Giles may throw hard but his fastball is just flat. No one swings through it. Wags always blew it past people. I am by no means a pitching expert. But seems to me if your throw 100 you have an arm. Is it just a matter of a coach showing you how to use it?
Wags did not always blow it past people.... and Giles is only as good as his slider. Lastly, MLB hitters can hit all sorts of 100+ mph fastballs... just look at what the Astros did with Chapman. Its off-speed deception mixed with perfect location that gets batters out. Personally, I'd take 92-95 on the corners over 100+ that can't be controlled.
Eh maybe I got spoiled many years ago when I would see Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan's four seam go above the bat. Of course with Nolan's circle and Scott's Split finger I guess that made it a bit easier to get the heat past a hitter.
Coach can show a pitcher how to throw a pitch well, but some pitchers can get better spin than others on particular pitches.
No. Some people just have fastballs that play down. If it were magically fixable then people throwing 100mph would be unhittable but people hit home runs off 100+ mph heat not infrequently these days. Among recent and former Astros: Mike Foltynewicz had a pretty flat FB that got lit up when he was a rookie. Jandel Gustave threw straight 100mph bullets before his TJ surgery. Spin rate, natural sink or cutting motion, arm slot, and release point all make a significant difference in a) whether the hitter picks up on it being a FB and b) whether it gets well struck.
I'm interested to see what Brendan McCurry brings to ST this month. He had closer-type stuff in A+ and AA ball and I've wondered whether he isn't the eventual replacement for Giles at closer. I haven't been able to find current velo statistics for McCurry so we'll see where his FB is at this week. They say McCurry uses several different arm angles for the same pitch, just to confuse hitters. This sounds pretty bizarre to me but if it works, why not. McCurry was nearly unhittable for about 6 weeks last year at Fresno. If he can dominate this season then the bullpen situation for 2019-2022 will look a little more secure.
Did you watch the game? Did you see the misplays by the third basemen? He essentially gave the Mets five outs in that inning.
McCurry was considered a future closer when he first got into the minor leagues. He's not a flamethrower, but I can certainly see some 8th/9th inning potential in him. That is if the organization gets to a point where it can no longer deal with Giles. But I don't know, sub-3.00 ERA and FIP go a long way in the MLB. I wouldn't cut ties with Giles yet.
Here's to hoping the Orioles have a terrible first half and start tearing down by trading Machado. Then Britton comes back strong and we get him at the deadline.
lelz. This thread is still a thing? Title should be changed to "Ken Giles cant be trusted" or "Do you trust ken giles? If you do, youre a fool"
If you excuse or like this guy we probably can’t be friends. I’m convinced he’s a Rangers secret agent trying to undermine our efforts.
Flat Fastball 98 mph, the hitters are reacting like its 90 mph pitch, Giles has not made any improvements whatsoever. Consistently NOT hitting both corners of the strike zone. Not adding any other pitches, Curveball, Changeup. Astros must trade him for prospects. Go after the bottom teams closers. Pirates Felipe Rivero, Phillies Hector Neris, We need to find a young closer with huge upside. Edwin Diaz of Seattle, Roberto Osuna of Toronto I wish was available. Osuna made enemies with Correa. Correa hit a grounder to Osuna, Osuna held onto the ball for awhile to make Correa run. Correa got his revenge next game hitting a home run. I really hope ou prospect closers get called up quickly. Such a shaky pitcher in Giles. Hinch is not confident with Giles anymore, Harris was warming up quickly.
