Garrett Richards looks like a #3 starter

[Splint7438]

Weaver, VJ, Vargas, and Garret is a pretty good start to a rotation. Tommy Hanson with his head on straight is intriguing as well. The team showed a lot of support for all that Hanson went through in his personal life this season. A motivated reimbursement could look very good for us.

While Joe Blanton seems like a nice guy he gives up too many fast runs. Does he telegraph his pitches? Do his pitches come in straight? Why do teams continue to give him a chance to pitch? Are we going to miss him that much?

[Angel Oracle]

Hanson, if not for what he could get in arb, could be intriguing.

But the performance would have to be significantly better.

[Splint7438]

For sure AO. I don't think his head was right all year. And he has continued to struggle down in minors. If he can rediscover his skills that made him a first rounder and initially successful in the majors he could definitely fill a hole.

[Stradling]

I personally don't feel that they had Richards coming out of the pen because they thought he would do better there but because the pen sucked and they filled the rotation with other guys they thought were capable.

He's got a live arm and they figured he could be an asset to the pen. At the time, they thought they could still have a winning season, and the pen was a clear weak point. I still think they had every intention of keeping him a starter eventually.

He's got four good pitches the base of which is a fastball at 94-96mph that moves all over the place. That takes time to develop and there will be bumps in the road. Like games with 2h, 7bb, 6k in 5ip.

My guess is that he'll function as a #4 next year with times as a #5 and times as a #2/3. He's never pitched more than 150 innings in a season so we need to temper our expectations a bit.

I have been a big fan from the beginning because of his stuff and considering that he'll be 26 near the beginning of next year's season, I seem him only getting better.

I don't think they thought he wasn't a starter when they put him in the pen. That being said, his arm in the pen will always be intriguing when he can throw 97 out of the pen. I think I read earlier this year his fastball as a starter had the highest average velocity this season. That will show you right there how important movement and changing speeds are to a pitchers success as a starter.

[RePLAY]

Lets pencil him a #5 starter so we can aim high when we aquire another sp please.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I see Richards as a high upside 6th starter. I don't like the idea of counting on him for a full season, but this team isn't in a position to be picky about starters and he absolutely should be in the rotation next year. Let's hope he's penciled in to the fifth spot so that our expectations aren't too high.

[Make Angels Great Again]

I think Richards is now here to stay in the rotation. I could see him putting up a 3-3.5 ERA next year and beyond.

[Taylor]

I'd say he's more of a #3.274923 starter.

[jshep]

I'd say he's more of a #3.274923 starter.

 

You're clearly unaware of how hard he throws.

[WallyWorld]

As Scioscia himself has said before, a championship caliber club needs to start the season with 8-9 viable SPers.  For those of you that envision Richards starting next season in the rotation, who do you see as guys 6-7-8-9?  Jerome Williams probably as one of them, and then . . . ? The great thing about Richards is that he still has options, so the smartest thing to do is use that to your advantage and keep him stretched out in AAA to start the year, and bring him up as soon as one of the SPs goes down with an injury, which is going to happen sooner or later (probably sooner given the Angels' luck).

Edited September 9, 2013 by WallyWorld

[arch stanton]

I'm still waiting for my starting pitcher slotting decoder to come in the mail. Does this affect his seat on the bench or in the team bus? 

[Angel Oracle]

Why start Richards off in the minors for 2014, when he's putting up mostly solid numbers over the past 2 months as a starter?

Edited September 9, 2013 by Angel Oracle

[YouthofToday]

Richards should be in the starting rotation in 2014. Find cheap veterans who fail to make a 25 man roster to fill out Salt Lake's rotation.

Our horrendous farm system sure is viciously biting the team.

[Angel Oracle]

57 innings post-ASB = 2.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.

Those numbers over a full season would without a doubt = rock solid #3 starter.

[vlad27]

i think he should be in the rotation next year - at this point we need to give him the chance to start the season in the rotation - hell we let Hanson and blanton do it this year - ill bet Richards is surely better than them - although i hope we have enough pitching that he is our 4 or 5 in 2014 and not our 3