Results for June 2nd

New Pagodi · Post by **New Pagodi** » June 2 07, 8:41 pm

Let’s see if I can get the links right tonight.

Memphis lost 5-4 to the Las Vegas 51s. Blake Hawksworth snapped a string of six very good starts as he gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings. Perhaps more disturbing was that he only got 1 strikeout, and he had none in his last outing. Chris Lambert pitched 2 scoreless innings. Nick Stavinoha went 2 for 4 with a double. John Rodriguez was 1 for 4 with his second homer in two nights. Maybe now that he’s healthy, he’s ready to go on an extended hot streak like he had in 2005. Box Log

Springfield won 10-6 against the Corpus Christi Hooks (and stopped their 10 game winning streak). Jaime Garcia gave up 2 unearned runs over 6 innings. Nick Webber pulled the team out of a tough spot in the seventh after Mike Cooper had given up three runs. Jason Motte added a scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts. Chris Perez loaded the bases with a hit and two walks and then drove in a run with a hit batter, but he ultimately held on to preserve the win. Colby Rasmus was 2 for 4 with a walk. Bryan Anderson was a for 4 with a homer. Tyler Greene went 2 for 4 with a double and a homer. Box Log

Palm Beach won 6-4 against the Clearwater Threshers. Gary Daley didn’t give up a hit tonight. But he still gave up three runs due to 5 walks and 2 hit batters, and he had to be pulled after three innings. Kyle McClellan pitched 2 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts. He’s emerging as a very important part of the Palm Beach pen. Luke Gregerson added another save with a scoreless ninth. Allen Craig went 2 for 5 with a homer. Mark Hamilton topped that by going 3 for 5 with a homer. Isa Garcia was 2 for 4. Box Log

Quad Cities won 7-2 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Eddie Degerman pitched 5 innings with 8 strikeouts giving up 2 runs. Shaun Garceau pitched 4 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts. Christian Reyes was 2 for 4. Jared Schweitzer went 2 for 2 with a homer. He’s been on an extreme hot streak lately, but I’m not sure it will last. Box Log

Ace · Post by **Ace** » June 3 07, 1:31 am

After seeing Hawksworth pitch in spring training I was very unimpressed. I don't expect much from him at the major league level.

Pitchers names I keep hearing about in our lower levels: Garceau, Degerman, and Gregerson. They have had very impressive stats in college/low A ball. If anyone could tell me more about them that would be awesome.

Nice to see Kyle Mclellan doing well, I went to high school with him.

New Pagodi · Post by **New Pagodi** » June 3 07, 8:48 am

Hawksworth's fastball is topping out in the low 90s right now, but his changeup has always been his best pitch. But if you go back and look at the scouting reports on Hawksworth, they say his best attribute is not his pitches but his mentality. He knows how to use his pitches to set up batters effectively.

So I agree, unless his fastball comes back he only has one plus pitch, and that's probably not enough to be an ace at the major league level. But given the total package, I think he could have a Jeff Suppon type career, and I would take that right now.

One thing on the negative side is lack of strikeouts lately. He wasn't great in that regard earlier, and his strikeout rate is now approaching scary level.

Hungary Jack · Post by **Hungary Jack** » June 3 07, 9:44 am

In 2006, his K/9 at AA was 7.5 in 80 IP.

In 2007 at AAA, he's at 4.9 after 57 IP. That's a 33% decrease.

Perhaps some of it is attributable to better competition, but does it have anything to do with the "pitch to contact" mentality of this organization?

By some measures he is a better pitcher in 2007. His K/BB in 2007 is 2.5. In 2006 it was 2.1. His WHIP and ERA are also lower. The sample sizes aren't huge, but it seems that Hawksworth may be learning how to pitch differently as he encounters better hitters.

Thoughts?

New Pagodi · Post by **New Pagodi** » June 3 07, 10:12 am

Sorry if this sounds like a cop-out, but I'm not sure what to think right now. His G/F is 1.2 which lower than you'd expect to see if he's pitching to contact. But he limiting the walks this year as you said. He is also doing a good job of keeping the park, so maybe he is trying to pitch to contact and it's just producing more fly balls than would typically be expected.

Hungary Jack · Post by **Hungary Jack** » June 3 07, 11:10 am

New Pagodi wrote:Sorry if this sounds like a cop-out, but I'm not sure what to think right now. His G/F is 1.2 which lower than you'd expect to see if he's pitching to contact. But he limiting the walks this year as you said. He is also doing a good job of keeping the park, so maybe he is trying to pitch to contact and it's just producing more fly balls than would typically be expected.

No cop-out taken. It's hard to know what to make of Hawk. A low-90's fasty with a nasty change is nice combo to have in the bigs, especially if he can spot the fasty. If he could develop a 12--6 curve....

Ace · Post by **Ace** » June 3 07, 11:47 am

Hungary Jack wrote:
New Pagodi wrote:Sorry if this sounds like a cop-out, but I'm not sure what to think right now. His G/F is 1.2 which lower than you'd expect to see if he's pitching to contact. But he limiting the walks this year as you said. He is also doing a good job of keeping the park, so maybe he is trying to pitch to contact and it's just producing more fly balls than would typically be expected.
No cop-out taken. It's hard to know what to make of Hawk. A low-90's fasty with a nasty change is nice combo to have in the bigs, especially if he can spot the fasty. If he could develop a 12--6 curve....

Sounds like Reyes..

greenback44 · Post by **greenback44** » June 3 07, 3:58 pm

Sample size blah blah blah...

I've been trying to find a pitcher with a K-rate at AAA as low as Hawksworth's who went on to be successful in the majors and I'm having some trouble. Actually, a lot of the classic low-K major leaguers had surprisingly decent strikeout numbers in the minors.