The prep time from going to nothing to full time starter doesn't happen overnight... once healthy, it would be another month for him to build the starter stamina, and that's wasting time in a stretch run.
I would invest the extra month to gain a starter. It will be alot less taxing for him to go 5 innings everything sixth start then have to pitch every other day for a inning
We already have a 6 man rotation in all likelihood by the time LMJ shows a pulse. And in the playoffs you are on a 4-man rotation. SP1 - Verlander SP2 - Framber SP3 - Brown SP4 - Urquidy SP5 - France SP6 - Bielak/Garcia Keep in mind the options game... Bielak makes the roster because he is out of them... and his numbers are actually not bad.
Agreed. We got a one off Cy JV in 2019, Two years shut down (except or 6 IP) and then Cy JV again in 2022. It may be the only time in baseball history a pitcher has B to B Cy personal seasons with almost two MBL seasons in between.
ERA is a terrible way to judge. Too much is out of the pitcher's control and dependent on luck. Garcia has definitely been good and still has some upside, but McCullers has been better across the board throughout his career. Including ERA, FIP, xERA, xFIP, K%, K/9 etc. For SP vs RP argument I like opponent OPS vs pitches 1-25: Lance .688, Garcia .706, 26-50: Lance .590, Garcia .725, 51-75: Lance .659, Garcia .544, A RP especially in the postseason needs to be best from pitch #1. Hitters against Lance are weak vs league average from the start, but he is better in pitches 26-50 and even 51-75 than he is early. Garcia is great if he can get to 51+ pitches but it would be harder to get there especially since he struggles in pitches 26-50. Overall, unless moving him to the bullpen is better for his health (which is the opposite of the current thinking) Lance is wasted in the bullpen.
I just don't see the coaches and training staff letting him go more than 50 pitches in an outing. They would space out his appearances... he won't be a "twice a series" reliever to the level of Hader and Pressly.
In 2022 Lance made 4 AAA starts in 3 weeks 40 pitches 52 pitches 76 pitches 86 pitches And made his 1st MLB start 23 days after his 1st rehab start. If Lance starts throwing 100% on the mound July 1st and makes 1st rehab start August 1st then is activated September 1st he can make 5 starts before the postseason which will be good enough. But the current thinking is that would be very conservative
Didn't the Braves move Smoltz to the bullpen for a couple of years for health reasons before bringing him back as a starter?
This holds us over so we don't have to rush lmj back but when he is back and healthy he is better than brown. In a 4 man rotation, I am putting him at number 3. People get disillusioned by his last playoff game but it was obvious Phillies picked up something and he was tipping his pitches. But look at how good he was before that. 2 starts 3 earned runs. I want the guy ready to be a starting pitcher (if he stays healthy) when end of season and playoffs come
I just don't expect him to reach 100% stamina and endurance wise by season's end. If Scherzer couldn't do it, it is unrealistic to expect LMJ to ramp it enough to be effective other than spurts. And considering his history, he should be on a very strict pitch limit strategy.
Think about how good the Stros are, they lost 2/5th's of their starting rotation to injury and JV for 1/2 a season to FA and came within a game of making another WS. How many other teams could lose this much starting pitching and still come within one win of making another WS?
