds up at 190 innings, I'm not crying about it.

[sportsfan8703]

18 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Well he was traded to us, I don't believe he had a say/so in the matter.

Of course, but you don't think we had some prior conversations with him and some ideas about load management for this season were discussed?  Load management will be good for Burnes and us.  We need him available for the playoffs.