Is It Time To Call Poreda Up To Birmingham?

by PaulieK14 on May 6, 2008 11:12 PM CDT

Another stellar performance tonight on the road in 7 Innings, 1 Hit (No Hitter into the 6th), 1 ER, 1 BB, & 7 K's.

His ERA is down to 2.72 after a rough 1st outing (that hasn't been made up yet due to ANOTHER suspended game), he's given up only 1 HR in 36.1 innings, batters are hitting only .234 against him, while walking only 5 and striking out 25. He's absolutely on a TEAR.

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no

Jesus H. Larry! I said the first half!

by larry on May 7, 2008 9:14 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

and his trading value is higher at W-S yes?

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on May 7, 2008 12:49 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Did he learn to consistently throw an above average secondary pitch yet?

I suspect not, and until he finds that off-speed pitch, Poreda shouldn’t be thought of as anything but a Matt Thornton with an upside.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on May 7, 2008 1:05 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

A Little Perspective

After getting his feet wet in Rookie ball, the San Francisco native knew it was important to further develop secondary pitches.

“Last year I worked a lot on the slider and changeup and using different pitches in different counts,” Poreda said. “The hitters are more aggressive here and know the strike zone better. Pitches down the middle will get hit, so you can’t make too many mistakes.”

I wouldn’t say he has learned to consistently throw an ABOVE AVERAGE secondary pitch, but the control is what impresses me right now. 5 walks in 36+ innings with 25 K’s is pretty impressive.

Also, just a look @ the other 1st round pitchers’ lines from the ‘07 draft:

Daniel Moskos – #4 Pittsburgh: Class A Advanced Carolina League – Lynchburg Hillcats
2 – 1 4.55 ERA 29.2 IP 15 ER 2 HRs 8 BB 17 K .235 AVG

Ross Detwiler – #6 Washington: Class A Advanced Carolina League – Potomac Nationals
1 – 2 5.18 ERA 24.1 IP 14 ER 2 HRs 14 BB 20 K .309 AVG

Casey Weathers – #8 Colorado: Double-A Texas League – Tulsa Drillers
1 – 0 1.54 ERA 11.2 IP 2 ER 0 HRs 4 BB 8 K .171 AVG

Jarrod Parker – #9 Arizona: Class A Midwest League – South Bend Silver Hawks
2 – 1 1.31 ERA 20.2 IP 3 ER 1 HR 2 BB 19 K .226 AVG

Madison Bumgarner – #10 San Fransisco: Class A South Atlantic League – Augusta GreenJackets
3 – 2 3.21 ERA 28.0 IP 10 ER 0 HR 7 BB 35 K .221 AVG

Phillippe Aumont – #11 Seattle: Class A Midwest League – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
1 – 1 0.00 ERA 14.2 IP 0 ER 1 HR 6 BB 15 K .135 AVG

Blake Beavan – #17 Texas: Class A Midwest League – Clinton LumberKings
1 – 1 3.00 ERA 12.0 IP 4 ER 2 HR 0 BB 3 K .214 AVG

Joe Savery – #19 Philadelphia: Class A Advanced Florida State League – Clearwater Threshers
1 – 2 3.56 ERA 43.0 IP 17 ER 1 HR 18 BB 39 K .259 AVG

Tim Alderson – #22 San Fransisco: Class A Advanced California League – San Jose Giants
4 – 1 3.03 ERA 32.2 IP 11 ER 0 HR 9 BB 21 K .237 AVG

Rick Porcello – #27 Detroit: Class A Advanced Florida State League – Lakeland Flying Tigers
2-4 1.98 ERA 36.1 IP 8 ER 1 HR 12 BB 22 K .191 AVG

David Price (#1 TB) had soreness in his elbow back in late March, so I couldn’t find out what his current status is, but I couldn’t find any indication that he’s playing.

But what does all of this mean? It looks like most players are in Class A Advanced Leagues, with one being in Double A. I think Poreda’s numbers compare just fine with these guys’. I understand that age is a question mark in whether or not to rush a pitcher, but I asked this question as a rhetorical one to see what everyone’s thoughts were.

by PaulieK14 on May 7, 2008 2:03 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

he does need to learn an ABOVE AVERAGE secondary pitch

if he wants to be a starter. which is rather the point. if you’re content with a reliever, by all means promote him.

Jesus H. Larry! I said the first half!

by larry on May 7, 2008 2:17 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

What happened to the default "small sample size"?

‘nuff said.

I took the "under".

by winningugly on May 7, 2008 3:17 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

that works, too

but poreda, if you want him to be a reliever, would certainly be ready to handle AA and beyond this year. but if you want him to develop as a starter, he should stay at w-s at least until july/august and certainly not see anything higher than b-ham this year.

Jesus H. Larry! I said the first half!

by larry on May 7, 2008 3:29 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Agree.

by dantesox on May 9, 2008 4:54 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

his strike out rates and good control suggest

to me that he doesn’t have much outside of his fastball, but that it’s a good fastball.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on May 7, 2008 4:51 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

If it's a good fastball

promote him. A good fastball and control is more than enough to get by in AA. I seem to remember a man named Billy Koch who made a good 1/2 career off of (as far as I could tell) a fastball and crap changeup.

by hugh_102106 on May 7, 2008 8:52 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Do you really want to tout the virtues of Billy Koch

on a White Sox blog? Especially when he’s supposed to be comparable to a first-round pick?

The point isn’t getting by statistically—the point is actual development. Ryan Sweeney got by at every level, and a fat lot of good that did him.

Never trust a big butt and a smile.
Sox Machine

by Sox Machine on May 7, 2008 9:05 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Sweeney

Is holding his own in Oakland as a 23 year old.

by madvillian on May 10, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I wasn't touting Billy Koch

I was using him as a comp to prove that it is possible to succeed with only a fastball….it’s hard for a mid-to-late 20s established closer to develop, as opposed to a 20(?) year old SP who will still be facing minor league competition. It’s a lot easier to play with fire in Birmingham then Chicago. He will also have a very long rope because he is
a)A first-round pick, and
b)A rookie

by hugh_102106 on May 7, 2008 9:11 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

so why rush at all then?

he’s the largest dollar commitment the Sox have in the minors right now outside of…I dn. He’s up there, is the point, so why promote him? What is gained? Just because he can doesn’t mean it’s the best course.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on May 8, 2008 6:24 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs