Andrew Suarez, LHP. DOB: 9/11/1992. 6'2", 205 lbs. Drafted 2015 Round 2.
AA: 4-4, 2.96, 67 IP, 7.39 K/9, 2.01 BB/9, GO/AO= 1.28.
AAA: 6-6, 3.55, 88.2 IP, 8.12 K/9, 2.74 BB/9, GO/AO= 1.34.
Suarez is described by John Sickels as an "ultra-polished lefty." Sickels lists his FB as 88-94 MPH, which may mean he is really good at changing speeds on it. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs puts it in a narrower 89-91 MPH range. Per Longenhagen, his best secondary pitch is a tight slider and he adds a good changeup while occasionally looping in a curveball. Suarez has steadily climbed the Giants ladder since being drafted as a senior out of Univ. of Miami. He had labrum surgery and an oblique injury in college but has not missed time as a pro. His performance last year for AAA Sacramento means he is ready to challenge for a rotation spot with the Giants in spring training. He'll most likely start the season back in Sacramento but with a high probability we'll see him in SF sometime in 2018.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Been following this guy since we drafted him. I think he will end up being a solid piece of the rotation, maybe a #3 type of guy with a ceiling of a #2. I can definitely see him making a case for himself in 2018 for the rotation.
ReplyDeleteBilly Baseball
Have any idea why Suarez isn't given much chance or hype to win a spot in the rotation? I see him beating out Blach and Beede for the #5 starting spot (Stratton #4), as he pitched well in AAA, unlike Beede, and Blach didn't do so great at the end as a starter, but was doing okay as a reliever, and lo and behold, we now know Smith won't be back until May at the earliest, so we need at least one loogy.
ReplyDeleteBA noted in their 2017 book that he has an "89-93 MPH fastball that touches 95 MPH with late life," noting it "plays as an above-average pitch because of his slinging, low threel-quarters arm slot presents a tough angle." They note that he's basically like Blach but with "firmer" stuff.
MiLBA also lists him as 89-93 MPH fastball, and 81-82 MPH slider. Induces a "ton" of groundballs with solid-average sinker, and can add tick or two to fastball, with his slider as his out pitch. His other pitches are below average but play up because of "advanced sequencing."
So it seems like 89-93 is his normal range, and depending on the day, he can go up or down from there. He is an extreme strike thrower, BA reports Giants claim 70%, who also generates a lot of groundballs. That's a solid mid-rotation hurler, who can play up, right?
If there is a predilection for 1 more LHP starter, Suarez should beat out Blach unless Blach makes a huge improvement.
ReplyDeleteBlach was woefully inconsistent in 2017, a very good game here and there and some absolute clunkers. He showed adjustment in AAA in 2016 from 2015 -- he'll need that in 2018.
He's been more effective against LHB -- if he can hone that he might survive and bridge the gap until Smith is available.
Blach was considerably better in pitcher friendly AT&T. Doh
Not sure why everybody is dumping on Ty Blach here. Shark led the Giants in QS last year with 20. Ty Blach was second with 13. Moreover, Blach's 13 QS tied for #59 on all of MLB last year. At any given time there are 5X30= 150 which puts Blach well into the top half and just outside the top third. Plus he is consistently able to pltch deep into games going 7 innings in several starts which were less than QS's. There is real value in that which is not easy replaced. Go look up some Depth Charts and you will see that there are several MLB rotations where Blach would be challenging to be #1.
DeleteHe's a guy who pitches to contact, so he's going to have a bad start from time to time based just on the laws of BABIP, but he doesn't walk many batters and has a strong GB tendency, so he's going to also give you QS's and eat innings. Barring injury or a disastrous spring training, I expect Blach to be either the #5 SP or the swingman in the bullpen. If he is the swingman, it probably means a veteran ST invitee like Derek Holland won the #5 SP job, so Suarez is likely to start the season getting more salt in Sacramento.
With all due respect, Doc, Blach was "bombed" in 9 of his starts and the Giants lost all 9.
DeleteFor the Giants' run-challenged offense, he gave up 3 or more runs in half of his starts, 12.
Giants were 9-15 in his 24 starts, but a lot of blame should be attributed to the lack of offense.
In a quirk, he pitches well in Colorado and LA, better than in SF, but a majority of his starts (and games) are in SF which skews his numbers positively.
He's OK as the #5 because if the Giants squeeze into the playoffs, he probably won't be a starter.
Blach had 3 disaster starts in which he gave up a total of 22 ER in 11.2 IP. Subtract those from his totals and his ERA is 3.85.
DeleteI like Blach, but think Suarez could do better, hence why I think he's Loogy material for us in the bullpen, I think he can add value there.
DeleteBut Blach was totally figured out by the league by the time he was removed from the rotation. 5 starts, 7.90 ERA, but still only .274 BABIP, so it was not like hitters were making greater contact, but when they did make contact, they hit .902 OPS, with a .541 SLG, and 238 ISO. That's a lot of ownage he will need to figure out. He's going to have to show that he's over getting whacked in subsequent AB's, whereas the first time through, he has had some success.
And you know how the Giants do it, they go with the guy who has experience and success at a role, which Blach has had, whereas Suarez has been used only as a starter in the minors, and has had success.
Eh, those 5 starts came in August after a run of 7 consecutive starts in which he went 6.1, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8 and 7 IP. Most likely just some fatigue from hard work and a long first full MLB season.
DeleteOh, and all 7 of those were QS's.
DeleteYeah, that's why I was so surprised by his total collapse that happened so suddenly. He was great, until he was bad, there was no slide into it, as I would have expected, had it just been fatigue.
Delete