Steven Okert, LHP. DOB: 7/9/1991. 6'3", 210 lbs.
AAA: 5-3, 3.82, 61.1 IP, 10.13 K/9, 4.26 BB/9.
Last year at this time, Steven Okert was THE guy. The guy who was going to succeed Jeremy Affeldt. Then last season happened and Josh Osich rocketed past him to establish himself as that guy. At first glance, Okert's numbers don't look that bad, especially considering he was pitching in the PCL. Yeah, the BB's are up there, but so are the K's and a 3.82 ERA is actually pretty good for the PCL. Then you look at his monthly splits and realize he had a ghastly middle of the season. After getting off to a great start in April, his ERA ballooned to 5.68 in May and was even worse with a 6.30 in June. He got a bit better in July with a 4.76, but by that time Osich was on the fast track. His 1.26 in August was back to his expected standards, but then he gave up 2 runs in 3 IP in September to finish on a not-so-great note.
If you look at his K rate, the league he was pitching in and his August numbers, you realize Okert still has it in him to be a top lefty reliever. He also had a fairly big L-R split, so maybe his future is more of a lefty specialist than the multi-inning guy he looked like last year. What he needs to do is forget about those bad months last year, get back into his groove and be ready when something opens up at the big league level. One of the lefties could stink it up. Someone could get injured. The Giants have gone with 3 lefty relievers at times in the past or they could go with 13 pitchers for awhile. There will be opportunities, but there will also be competition for those same opportunities. 2016 will be a pivotal season for Okert.
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Okert on Doc's Top 50:
ReplyDelete2013: 28
2014: --
2015: 16
2016: 48
24 on Cove's
Does Okert have the mid-90's stuff that Osich has? That's a pretty big key.
ReplyDeleteAlso, which of these guys was the one they converted from SP to RP because he said he was more comfortable in that roll? It was one of these two LH RP's..
Osich was a starter in college, but because of his multiple injuries, the Giants took it slow with him by putting him in bullpen. But then he stated sometime after that, that he actually preferred the relief role. Also, Lopez is near retirement age, hopefully he's not expecting to get put in a starter's role anytime.
DeleteOkert does not have the same stuff that Okert has, but he has never had it and still he was extremely effective with it in previous seasons, great K/BB ratios, out of the world really.
So I still have a lot of hope for him, I would still have him up in a much higher tier.
Rainball,
DeleteYes, Osich was the one who was a starter in college and early in his pro career. I believe I've read that Okert's FB tops out at 93-94 MPH while Osich can sit at 95-96 and hit 97-98, so Osich has a significant velocity edge.
ogc,
I ranked the following reliever prospects ahead of Okert: Ray Black, Rodolfo Martinez, Kyle Crick, Ian Gardeck, Jake Smith, Derek Law, Dan Slania. Would you rank Okert ahead of any of those guys?