I realize of all of the trades that have gone on recent days (Jorge Cantu, Roy Oswalt, Miguel Tejada, Dan Haren, etc.,) the Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos trade is probably one of the least exciting. However, most of the other trades (except for maybe the Dan Haren trade) made sense to me for both teams, and both teams got a pretty fair deal out of it.
I don't think that is the case with this trade. I think that the Nationals clearly got the better deal, which in some ways is nice to see I guess.
Ramos, who was a stud prospect at the end of last year, at the premium position of Catcher, has had an off year. His value has certainly declined, but I don't think that it has declined to the point that a 1-for-1 trade for Matt Capps makes any kind of sense, especially because Matt Capps is not exactly amazing. Last year, he was non-tendered by the Pirates after putting up a 5.80 ERA as their closer. Certainly his ERA was a product of bad luck, since his 7.6 K/9 and low walk rates were pretty good. However, the ERA he has put up this year of 2.74, is on the opposite end of that spectrum and is pretty much the product of good luck. His strike out rate has actually gone DOWN since last year, although his Walk rate has improved.
Basically, my point is that for most teams, Matt Capps is a serviceable 7th or 8th inning guy, and certainly not a closer. He was a closer for the Pirates and the Nationals because the Pirates had no other options, and the Nationals aren't quite ready to thrust Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard into the role -- although I guess they are going to now. The Twins plan to insert Capps into the closer role, although obviously he will only have it for the rest of this year (pending results I'm sure) as Joe Nathan returns next year.
I understand that the Twins needed bullpen help with the recent struggles of John Rauch as closer, but bullpen help usually comes a lot cheaper than someone with as high of a ceiling as Wilson Ramos. Yes, the Twins will have control of Capps for a number of years before he reaches free agency. And yes, Joe Mauer would have been blocking Wilson Ramos for the rest of time, but the Twins could have included Ramos in a much better deal (in fact he was part of their attempted package for Cliff Lee) than for Capps.
Some people, such as Fangraphs' Dave Cameron think that Ramos' struggles this year (.241/.280/.345 at AAA) decrease his value enough for the trade to be fair for both sides. What Dave Cameron, who I usually agree with, fails to mention is the fact that Wilson Ramos is a 22-year-old catcher, who destroyed AA pitching last year and will probably take a little bit of time to adjust to AAA. His numbers against AAA pitching have not been great, but it's not like he's below the Mendoza line or anything. He has plenty of time, Catchers are one of the slowest position players to make it all the way to the majors, and he is still playing above his age level for a Catcher. It's also kind of important to note that Ramos already has a handful of games in the Major Leagues from earlier this season when Mauer had an injury.
Tomorrow is deadline day, and I will probably make a post about my favorite trades of the last few weeks and how I think they will effect contenders.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Poll Results: Stephen Strasburg
Is Stephen Strasburg over-hyped?
Yes. 7 (70%)
No. 3 (30%)
Who's Stephen Strasburg? 0 (0%)
The majority of you seem to feel that Strasburg is certainly an overhyped player, and you're probably right. With the amount of attention he has received, it would be pretty hard for him not to be overhyped, unless he manages to put up an ERA of like 2.50 for the rest of his career.
However, all signs seem to indicate that Strasburg can definitely be an immediatley serviceable major league pitcher. So far in his minor league career, between the Washington Nationals AA and AAA affiliates, Strasburg has has 10 starts. Over those starts, he has put up a 6-2 record with a 1.43 ERA. What's scary is that his peripherals indicate that his numbers could be even better. Strasburg has put up a .795 WHIP, a 10.7 K/9, and a 2.1 BB/9. Those numbers, especially the WHIP, really indicate that Strasburg is way above the skill level of everyone else in the minor leagues. While it's hard to see him posting numbers even close to that in the major leagues (starting pitchers rarely have a WHIP below 1.00), it really indicates that he is going to be a solid pitcher, even right away. I would not be shocked to see Strasburg, who is rumored to make his first start in the major leagues next week, manages to put up an ERA right around 4.00 and have a K/9 of close to 9. Those numbers may not be overwhelming, but they certainly are for a rookie who was drafted last year.
But yes, Strasburg is likely overhyped. Many people will probably be dissapointed if Strasburg puts up a 4.00 ERA during his first major league season simply because of the amount of hype he has received, and some people may be expecting far too much from him. Hopefully he can find a way to handle that scrutiny, and just let his talent carry him.
Yes. 7 (70%)
No. 3 (30%)
Who's Stephen Strasburg? 0 (0%)
The majority of you seem to feel that Strasburg is certainly an overhyped player, and you're probably right. With the amount of attention he has received, it would be pretty hard for him not to be overhyped, unless he manages to put up an ERA of like 2.50 for the rest of his career.
However, all signs seem to indicate that Strasburg can definitely be an immediatley serviceable major league pitcher. So far in his minor league career, between the Washington Nationals AA and AAA affiliates, Strasburg has has 10 starts. Over those starts, he has put up a 6-2 record with a 1.43 ERA. What's scary is that his peripherals indicate that his numbers could be even better. Strasburg has put up a .795 WHIP, a 10.7 K/9, and a 2.1 BB/9. Those numbers, especially the WHIP, really indicate that Strasburg is way above the skill level of everyone else in the minor leagues. While it's hard to see him posting numbers even close to that in the major leagues (starting pitchers rarely have a WHIP below 1.00), it really indicates that he is going to be a solid pitcher, even right away. I would not be shocked to see Strasburg, who is rumored to make his first start in the major leagues next week, manages to put up an ERA right around 4.00 and have a K/9 of close to 9. Those numbers may not be overwhelming, but they certainly are for a rookie who was drafted last year.
But yes, Strasburg is likely overhyped. Many people will probably be dissapointed if Strasburg puts up a 4.00 ERA during his first major league season simply because of the amount of hype he has received, and some people may be expecting far too much from him. Hopefully he can find a way to handle that scrutiny, and just let his talent carry him.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Game Notes: 4/14/2010
Lots of interesting things going on in today's games. Here are a few observations:
1. In today's Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants game the Giants won by a score of 3-0 behind a great performance by Jonathan Sanchez. If Sanchez can be more consistant and solidify his spot in the rotation, San Francisco will be pretty scary. However, that's not what's interesting about this game. What interested me is the fact that all 3 of the runs the Giants scored were on solo homers (one of which was an inside-the-parker). While this isn't all that rare of an occurrence, what makes it interesting is the fact that the Giants had 10 hits in the game, but never hit a home run with runners on in the game.
2. In today's Washington Nationals @ Philadelphia Phillies game, which the Philadelphia Phillies won 14-7, neither starting pitcher made it out of the second inning, giving up a combined 15 baserunners and 13 runs in 3 innings. Ouch.
3. In today's Houston Astros @ St. Louis Cardinals Game, in which the Cardinals won 2-1, there was sloppy defense on both sides, with each team committing two errors. Of the three total runs scored in the game, only one of them was earned. The Houston Astros did not score any earned runs in the game. This may not sound all that rare, but it's pretty weird for 66 percent of the runs in a game to be unearned. By comparison, in today's Atlanta Braves @ San Diego Padres game (which hasn't yet gone final as of this blog post, but is in the 9th inning), there have been 5 errors between the two teams, and all 7 runs that have been scored between the two teams have still been earned.
4. You have probably already heard this one, but it deserves to be noted just because it's so interesting. In today's Cincinatti Reds @ Florida Marlins game Jorge Cantu set the record for most consecutive games with a hit and an RBI to start the season. It was a record that had stood since 1921. Crazy.
1. In today's Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants game the Giants won by a score of 3-0 behind a great performance by Jonathan Sanchez. If Sanchez can be more consistant and solidify his spot in the rotation, San Francisco will be pretty scary. However, that's not what's interesting about this game. What interested me is the fact that all 3 of the runs the Giants scored were on solo homers (one of which was an inside-the-parker). While this isn't all that rare of an occurrence, what makes it interesting is the fact that the Giants had 10 hits in the game, but never hit a home run with runners on in the game.
2. In today's Washington Nationals @ Philadelphia Phillies game, which the Philadelphia Phillies won 14-7, neither starting pitcher made it out of the second inning, giving up a combined 15 baserunners and 13 runs in 3 innings. Ouch.
3. In today's Houston Astros @ St. Louis Cardinals Game, in which the Cardinals won 2-1, there was sloppy defense on both sides, with each team committing two errors. Of the three total runs scored in the game, only one of them was earned. The Houston Astros did not score any earned runs in the game. This may not sound all that rare, but it's pretty weird for 66 percent of the runs in a game to be unearned. By comparison, in today's Atlanta Braves @ San Diego Padres game (which hasn't yet gone final as of this blog post, but is in the 9th inning), there have been 5 errors between the two teams, and all 7 runs that have been scored between the two teams have still been earned.
4. You have probably already heard this one, but it deserves to be noted just because it's so interesting. In today's Cincinatti Reds @ Florida Marlins game Jorge Cantu set the record for most consecutive games with a hit and an RBI to start the season. It was a record that had stood since 1921. Crazy.
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