D Hernandez 4/12 - Durham Bulls

[Lucky Jim]

So long as the runner was on the base the firs time Reimold touched the ball, he's fine (this is the rule to prevent OF's tapping to themselves to throw off the runners' tagging).

Yeah - that was the (quiet) explanation from the announcers.

I'd never seen it happen before. Interesting.

[Mackus]

There are some pretty substantial differences between the two. Most importantly, the fact that DH repeats his delivery well and has no real hint of the mechanical issues that Liz does.

And stamina didn't look to be the problem - he was still very strong in the 5th. Just on the pitch count. Economy is the key. Right now, though, he looks like he could be the kind of guy who - on a 100 pitches - can get through 7 innings. But his control/command makes him no sure thing as a starter.

His slider looked very very good, though.

I didn't mean to necessarily imply that stamina - in a physical sense - was his limitation. Just meant that in general, not consistently going deep into games seems to be what is giving most people pause in regards to projecting him as a starter. Also, I'm not one of the people that thinks he won't make it as a starter, he's just gotta figure out how to pitch longer into games.

[snatch311]

Maybe Hernandez can lead another level in K's like he did A and AA.

[Lucky Jim]

I didn't mean to necessarily imply that stamina - in a physical sense - was his limitation. Just meant that in general, not consistently going deep into games seems to be what is giving most people pause in regards to projecting him as a starter. Also, I'm not one of the people that thinks he won't make it as a starter, he's just gotta figure out how to pitch longer into games.

Oh, I understand. I just wanted to make clear that he was still strong into the fifth. His velocity actually improved in the middle innings.

I think he can do it, if he can add even a marginal amount of command. We know from lefties like Bedard and Kazmir that there's value in guys who can give you seven innings of high-K/low-H pitching.

[RVAbird]

There are some pretty substantial differences between the two. Most importantly, the fact that DH repeats his delivery well and has no real hint of the mechanical issues that Liz does.

And stamina didn't look to be the problem - he was still very strong in the 5th. Just on the pitch count. Economy is the key. Right now, though, he looks like he could be the kind of guy who - on a 100 pitches - can get through 7 innings. But his control/command makes him no sure thing as a starter.

His slider looked very very good, though.

This is about right, from what I've observed/read/heard. He doesn't tire late into the game and his fastball velocity stays strong. His problem is limiting his pitches (command), locating his pitches well into later innings (command in the zone) and varying his pitches enough to get through a lineup the third time through. Physically, he's got what it takes to be a starter. He needs to improve his command and economize on his pitch count as the innings pile up.

I still have hope that he can end up as a ML starting pitcher, but I think he's at least a pretty disgusting late inning reliever.

He's ready to step into that role right now, but he needs some more seasoning if he's going to try to stick as a starter, which is why Bergesen is ahead of him in the pecking order. Bergesen's probably about as good as he'll ever be right now.*

Edit: *Just to clarify why I think this: A pitcher's physical ability to miss bats usually enters its peak in his early to mid twenties and almost invariably declines with age. The reason some pitchers are left in the minors at age 23, 24, 25 etc. is because they are unpolished/lack command (see: Hernandez). Bergesen has and has always had impeccable command. His ability to miss bats and strike out batters is just above the threshold for potential success at the ML level as long as his BB rate is low and he induces ground balls, and it probably won't get any better than it is right now. So, to me, he is the kind of pitcher who can experience success from ages 23-27 but isn't incredibly likely to stick around after that (though, of course, it's possible). There are plenty of pitchers who fit this historical profile. There might be a slight learning curve where his k-rate goes up at the ML level as he learns to get hitters out, but his physical ability to miss bats (velocity and movement) isn't likely to get any better than it is now. Hernandez, on the other hand, has a whole heck of a lot of room to decline in K-rate and still be successful, and he could definitely still improve his command and polish, so there's reason to keep him in AAA.

[orioole28]

Yeah, a great 5th starter. Another starter that can't make it through the 5th inning.

You're usually right on when you post, but this time, I don't quite understand what you're getting at. It was obvious his was pulled because of pitch count, because if you were watching, he was pretty much dominating Durham's batters. If it wasn't for a 75 pitch limited he could of possibly gotten into the 7th inning.

Hernandez was easily the best Norfolk pitcher I saw - and I saw about eight of our guys pitch in two nights. David was clearly in control of the game. I am confident he could have pitched into the seventh given the chance. He is a major league starter and probably sooner than later. I really don't think the sun/shade was much of an issue for the hitters. He made hitters look silly. Control was not a problem either. He'll be up by June.

The walk in the 5th inning hurt his chances of continuing. I can't believe that batter didn't strikeout on the slider that he held up on in the 5th inning which ended up walking. His slider was just plain nasty and his velo was increasing each inning and actually top at 96mph in the 5th inning.

[Crazysilver03]

You're usually right on when you post, but this time, I don't quite understand what you're getting at. It was obvious his was pulled because of pitch count, because if you were watching, he was pretty much dominating Durham's batters. If it wasn't for a 75 pitch limited he could of possibly gotten into the 7th inning.

The walk in the 5th inning hurt his chances of continuing. I can't believe that batter didn't strikeout on the slider that he held up on in the 5th inning which ended up walking. His slider was just plain nasty and his velo was increasing each inning and actually top at 96mph in the 5th inning.

I was trying to be sarcastic. Joking about how our pitchers can't go until the 6th inning.

[orioole28]

I was trying to be sarcastic. Joking about how our pitchers can't go until the 6th inning.

Gotcha. . .