Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Hammel Time
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Follow @RyanPBoyer and @Rotoworld_BB on Twitter.
Jason Hammel pitched the best ball of his career in the first half of last season with the Cubs, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them bring him back over the offseason. The right-hander has picked up right where he left off.
Hammel entered Monday’s outing against the Marlins as one of the hottest pitchers in the game and he certainly kept it going in the Cubs’ 5-1 victory. The 32-year-old surrendered just one run over 6 2/3 innings, didn’t walk anyone and recorded 11 strikeouts. The 11 punchouts set a new career high for the veteran righty.
Over his last seven starts, Hammel’s ERA sits at a microscopic 1.84 and his WHIP over that time is just 0.71. His K/BB ratio over 67 innings this season is a ridiculous 69/7 and he’s got his season ERA down to 2.82 and WHIP to 0.90.
Durability has been a big concern for Hammel during his career, as he hasn’t made 30 starts since 2010 and he’s never even pitched 180 innings in a season. That’s especially noteworthy when considering he’s throwing more sliders than ever (35.5 percent according to Fangraphs.com going into Monday’s start), a pitch that puts lots of stress on the arm. It’s clear, though, that Hammel and pitching coach Chris Bosio have a good thing going. The righty figures to remain pretty successful as long as he’s healthy.
Hello, Gallo
Rangers fans would prefer it didn’t happen as a result of an injury to one of their stars, but they’ll be happy to get a look at one of the best prospects in the game regardless.
With Adrian Beltre headed to the disabled list with a dislocated left thumb, Texas will promote Joey Gallo from Double-A Frisco prior to Tuesday’s game to take over at third base.
“We called him up with the intent that he’s going to play,” general manager Jon Daniels told MLB.com.
Gallo is going to play, yes. But his stay will be a short one. The 21-year-old will be sent back down when Beltre is ready, which is expected to be in 2-3 weeks. At least that’s the plan, according to Daniels.
“There’s not going to be any quarterback controversy,” Daniels said. “He can come up, do what he can do and just help the club. He doesn’t have to hit in the middle of the order and carry anybody.”
Gallo is obviously known for his raw power, which is as good as anyone’s in the game in the minors or majors. He’s slugged 40 homers each of the last two seasons and a whopping 113 over 1,410 plate appearances for a rate of one longball for every 12.5 trips he makes to the dish. The youngster has batted .314/.425/.636 with nine homers and 31 RBI for Frisco this season.
The appeal with Gallo is obvious, especially with power down so much across the game. He’s certainly not without his warts, though, as the third baseman has piled up strikeouts just like he’s piled up homers. Gallo has struck out an alarming 478 times over his 330 minor league games, including 49 times over 34 contests this season.
Gallo has also walked a lot (209 times), too, so he’s not totally devoid of plate discipline. Still, even his most ardent supporters would probably admit he’s not ready for the majors yet. It will be fun to see what he can do, though, and it’s certainly not out of the question that he can get hot for a couple weeks and provide a nice little boost for fantasy owners.
Cishek Sent to Minors
When imagining Steve Cishek’s goals before the season, one might think he’d been aiming to make his first All-Star team. Maybe he wanted to nail down his first 40-save season.
One thing we can say was certainly not one of his goals was to be sent to the minor leagues. But, alas, that’s where he’s headed after the Marlins optioned him to Double-A Jacksonville following Monday’s game.
Cishek entered this season with a career 2.65 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 284 strikeouts across 257 2/3 innings. He also converted 91 of 101 save opportunities, good for a terrific conversion rate of over 90 percent. It’s doubtful you’d find anyone willing to rebut if you hailed Cishek before Opening Day as among the better relievers in the National League.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old has just never looked right this season, though. Cishek yielded four runs over one-third of an inning in his first appearance of 2015, never saw his ERA drop below 6.75 and blew more saves (four) than he converted (three) before being removed from the closer role last month. Cishek will try to iron out his issues at Jacksonville while also hopefully rediscovering some of his lost velocity (his average fastball this season has been a career-low 90.2 mph, according to Fangraphs.com).
Meanwhile, A.J. Ramos has allowed just one run over 8 1/3 innings to go along with an 11/1 K/BB ratio while converting all four of his save chances since taking over the ninth inning. The 28-year-old can have his control issues, but he has swing-and-miss stuff and currently has a stranglehold on the Marlins’ closer gig.
National League Quick Hits: Jose Fernandez (elbow) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Saturday with High-A Jupiter … Jacob deGrom fanned eight while yielding just two hits over eight shutout frames in Monday’s win over the Padres … Andre Ethier tripled and hit a solo home run as part of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught in a win over the Rockies Monday … Nolan Arenado went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday’s loss to the Dodgers … Mike Fiers fired six shutout innings in a victory over the Cardinals Monday … Corey Dickerson (foot) ran the bases on Monday … Travis d’Arnaud (finger) could resume his rehab assignment later this week … Wil Myers (wrist) could take batting practice on the field Wednesday … Yasiel Puig (hamstring) ran at close to 100 percent on Monday … Alex Wood allowed only one run in eight innings in Monday’s win over the D’Backs … Mat Latos (knee) is expected to begin a rehab assignment later this week … Doug Fister (elbow) threw a light bullpen session on Monday … Tuffy Gosewisch has been diagnosed with a full tear of his left ACL …
American League Quick Hits: Matt Moore (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte on Wednesday … Scott Kazmir (shoulder) tossed a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday without issue … Desmond Jennings (knee) had a few at-bats in an extended spring training game Monday but still didn’t feel 100 percent … J.J. Hardy is dealing with soreness in his left side and could require a trip to the disabled list … Luis Valbuena went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Monday’s victory over the Orioles … Hisashi Iwakuma (lat) is on track to begin a rehab assignment in about two weeks … Mark Teixeira belted a grand slam off of Felix Hernandez on Monday versus the Mariners … Jason Castro left Monday’s game versus the Orioles with a bruised right knee after being hit by a pitch … Chris Capuano has been demoted to the Yankees’ bullpen, with Adam Warren retaining his rotation spot …
Follow @RyanPBoyer and @Rotoworld_BB on Twitter.
Jason Hammel pitched the best ball of his career in the first half of last season with the Cubs, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them bring him back over the offseason. The right-hander has picked up right where he left off.
Hammel entered Monday’s outing against the Marlins as one of the hottest pitchers in the game and he certainly kept it going in the Cubs’ 5-1 victory. The 32-year-old surrendered just one run over 6 2/3 innings, didn’t walk anyone and recorded 11 strikeouts. The 11 punchouts set a new career high for the veteran righty.
Over his last seven starts, Hammel’s ERA sits at a microscopic 1.84 and his WHIP over that time is just 0.71. His K/BB ratio over 67 innings this season is a ridiculous 69/7 and he’s got his season ERA down to 2.82 and WHIP to 0.90.
Durability has been a big concern for Hammel during his career, as he hasn’t made 30 starts since 2010 and he’s never even pitched 180 innings in a season. That’s especially noteworthy when considering he’s throwing more sliders than ever (35.5 percent according to Fangraphs.com going into Monday’s start), a pitch that puts lots of stress on the arm. It’s clear, though, that Hammel and pitching coach Chris Bosio have a good thing going. The righty figures to remain pretty successful as long as he’s healthy.
Hello, Gallo
Rangers fans would prefer it didn’t happen as a result of an injury to one of their stars, but they’ll be happy to get a look at one of the best prospects in the game regardless.
With Adrian Beltre headed to the disabled list with a dislocated left thumb, Texas will promote Joey Gallo from Double-A Frisco prior to Tuesday’s game to take over at third base.
“We called him up with the intent that he’s going to play,” general manager Jon Daniels told MLB.com.
Gallo is going to play, yes. But his stay will be a short one. The 21-year-old will be sent back down when Beltre is ready, which is expected to be in 2-3 weeks. At least that’s the plan, according to Daniels.
“There’s not going to be any quarterback controversy,” Daniels said. “He can come up, do what he can do and just help the club. He doesn’t have to hit in the middle of the order and carry anybody.”
Gallo is obviously known for his raw power, which is as good as anyone’s in the game in the minors or majors. He’s slugged 40 homers each of the last two seasons and a whopping 113 over 1,410 plate appearances for a rate of one longball for every 12.5 trips he makes to the dish. The youngster has batted .314/.425/.636 with nine homers and 31 RBI for Frisco this season.
The appeal with Gallo is obvious, especially with power down so much across the game. He’s certainly not without his warts, though, as the third baseman has piled up strikeouts just like he’s piled up homers. Gallo has struck out an alarming 478 times over his 330 minor league games, including 49 times over 34 contests this season.
Gallo has also walked a lot (209 times), too, so he’s not totally devoid of plate discipline. Still, even his most ardent supporters would probably admit he’s not ready for the majors yet. It will be fun to see what he can do, though, and it’s certainly not out of the question that he can get hot for a couple weeks and provide a nice little boost for fantasy owners.
Cishek Sent to Minors
When imagining Steve Cishek’s goals before the season, one might think he’d been aiming to make his first All-Star team. Maybe he wanted to nail down his first 40-save season.
One thing we can say was certainly not one of his goals was to be sent to the minor leagues. But, alas, that’s where he’s headed after the Marlins optioned him to Double-A Jacksonville following Monday’s game.
Cishek entered this season with a career 2.65 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 284 strikeouts across 257 2/3 innings. He also converted 91 of 101 save opportunities, good for a terrific conversion rate of over 90 percent. It’s doubtful you’d find anyone willing to rebut if you hailed Cishek before Opening Day as among the better relievers in the National League.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old has just never looked right this season, though. Cishek yielded four runs over one-third of an inning in his first appearance of 2015, never saw his ERA drop below 6.75 and blew more saves (four) than he converted (three) before being removed from the closer role last month. Cishek will try to iron out his issues at Jacksonville while also hopefully rediscovering some of his lost velocity (his average fastball this season has been a career-low 90.2 mph, according to Fangraphs.com).
Meanwhile, A.J. Ramos has allowed just one run over 8 1/3 innings to go along with an 11/1 K/BB ratio while converting all four of his save chances since taking over the ninth inning. The 28-year-old can have his control issues, but he has swing-and-miss stuff and currently has a stranglehold on the Marlins’ closer gig.
National League Quick Hits: Jose Fernandez (elbow) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Saturday with High-A Jupiter … Jacob deGrom fanned eight while yielding just two hits over eight shutout frames in Monday’s win over the Padres … Andre Ethier tripled and hit a solo home run as part of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught in a win over the Rockies Monday … Nolan Arenado went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday’s loss to the Dodgers … Mike Fiers fired six shutout innings in a victory over the Cardinals Monday … Corey Dickerson (foot) ran the bases on Monday … Travis d’Arnaud (finger) could resume his rehab assignment later this week … Wil Myers (wrist) could take batting practice on the field Wednesday … Yasiel Puig (hamstring) ran at close to 100 percent on Monday … Alex Wood allowed only one run in eight innings in Monday’s win over the D’Backs … Mat Latos (knee) is expected to begin a rehab assignment later this week … Doug Fister (elbow) threw a light bullpen session on Monday … Tuffy Gosewisch has been diagnosed with a full tear of his left ACL …
American League Quick Hits: Matt Moore (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte on Wednesday … Scott Kazmir (shoulder) tossed a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday without issue … Desmond Jennings (knee) had a few at-bats in an extended spring training game Monday but still didn’t feel 100 percent … J.J. Hardy is dealing with soreness in his left side and could require a trip to the disabled list … Luis Valbuena went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Monday’s victory over the Orioles … Hisashi Iwakuma (lat) is on track to begin a rehab assignment in about two weeks … Mark Teixeira belted a grand slam off of Felix Hernandez on Monday versus the Mariners … Jason Castro left Monday’s game versus the Orioles with a bruised right knee after being hit by a pitch … Chris Capuano has been demoted to the Yankees’ bullpen, with Adam Warren retaining his rotation spot …
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