Man he is really small looking out there. His pitches are really darting around right now. We'll see how this goes!
Gave up a HR to Tyler Houston, but still kept his composure striking out the next batter. I really like what I have seen so far. Now if only the Astros could hit the ball......
Interesting start. He was dominant the first time through the lineup. I don't think he gave up any hard hits other than Houston's HR, and most balls were grounders, which is good at MMP. The others were just sort of well placed hits, a little luck could've gotten him through the 5th without giving up runs, but not to be. He's definitely got the mental makeup-struck out Hammonds on 3 pitches after the HR. I think it's hard to judge just based on this-he was bad his first AA start this year. Factor in first major league start, coming like 2 days after his wedding, pitching on an abnormal schedule, and facing a high strikeout team makes it hard to really determine whether he can be a very good middle reliever setting things up the first time through the lineup, or if he's a starter. He's a nice change of pace to have from the guys with the electric stuff, like Oswalt and Hernandez. If you put his head with Redding's stuff...you'd have a HoFer.
So now that Saarloos has been rocked his first couple of outings, can anyone tell me whether or not they think he has the stuff necessary to be a good major league starter? Has he just been off with his pitches, or is it that his stuff is such that it is just enough to boggle the AA hitters, but can't really fool major league batters? I dearly hope for the former, because I would love to see a good, old fashioned junk pitcher who doesn't rely on blazing speed to sit batters down.
I really think Saarloos can develop into a solid #4-5 starter. He clearly doesn't have the "stuff" to be a #1-3. He'd also make one heck of a middle-relief guy, I believe. But I'd keep giving him a chance to prove himself, might as well since this season is probably over for us. I'd also like to get Rosario Rodrigo a shot after the All-Star break.
