Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Astros (8/24/2020)

[CanadianHalo]

The sooner this organization realizes guys like Heaney, Sandoval, Suarez aren’t the answer the better off they’ll be

[AngelsFaninGA]

1 hour ago, CanadianHalo said:

The sooner this organization realizes guys like Heaney, Sandoval, Suarez aren’t the answer the better off they’ll be

We keep waiting for these guys to blossom into quality starters, along with Canning, and they all have ERA's well north of 5. We can't even get a fluke good season like we got fro Barria anymore. 

[CanadianHalo]

1 hour ago, AngelsFaninGA said:

We keep waiting for these guys to blossom into quality starters, along with Canning, and they all have ERA's well north of 5. We can't even get a fluke good season like we got fro Barria anymore. 

Yep and out of all of them it’s Barria that seems to have the shortest leash and is constantly being sent back and forth

[AngelsFaninGA]

21 minutes ago, CanadianHalo said:

Yep and out of all of them it’s Barria that seems to have the shortest leash and is constantly being sent back and forth

Tbf Barria stinks. But it would be nice to be pleasantly surprised for once (like the Indians with Triston McKenzie this week)

[fan_since79]

2 hours ago, AngelsFaninGA said:

We keep waiting for these guys to blossom into quality starters, along with Canning, and they all have ERA's well north of 5. We can't even get a fluke good season like we got fro Barria anymore. 

Speaking of which, whatever happened to Parker Bridwell?

[Inside Pitch]

11 hours ago, bloodbrother said:

Angels stand alone now with the most losses in baseball. Take that Red Sox!

They may be adding to their lead with a double header today.

[Chuck]

3 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

They may be adding to their lead with a double header today.

Hey @Inside Pitch how close is Kumar Rocker? lol

Is he as polished and ready as Reid Detmers, or is that Leiter?

[Inside Pitch]

42 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Hey @Inside Pitch how close is Kumar Rocker? lol

Is he as polished and ready as Reid Detmers, or is that Leiter?

@Chuckster70

Rocker is Beastly, Leiter is IMO the more polished guy -- but much lower ceiling.   

You gotta look at Leiter is being a coaches kid, he grew up with a Dad and Uncle that both pitched, but as far as stuff..    Dude is 6'0' and I dont believe he's expected to get any bigger.  Spin rates were middle of the road, FB sits 91-93 -- he was said to have hit 96 once, but only once.   What he does have is a shit ton of vertical movement and about 4-5 inches or run on his FB...  also a good curve..   He's not consistent with the pitch itself, it can be loopy or kinda tight, the only spin data I've seen on it had it around 2300 which would be a bit below average but, he pairs it really well with his heavy FB.   He's got pitchability for days.

Rocker...  6'4 250+.   Sits 95 all the time, touches 97 consistently and has been clocked at 100.   Like Leiter, the vertical movement is 10+ inches and he's got 5+ inches of run.  So, he's basically got all the same movement and 5+ MPH on Leiter.   The real kicker is that as tall as he is, he gets nearly 7 feet of extension which makes the FB play up..  It can be pretty unfair.   Sounds awesome right?   Well, his FB is his second best pitcher.  Rocker's slider is ridonkulous.  Check it out 

That's a Scherzer level slider ..  RIGHT NOW.    

He doesn't spin it all that well but he gets straight down movement as opposed to the more common horizontal break -- it's whats called a gyro spin slider.   Normally a ball that moves like that is a curve, but this spins the opposite way, by that I mean a curveball spins end over end while Rocker's slider spins like a football does.   Basically this guy can spin that break regardless of whether he's in AZ, CO, or thicker air climates.   Try getting ready for that FB only to get that Slider instead... lol..

But wait -- there's more...  Dude also throws a change -- also with a ton of vertical movement -- it's not yet a plus pitch but it's going in the right direction.   He's got a curve too, but seems to stick with the other three pitches.

If he's got any real downside it's that he can miss with his FB at times, or it just gets away from him.  But he's got the body, he's got the stuff.  He's got the genes -- Dad and uncle played in the NFL.   Athleticism is there.  Probably the best SP prospect to come around in a while.

[Angel Oracle]

What pitchers' rookie year comparisons could be made to Rocker and Leiter?