After watching 5 Yovanni Gallardo starts in this young season we can ask the question: What is his ceiling this year assuming he stays healthy?
He's averaging almost 7 innings per start so far. A strikeout per inning. His ERA is under 3 (only Looper has a better ERA for starters but Gallardo has an extra start in). He has allowed only 2 earned runs his last 23 innings.
And oh...with the stick he's got as many total bases (10) as Jason Kendall in 43 fewer at bats.
The list of accolades for the guy keep on growing. It's clear the team's push back over .500 has been the offense (and particularly Braun) heating up, but the starting pitching has been "solid" the whole time too with Gallardo leading the way. Can we expect this type of pitching from him the rest of the season? If he gets 34 starts and wins 3 out of every 5 games that equals a 20 game winner. Can he actually throw 230+ innings after basically being shut down last year?
Only time will tell if his hot start will continue over the course of the whole season. Right now though...there is no denying his "ace" status. He's the type of guy that can carry a team. We'll need him this year on days like today to be fearless when we need a sweep...or in the dog days of August during a losing streak when we need him to be a stopper.
In the offseason all you heard about were questions about the Brewers starting pitching. Well...there's no question about Gallardo. As long as Bush and Looper keep "doing what they're doing" and Parra and Suppan improve (Parra has to right?) the Brewers are a contending team.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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13 comments:
Can Gallardo play Shortstop? He has better pitch selection at the plate than some other shortstops on the team...
Who in their right mind would throw the same pitches to JJ???
Career Batting Averages:
Yo's .254
Brad Nelson's .095
Clown, help me....
I need you to bash the info into my brain that explains why Yo is so damn good. For some reason he's a black hole in my mind... I don't understand it. Is he a control pitcher? A nibbler? Does he have plus stuff? I mean, with Sheets and CC, i understood because i could see the movement on the pitches, the velocity. Hell, i get why Dave Bush either dominates or gives up gopher balls (hanging curves, bp velocity fastball). Yo just doesn't click in my brain. Part of it is the year he broke out i was in Oregon and didn't get to see him pitch- as a matter of fact, i think i've only ever seen him pitch once. Help fix my brain, guys.
I would say Gallardo is good because he has 2 plus pitches - a plus fastball (91-95 mph) that he can locate, a plus curveball and a developing changeup.
And he knows how to pitch.
But take that for what it's worth - nothing. I'm no scout.
Matt-
Does he really hit 95? I know the in-game thing is a little inaccurate, but i've only ever seen low ninties... And i guess i've been spoiled with Bush/Sheets' curveball, as i saw nothing spectacular about it. That's not to say you're wrong at all. Like i said, I know Yo's good (and thank jebus for that!), my brain just isn't processing it.
BTW- I'm going to request that Prince kick Parra's ass... maybe it'll wake him from his stupor.
I like how Gallardo has already won two games this year where he dominated AND supplied all of the offense, oh and he also lost a 1-0 to Santana. Nice run support guys!
That pitcher for the Pirates threw 131 pitches yesterday.....in April......for the Pirates. Some questionable decisions by the Pittsburgh manager in this series, whover that may be.
I have seen him in the mid 90s on the gun in the past, although who knows how accurate those are. I think he can reach back and get there if he needs to, but he's more comfortably in the 91-93 range, with movement. (I'm laughing at myself, throwing out this scout speak as if I know).
From what I have seen Gallardo doesn't throw his curve as hard as Sheets does (did) but it is plenty good. Lots of break. It is a strikeout pitch.
Check out this story with some quotes from some people from the Brewers on Yo's stuff.
Link
I think its foolish to pitch him more than 200 innings. I know some people like to acknowledge the Year After Effect (AKA Verducci Effect), but I think it would be silly to just ignore it.
Also, Gallardo's fastball averages 91.1 MPH and he throws it 64% of the time. His curve is his out pitch at 23.4% of the time and 79.3 MPH. The slider and the change are thrown less often (about 6% and 5% respectively) but both are around 84 MPH. So, like yesterday, if Gallardo dominates the zone by pounding with 92 MPH accurate fastballs, then spikes a curve for a strike, he can switch it up with the change and slider the second or third time through the order. Simply changing locations and keeping hitters guessing while excercizing great control.
Thanks guys!
I didn't realize he had such a large speed difference on his curve from his fastball; probably because he seems to just throw his fastball and move it around. Which i love, by the way.
I'm hoping that Cody Scarpetta develops his control, as he throws in the low/mid ninties with a sharp, slow curve (75mph). Yo, Scarpetta, Bush, and (god willing) Manny with some control would be a good rotation. But there's a lot of ifs.
He is Batman
Answer: Jason Kendall
Gallardo has great stuff, but he's young and needs direction. Kendall calls one hell of a game.
For an example of bad pitch calling and fruity white nail polish see Johnny Estrada. Unless your landing a fucking plane I don't think that's necessary.
Haha...
I just wish JK could hit this year.
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