Comments on: Price is the future ace of the Rays. And the future is now. http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/42/price-is-the-future-ace-of-the-rays-and-the-future-is-now/ Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:55:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Bob R. http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/42/price-is-the-future-ace-of-the-rays-and-the-future-is-now/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Bob R. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:46:31 +0000 http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/?p=42#comment-5 It is not a question of having a good team behind him. It is a question of whether he is ready to be a major league starter when he does not have a reliable off-speed pitch. The seasoning is not for his toughness, but for his pitching skills, and you do not want him experimenting or polishing his skills in major league games. That is what minor league games are for. Nor can you be satisfied with work done in the bullpen. The only way for a pitcher really to develop his pitches and his ability to set up hitters is in real game situations. It is possible the Rays will decide he is ready now for the majors. I am simply saying that fans should not be disappointed or upset if they decide otherwise. Rather we should be grateful that they are being sensible about such a remarkable talent and taking every precaution to maximize his impact when he is ready to make it. It is not a question of having a good team behind him. It is a question of whether he is ready to be a major league starter when he does not have a reliable off-speed pitch. The seasoning is not for his toughness, but for his pitching skills, and you do not want him experimenting or polishing his skills in major league games. That is what minor league games are for. Nor can you be satisfied with work done in the bullpen. The only way for a pitcher really to develop his pitches and his ability to set up hitters is in real game situations.

It is possible the Rays will decide he is ready now for the majors. I am simply saying that fans should not be disappointed or upset if they decide otherwise. Rather we should be grateful that they are being sensible about such a remarkable talent and taking every precaution to maximize his impact when he is ready to make it.

]]> By: TEG http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/42/price-is-the-future-ace-of-the-rays-and-the-future-is-now/comment-page-1/#comment-4 TEG Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:58:34 +0000 http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/?p=42#comment-4 Agreed that he could definitely need a little bit more seasoning, BUT, he would have a much better situation that most young pitchers to walk into...because the defense behind him is sound, and from the looks of things with the signing of Pat Burrell and assumed offensive improvement from B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena puts together another solid year and Carl Crawford rebounds from his worst offensive season...he would have a lot more run support than we have seen from the Rays in years past. The cool he showed on the mound in some tense situations even a seasoned veteran may buckle under...indicate he is ready for a legit shot at being a full time starter in the bigs. Agreed that he could definitely need a little bit more seasoning, BUT, he would have a much better situation that most young pitchers to walk into…because the defense behind him is sound, and from the looks of things with the signing of Pat Burrell and assumed offensive improvement from B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena puts together another solid year and Carl Crawford rebounds from his worst offensive season…he would have a lot more run support than we have seen from the Rays in years past.

The cool he showed on the mound in some tense situations even a seasoned veteran may buckle under…indicate he is ready for a legit shot at being a full time starter in the bigs.

]]> By: Bob R. http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/42/price-is-the-future-ace-of-the-rays-and-the-future-is-now/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Bob R. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:41:03 +0000 http://www.tampabayraysfan.com/?p=42#comment-3 It is possible that the Rays will start Price in the majors, but there are good reasons to doubt they will and good reasons to agree they shouldn't. First, the sample size of his performance in the majors is far too small to draw any conclusions. It is 14 innings plus 5.2 in the post-season. That is a meaningless sample no matter how impressive they seem. Only one of those appearances was as a starter, and in that case, after 4 impressive innings, he ran into trouble in the 5th inning when he allowed 2 runs and then was pulled with one out in the 6th after allowing 2 hits to start the inning (and then getting a K). In the only other appearance of more than 1.2 innings he came into a 6-3 game (Rays losing) and went 5.1 allowing 2 more runs. Overall he pitched just 109.2 innings in the minors, rarely going past the 6th. I don't think the Rays want to overwork him, but if he starts they either do that or risk overusing the bullpen whenever he starts. Also, while his minor league experience was very promising, it was not overwhelming. His K rate was good but not exceptional for a future ace and his BB rate and K rate declined at each new level. In Montgomery he gave up 7 home runs in just 57 innings and at Durham his ERA was 4.5 with 9 BBs in 18 innings and 22 hits as well. None of this is meant to suggest he will not be a star, but it does suggest he could use more seasoning. It is clear that he does not yet have a solid off-speed pitch, and it is unlikely that he will fulfill his potential with just the fastball and slider no matter how good they are. You do not want him working on the off-speed stuff in the majors on a contender but rather in the minors where he can experiment without the pressure of having to win. The Rays are very conservative about promoting prospects, wanting them to be as ready as possible before getting to the majors, and if they keep him at Durham to start 2009 it means their judgment is he needs the time to mature as a pitcher. Patience is the key, not rushing young talent no matter how promising. It is possible that the Rays will start Price in the majors, but there are good reasons to doubt they will and good reasons to agree they shouldn’t.

First, the sample size of his performance in the majors is far too small to draw any conclusions. It is 14 innings plus 5.2 in the post-season. That is a meaningless sample no matter how impressive they seem.

Only one of those appearances was as a starter, and in that case, after 4 impressive innings, he ran into trouble in the 5th inning when he allowed 2 runs and then was pulled with one out in the 6th after allowing 2 hits to start the inning (and then getting a K).

In the only other appearance of more than 1.2 innings he came into a 6-3 game (Rays losing) and went 5.1 allowing 2 more runs.

Overall he pitched just 109.2 innings in the minors, rarely going past the 6th. I don’t think the Rays want to overwork him, but if he starts they either do that or risk overusing the bullpen whenever he starts.

Also, while his minor league experience was very promising, it was not overwhelming. His K rate was good but not exceptional for a future ace and his BB rate and K rate declined at each new level. In Montgomery he gave up 7 home runs in just 57 innings and at Durham his ERA was 4.5 with 9 BBs in 18 innings and 22 hits as well.

None of this is meant to suggest he will not be a star, but it does suggest he could use more seasoning. It is clear that he does not yet have a solid off-speed pitch, and it is unlikely that he will fulfill his potential with just the fastball and slider no matter how good they are. You do not want him working on the off-speed stuff in the majors on a contender but rather in the minors where he can experiment without the pressure of having to win.

The Rays are very conservative about promoting prospects, wanting them to be as ready as possible before getting to the majors, and if they keep him at Durham to start 2009 it means their judgment is he needs the time to mature as a pitcher. Patience is the key, not rushing young talent no matter how promising.

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