e hënë, 16 korrik 2007

Should Kason Gabbard be the fifth starter, when Schill comes Back?



Per Roto World:
Kason Gabbard pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out a career-high eight Monday against the Royals.
Very impressive. Gabbard walked just one, though he did hit two batters. He was helped by three double plays, but he started two of those himself. Only four of the outs against him came on fly balls. With Gabbard now 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA, there's a good chance that Julian Tavarez will head to the pen when Curt Schilling comes off the DL. Jon Lester's season debut can wait


Gabbard was great tonight, but the Royals are a terrible ball club. Pawtucket could hold their own against them. I believe that Gabby will be a potentially good back of the rotation starter, and has been admirable as an emergency fill in, but I would rather have Tavarez or an upgrade in the 5th starter spot down the stretch.

Gabbard has been very good in five starts this season. He has pitched 29.1 innings and is 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA, even with his disastrous start in Seattle where he gave up 4 runs in 3.1 innings with 6 walks. Kason has an unimpressive 25/14 K/BB rate, but has been saved by his ability to induce ground balls (1.79 GO/AO,only 2 HR given up). Opponents have a .286 BABIP (Batting Average Balls Put In Play) against Gabbard, which means that he has benefited from good luck and/or defense.

Kason Gabbard Game Stats


Team IP H R ER BB SO
Atlanta 5 6 2 2 1 7
Seattle 3.1 6 4 4 6 2
Texas 5.2 3 3 3 4 5
Detroit 6.1 3 2 2 2 3
Kansas City 9 3 0 0 1 8



If Gabbard can cut down on the walks and go deeper into games, he will have a bright future. With that in mind I still would rather not see him take a rotation spot down the stretch for this team. Gabby has two more starts before the trade deadline and most likely when Schilling comes back. These starts are against Chicago and a very tough Cleveland lineup, which might be his toughest test to date. If Gabbard performs well he can really enhance his trading value or actually force Tavarez to the bullpen, which is very unlikely considering a roster move will take place when Schill comes back and Javier Lopez and Gabbard are the only two players on the team with options.

1 koment:

Anonim tha...

kason is amazing this year!