Hector Santiago has been just OK

[Angelsjunky]

The stat pundits were saying before the season that Santiago was due for major regression, while Angels fans were (wishfully) saying that he was going to be at least as good as last year or better. It seems that, so far, the stat pundits were right: Hector Santiago is an OK pitcher, a solid #4-5 type.

This is just fine with me, especially with the development of Richards and Skaggs. From what I've seen so far, both Richards and Skaggs are going to be at leaste #3 types, if not #2 types - although probably not true aces. If we just accept the fact that Santiago is the #5 starter then he fits right in. If we are, however, expecting him to be a #3 or better--like some were hoping for--then we're bound to be disappointed.

[Lhalo]

I'll admit I had higher expectations of him but with Richards and Skaggs having done so well I have no reason to be pissed.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

He has a good arm and good stuff. All the ingredients are there for him to be a fine starter - except command. He falls behind on too many counts and misses the target too often.

[disarcina]

We got what we got -- Santiago wasn't that great as a starter for the White Sox last year.

 

He's really a long relief/ middle inning pen guy who can also give a team some spot starts.

 

He is not a rotation guy.

 

We are making do and with the Halos offense this year, it might even work.

 

But don't expect quality starts out of Santiago........

[Docwaukee]

with conger:  0.71era 12.2ip 2 starts

with iannetta 7.71era 9.1ip 2 starts (not including today)

 

and of course they put iannetta in today. 

[disarcina]

Richards seems to be progressing and improving as a starter this year........good to see.

 

Skaggs had some good starts late last year for Arizona so he can do the job - but he's not been an MLB starter for a full season yet.

[Angelsjunky]

disarcina, I think you're right.

 

Vegas, while true I think there's an erroneous notion that command is relatively easy to come by or learn. If a pitcher hasn't learned it by age 26, they may never learn. Think Daniel Cabrera or Oliver Perez.

 

Lawrence, I expected him to be the worst of the three so am not disappointed at all. But like you implied, no matter what one's expectations were, Richards and Skaggs have been really good so it's hard to be disappointed by the rotation so far. Actually, the biggest disappointment so far has been Jered Weaver.

[nikkachez]

Totally agree, fringe 4-5 starter. While I like him, I don't see why the Angels shouldn't acquire a backend starter and move Santiago to the bullpen. Rotation improves, bullpen improves. 

[bloodbrother]

I don't see him as a long term guy in the rotation like I do with Richards/Skaggs

[jshep]

I don't see him as a long term guy in the rotation like I do with Richards/Skaggs

 

Yeah, they don't really have the luxury to do it at this point, but I think ideally he's a bullpen piece who can step in here and there for some starts.

[Spirit]

He gives us a chance to win every time he takes the bump.  I'm not unhappy with his performance so far. 

[jshep]

How we are defining "giving us a chance to win"?

 

Cause so far 3 of Hector's 5 starts have been 5 or fewer innings and 4 ER.

Edited April 26, 2014 by jshep

[mulwin444]

Or how about we give him...and Skaggs...and Richards more then a month in the rotation before reaching conclusions.  All three have solid stuff and belong in the rotation.  Also, there is no one on the current roster or in the system better then these three as far stating pitching goes.  Unless there is a trade, this is it, folks but still better then Hansen, Blanton, and collection of AAAA stiff they were running out last season.

Edited April 26, 2014 by mulwin444

[Spirit]

How we are defining "giving us a chance to win"?

 

Cause so far 3 of Hector's 5 starts have been 5 or fewer innings and 4 ER.

 

Define it however you want.  

[jshep]

Define it however you want.  

 

Okayyyy then...

 

Well by my definition so far he's given the Angels 3 poor starts, 1 good but pitch inefficient start, and 1 really good start.

 

I'm not advocating yanking him from the rotation ASAP, but to say he's given the team a chance to win every time so far seems like a stretch to me.

[Spirit]

fair enough

[Willy J.]

He's an upgrade from Blanton. . 

 

. . .but then, any random Khardashian would be an upgrade from Blanton.

[seenoevil]

as long as he contines to keep the angels in ballgames to win, then he has exceeded my expectations.

[halomatt]

I believe that Richards, Skaggs and Santiago are all going to be inconsistent over the course of the season.  I don't think it's realistic to expect them to be much more than what Santiago is right now.  They are all young and learning how to pitch in the big leagues.  There's a learning curve and it seems like what many of the knee-jerk reactions around here seem to ignore.

 

For example, I'm sure you all remember Lackey's fifth inning meltdowns when he was younger, right?  Eventually, he ironed out the kinks and went on to become our best pitcher. 

 

I guess the point is, we will not see a finished product today, tomorrow, or quite likely, within the next two years or so with ANY of those pitchers.  I really think that this is what we're in for the foreseeable future.  Really, is it so bad?  Even though Santiago was yanked early (haha..."Yanked") the offense left guys on base all day long. 

[happybat4]

He is struggling yet still has a 4.44 era. While not great he is far from garbage. I think he will improve a bit as the year goes on.

[HaloRed16]

I like him!  His technique is dragging him of better performance, though.  I'm worried about him hurting himself of the "herky-jerky" form.  It's taken him out of balance and has screwed him up altogether.  BUTCH, REQUIRE HE SCRAP IT, MY GOD!! 

[HaloRed16]

He has a lot of room for improvement, though.  Good arm, good athlete, good makeup to begin with.  Let's begin right there. 

[Docwaukee]

Santiago is fine.  He's a mid to back of the rotation guy because he allows too many base runners. 

 

There are one of two things that happen to guys like that.  They either have half a dozen starts per year that blow up their era or they find a way to hold runs down but don't get deep.  Santiago is the latter. 

 

So instead of saying that he keeps the team in the game, maybe a better way to look at it is that he doesn't totally blow up. 

 

He's gonna end up with a high 3's or low 4's era.  So you have to ask yourself what's more important to the team.  Giving up fewer runs but over less innings or allowing more runs but getting deeper?  Not getting deep, of course, relies on the pen which is an issue, but giving up fewer runs gives our offense a better chance. 

 

The other thing is that Santiago is a bit more complicated than Richards or Skaggs.  Richards main problem is that he fights his mechanics.  Skaggs is pretty straight forward.  He's got good stuff and is learning his craft. 

Santiago is emotional.  He has good not great stuff.  He lacks command and he has like 7 pitches. 

 

Also, keep in mind that Hector made 24 starts in the minors in 2011.  His first year as a starter. 

Then he went back to the pen in 2012 and was suddenly a starter in the majors in 2013.  His age doesn't match his potential development as a starter.  By contrast, Skaggs has made 100 starts.  The vast majority of which have been age and level appropriate.  Garrett is somewhere between the two. 

[Chuck]

with conger: 0.71era 12.2ip 2 starts

with iannetta 7.71era 9.1ip 2 starts (not including today)

and of course they put iannetta in today.

This is why we miss Joe Madden. He was all over these situational stats when with the Angels and had Scioscia's ear.

[Chuck]

That said, I'm a Matt Shoemaker be liver for the rotation. If he's our 5th guy he'll give us quality innings. His command is good and his cutter/split can generate whiffs.

Give Santiago till mid-May, early June. If it's not happening, move Santiago to the back end of our bullpen.

We didn't lose the game because of Santiago or our bullpen. We lost the game because we didn't capitalize offensively against mediocre starting pitching and a Yankees bullpen that's ranked lower than ours today.