It's usually a waste if he doesn't throw more than 1 inning per bullpen appearance. There is no label for what he is now... other than a long relief high leverage bullpen guy. Hes what Andrew Miller was in last year's playoffs, but even more effective (and pitching more innings per appearance). If he pitches more games in this role, and keeps up the excellent numbers, he's just as valuable as an every 5th day starter.
So far, Devenski has pitched in 8 games. If he were starting he'd be about to pitch his 6th. He has been a huge part of 5 wins. Indirectly he has helped in other wins by pitching multiple innings and resting the bullpen for subsequent games. As of today, he has seemingly been much more valuable as a reliever than a starter. The most ridiculous part of that article is that he is being 'wasted' in the bullpen.
The third time through the order effect (or picking up on some of his tendencies with more exposure effect) has to be somewhat plausible, if not probable with him. Also, no numbers to back this up, but that effect seems more likely earlier in the game than later in the game/extra innings (as some hitters tend to get less patient, take less pitches).
I think Fiers may be getting real close to this point already. His ERA has been bad, but considering the amount of homers he's given up, he's lucky it is only bad and not closer to his FIP of nearly 8. If he has two more HR-heavy starts, I suspect Astros make a change.
The fact that he was pulled after 4 1/3 in his last start is indicative of our confidence in him. That was a very anti-Hinch type move. One that emphasizes his thinking.
Agreed, especially when we see that this year he's dropped his curve and decreased usage of his slider. He's even more of a 2.5 pitch guy. As a starter, they'd probably have him mix it up more and potentially bring the curve back..which may drastically affect his effectiveness.
Or Paulino. Or Martes. Or Peacock. Or McHugh. Or.... There's a reason they love Devenski right where he is.
When I look at the AL and number of pitches thrown by starters per team, I don't see a team with a good pitching staff that its starters have thrown less pitches. Sure Keuchel and McCullers have a lot of pitches thrown.
I love him where he is also. But we have to have serviceable #4-5 starters as well. Having a quality arm in the role Devo is in is a luxury. A luxury you can only afford if your SP staff is solid. And by luxury, I dont mean insignificant. Quite the contrary.
He's been pretty necessary.... regardless of who the starting pitcher was (except Keuchel). If anything, if you don't have an overall solid SP staff (which with LMJ's road struggles, and Morton/Musgrove having flashes of inconsistency).. solid pens anchored around guys who can go multiple innings is pivotal.
If they were gonna give a guy a shot in the rotation, I would prefer it be Feliz. He seems like the guy who has the best difference maker potential, without rocking the boat. Devo is just too crazy valuable doing what he is doing, and Peacock is finally getting some positive results. If put back in the rotation I have no confidence he wouldn't revert right back to the same guy. We also have Hoyt looking really good in his first few outings to replace Feliz. Feliz has yet to even get a single ML start. He was a top prospect as a starter, lets see what he can do.
Feliz seems like he's begging for some sort of set role/routine. He was best last year when he was getting regular work.... then they seemed to be holding him back as they recognized he could be a future starter. But that never happened. I would agree that he's likely to be the next one up either due to injury or demotion.
Devo's role in a potential playoffs would be interesting. You're ditching your 4 and 5 starters for the most part, and you hope Keuchel & McCullers go 7 or 8. If the playoffs were starting today, I might make him the #3 starter in the playoffs - have him go 5 and then finish it out with guys like Peacock/etc. Probably would be better than any of the current 3-5 starters. Otherwise, Devo's less useful in a shortened rotation when you have a deep back-end of the bullpen already and only really pull your starter early if he got blown up. Long time to go before having to worry about that, though, and endless things could change by then.
In the playoffs, he should be pulling an Andrew Miller and putting out fiers when the situation arises. I'd much prefer rolling the dice with Morton as the three and having Devo available to pitch multiple games in a series.
So, are we all just presuming that McHugh is done for good? Strange to think that just 2 years ago he was the #2 starter in the playoffs (with Kazmir sucking)... and yes, he has had some year-to-year regression.... but he's now reaching afterthought status.
I would be for trading for a lefty like the A's Doolittle and putting Devo in the rotation. Wonder what it would cost to get a good but not great BP arm?
I think we need to wait to see with McHugh. If we make it to the playoffs we're going to need four reliable starters. DK, LMJ, someone through a trade, and either McHugh/Morton. Devo needs to stay in his current role.
I expect McHugh to make it back around the break. If not (or if he sucks when he does), that'll be the go/no-go on overspending in a trade, if they haven't been able to pull the trigger on something more reasonable already
