[Official] Spring Training 2024

Good upside pickup.

I would be surprised if it helps us much at all this season given that timeline, but still like it. He's proven to have swing and miss MLB stuff. Add him to the pile, one of these f**kers has to be a good reliever for us at some point

 

So can we put him on the 60 day DL?

 

There is nothing wrong with France. He's a hell of a lot better than me.

I just think he is a solid #6 or #7 SP on a contending team.

He's the kind of pitcher every team needs to win over the course of 162 games, then hopes they can keep him off the mound in the post season and is always hoping and trying to find a replacement who is better.

 

Junk ball guy, throws his fastball 88 and his sweeper 79. Good advanced numbers. If he gets healthy, a nice contrast to guys like Abreu and Hader to keep hitters off balance in a series.

 

Murfee also has 3 years of team control after this season. It is a very shrewd pickup. Career 2.70 era in 83.1 IP with a sub 1.000 WHIP and 3.29 SO/W ratio.

 

Yep, and France saved their butts last year.

 

I agree he did.

In 2017 it was Brad Peacock after 36.2 total IP 2015 and 2016 combined and he was never as good or threw 100 IP again.

In 2018 it was Colin McHugh saving the bullpen.

In 2019 it was Wade Miley

In 2020 it was Andre Scrubb, Enoli Paredes, and Blake Taylor - all with ERAs of 3.05 or better in the bullpen

In 2021 it was Luis Garcia straight from A ball.

In 2022 it was Montero and Stanek with career seasons.

Over 162 games somebody does every year.

And not always, but usually those guys never pitch to that level again and are not heard from again after a couple more years.

Surprise pitching means overachieving and does not last very often. Scouting and media coverage is too popular now for surprises at MLB level that turn into long term positive production.

 

Maybe France can repeat what he did last year. You point out guys that didn't ever reach their potential again.

You could point to guys with France stuff that improved as they gained more experience. Kuechel?

 

Pitchers with France's stuff hang around until their salary hits 7 figures then are never heard from again.

Keuchel was lucky and smart.

Lucky because he came at a time when other teams not using analytics really improved his results.

Smart because he listened and did what the coaches told him.

Once the league caught up to analytics and he left the Astros he was meat.

Maybe France would have too but in 2016 not 2024.