Chris Stratton pitched a gem and the Giants offense scored their requisite 4 runs for a winning combination. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .269. Panik is heavily BABIP dependent and his BABIP is on the rise. Giants broadcasting team made a big point of Panik playing better on the East Coast "in front of his family." Not sure what that means.
Ryder Jones 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(1). BA= .180. Jones has been playing a scintillating defense at 1B and he looked a whole lot more comfortable at the plate today. His one out double started the 3 run rally in the second inning.
Gorkys Hernandez CF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(10). BA= .261. I would not mind a straight platoon of Gorkys and Span in CF. That's what I wanted at the beginning of the season.
Chris Stratton RHP- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K's. ERA= 4.91. Wow! If I didn't know better I might think Stratton is a former first round draft pick....oh right! I guess he is! Man, 2 months ago I had Stratton written off as a prospect after a string of disheartening appearances for Sacramento. Since then he's really picked it up. Today, he was overpowering with a FB that he could both sink and go upstairs and a plus curveball and slider, both with sharp downward bite. Per Pavs, Stratton's curveball has the highest spin rate in the majors. He was dominating.
Here's the thing with Chris Stratton, He's had these kinds of games in the minors but he hasn't been able to maintain consistency. That's his big challenge. He's proven he's got the stuff to be an ace. Now he needs to prove he can repeat it start after start.
Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(9). ERA= 5.57. Dyson is stlll the closer until Melancon gets his feet back on the ground. Giants are not paying Melancon $60 M to be a setup man, though, so he's sure to eventually get the 9'th inning back.
*********************************************************************************
Matt Moore tries for a series win against Max Scherzer in Game 2 of the DH.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Stratton was surprisingly good. I was impressed with his four-pitch mix and how he kept some of the best hitters in baseball off-balance until he kind of ran out of gas in the bottom of the 7th.
ReplyDeleteDrB and I discussed Chris Stratton in depth in an earlier post. The text of my comments and a link to them follow...
ReplyDeleteText...
kar120cDecember 22, 2016 at 11:03 AM
Interesting analysis - my compliments. However, whist I realize, DrB, that there is only so much space to include everything in your report, I will humbly offer to add a few things about Chris Stratton that we may wish keep in mind...
- Tall and lean through much of his High School years, he was a late bloomer at Mississippi St., not becoming the "Friday Night" starter until his Senior year. However, as a Senior, he was a consensus All-American after going 11–2 with a 2.38 earned run average and 127 strikeouts in 109 innings. He was the 2012 SEC Pitcher of the Year that year, beating out LSU's Kevin Gausman (now with BAL), Georgia's Alex Wood (now with LAD, by way of ATL), Kentucky's Taylor Rogers (now with MIN), and Alabama's Ian Gardeck (now with our own SFG) for that honor.
- He was personally scouted by Brian Sabean that year, and taken by the Giants with pick #20 in Round 1. I know, Corey Seager went to the Dodgers at #18 and Michael Wacha went to the Cardinals at #19 - but hey, if Seager dropped to the Giants, there may be no Brandon Crawford. And If Wacha went to the Giants, what would have become of Travis and the "The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!" over the Cardinals in 2014?
- Most importantly, the Giants took Stratton in June of 2012. Scarcely 2 months later, Stratton was struck in the temple with a line drive while standing near second base during batting practice resulting in a severe concussion, requiring hospitalization, and with after-effects lingering into 2013.
- Stratton has seen a promotion in each year he has been in the Giants organization (and often seen increased workload also) since 2013: 132IP in Augusta in 2013. 122IP between San Jose and Richmond in 2014. 148IP between Richmond and Sacramento in 2015. 125IP in Sacramento and a cup of coffee with the Giants in 2016.
- Concussion aside, he has been remarkable injury free as a Giant.
- His velo - never that poor - has been creeping up lately. I saw 94 in a game against the Dodgers this season, and he has touched 96 several times in the AFL this fall.
History shows there have been more than one late bloomers as pitchers. Dazzy Vance had a HOF career with 197 wins, a 3.24 ERA and 2,045 strikeouts, despite not winning his first MLB game until age 31. Randy Johnson had a 56-61 record entering his age 29 season. Nolan Ryan had a 29-38 record during his initial six years with the NY Mets. Remember Jason Grilli? He was a first round draft pick, fourth pick overall(!), of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft. By the Giants. After leaving the Giants, he took a while to make his mark. Grilli pitched a grand total of 33.1 innings in the show before his age 27 season (and over 600 as a reliever since then). Sometimes, things break late for a guy. Sometimes, they don't break at all.
I would not be surprised if Stratton was in the mix for #5 starter if the Giants decide that Matt Cain is through and Ty Blach (or Tyler Beede) is not ready.
Link...
http://whenthegiantscometotown.blogspot.com/2016/12/drbs-2017-giants-top-50-prospects-13.html
stratton's numbers are better as a starter than they are as a reliever. i think if cueto returns, they should consider going with a six-man rotation in september and they will have a better idea of matt moore's fate in the offseason.
ReplyDelete