Brett Bochy, RHP. DOB: 8/27/1987. 6'2", 192 lbs. B-R, T-R.
AA: 7-3, 2.53, 53.1 IP, 18 BB, 69 K, GO/AO= 0.48, 14 Saves.
Brett Bochy is another one who is hard to place on the prospect heirarchy. He was drafted out of Kansas in round 20 of the 2010 draft after missing most of his junior season with Tommy John surgery. He surfaced in Augusta in 2011 and quickly became their close, putting up impressive numbers in a small sample size: 1-0, 1.38, 39 IP, 8 BB, 53 K, 10 Saves. The Giants promoted him aggressively to AA for 2012 and he absolutely dominated in the first half. I believe he did not allow an earned run in is first 18 innings or something like that. Things kind of fell apart in August as his ERA ballooned to 7.36 for the month and he was finally shut down 2 weeks early with pain in his right elbow and what pops described as a "very tired arm."
Bochy's velocity is also a bit of a mystery. In his BA pre-draft scouting report he reportedly had a 91-93 mph fastball. I've read multiple recent reports that lead me to believe he may not be throwing that hard now. You read a lot of comments to the effect that he hides the ball well and the FB looks faster than it is on the radar gun. I found one 48 second video on Youtube titled Brett Bochy.3gp. You can't really tell much from that. There is another video titled Flying Squirrels Insider Episode 4 in which Brett and Justin Fitzgerald demonstrate the Timmy Change that Brett helped Justin perfect.
By the numbers, Brett Bochy should be ranked higher than this, but the velocity questions and arm issues that arose at the end of the season cast a shadow. Hopefully the arm issue is just a passing fatigue thing. Stay tuned this spring.
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We always talk about how the Eastern League is a tough place to hit, so we interpret offensive stats through that lense. How do we apply that to pitchers?
ReplyDeleteYes, I always take EL pitching stats with a grain of salt and consider Fresno the big test.
DeleteIn general, the Low A SAL is quite pitcher friendly. The high A Cal League is hitter friendly except the SJ ballpark is fairly neutral. AA EL is extremely pitcher friendly and the AAA PCL is extremely hitter friendly. At least that is how I look at it.
I totally agre with DrB assessment of the leagues.
DeleteKs should be league independent, right?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily. What is the reason for the differences between league? If at higher elevations, for instance, if sinkers don't sink and breaking balls don't break, that is going to tend to suppress K's. There could also be differences between leagues in now umpires call balls and strikes.
DeleteAlso, for example, a study by Mayo found San Joses Municipal Park to be conducive for Ks. Bowker, in an interview, said it was the poor background making it hard for hitters to make out the pitches. Yes, it was that long ago.
DeleteThanks for the informative comments.
ReplyDeleteYeah, by the numbers, got to really love Brett! But like you, the injuries/fatigue worries me too. But given how Papa Bochy seems to know so much about handling relievers, I have to think that Brett is in good hands and that he was still recovering from his TJS from two years past.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think are the odds of him competing and winning the last relief roster spot? I saw someone who was wondering why they are picking up so many arms, and that got me thinking that maybe they are doing this so that it is clear, if Brett does win a spot, that he earned it with a lot of competitors in the mix, and not that Daddy favored his son. Given how well he did in AA, he could jump to the majors probably, and not miss much of a beat. Might be good to have a post about the relief candidates and your thoughts on the odds of each of them winning a spot (I view it as one open spot with Mota gone and one competitive spot with Mijares pretty much getting it with a decent spring, much like BWeez in his first major spring training, where he was pretty much guaranteed a spot but pitched his way off the roster).
Personally? I'll be shocked if Brett Bochy is on the active roster out of spring training.
DeleteI would be shocked too, but he is close enough and I think he did well enough that he could be a dark hors candidate. Unlikely, but not out of the realm, I think.
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