A Different Option For Snell

by geeves on Jun 4, 2009 12:01 AM EDT Comment 8 comments

I hate to bring the topic up again, since it was discussed much recently, but perhaps now that we've pored over Nate's deal Snell can be discussed in a fresher light...

We have exactly two relievers who have approached consistency in terms of getting swings and misses, not walking batters, and generally not making us fret when they walk in from the 'pen. Jesse Chavez and Sean Burnett. If you had told me during ST that would be the case come beginning of June, I would have to assume that we were still struggling for our 10th win. Not saying that (in spite of recent falterings) Burnett and Chavez haven't been pleasantly surprising, just pointing out that our bullpen has been weak of late.

With that in mind, instead of sending Ian down to the minors for anything, why not put him in the bullpen? I know Bob Walk isn't Einstein, but he is a former pitcher, so I reasonably trust his judgement when he says that, in spite of his recent shortcomings, Snell's slider is still nasty enough that he could get swings and misses if he had any other pitch as reliable. We also know that Ian can crank his fastball up to 94-95 MPH when he feels like it, but can't locate it.

I personally think that if he goes to the bullpen and can iron out his fastball location with Kerrigan - which is certainly a possibility considering the work he did on the hot mess Capps was a short while back - then I think a guy with that combination, a mid 90's locatable FB, a good hard slider would be very valuable in late innings. He could even put that F* you attitude to good use.

I vaguely remember folks who talked about Snell's effectiveness being stretched as a starter, and I'm not saying they were right, but him moving to the 'pen really seems like it could be a win-win for Ian and the team.

Go ahead commenters. I'm insane, right?

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With the addition of Morton, the Pirates may actually be thinking the same thing. I’m not sure if it’d be a great idea to do it permanently, but it might be interesting to try for a while.

by Charlie on Jun 4, 2009 12:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree....

I wouldn’t be surprised if in two years he’s a setup man/closer somewhere. If, and it’s a HUGE if, he gets his act together, he has two plus pitches. By the way I am all for trading Capps ASAP. He really on has a fastball. I can’t believe he hasn’t worked harder on developing a second pitch. I love his command and he can bring the heat, but his FB is rather flat and he’s needs more to his repertoire.

by dtoddwin on Jun 4, 2009 12:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly!

I was thinking this too. Snell has just enough good pitches that he could become a formidable setup/closer type. And since Capps and Grabow are likely trdae candidates he would offer us some good situational experience in the Pen.

Like someone else on here said, though, he’s got concentration issues that may end up being his downfall, but if he looks at this as a chance to regain former high hopes (glory) he may do very well.

by Pensburgh Pirates on Jun 4, 2009 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

However, like Charlie notes above it’s merely worth a try. If he can’t handle the pressure or feels like he’s had enough of the Pirates (which is likely) they may have to dump him into 3A and see if that wakes him up.

My bet though is that he get’s shipped out for a pair of non-top 10 prospects.

by Pensburgh Pirates on Jun 4, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is Snell comparable to ....

Mariano Rivera? Yes, chase me out of the building for asking, but Rivera uses location, hard heat, and a relatively limited, but effective, repertoire. It’s not bad to only have two or three pitches if you only go through the line-up once in a series – as a starter, its that 3rd time around that’s a killer.

by Trogluddite on Jun 4, 2009 8:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Problem With Prospects is...

…that they are prospects who might or might notcontribute to the team …. Can you name this recently acquired prospect based on the clips I found from the time of his trade?

…most NY fans remember this St. John’s grad getting drafted in 2005 and reaching the Majors a few months later…. At only 24, he still has time to reach the potential that made him a #1 pick.

[He] reported to (his old team) spring training in 2008 and initial reports suggested that the team was impressed with his performance.

[He] will be used as a middle reliever for the Pirates for the time being, with Huntington speculating that the right-hander could have the makeup of a closer down the road.

That’s none other than Craig Hansen. What led me to dig this up is that I had heard he was cut from the 40-man roster, so I thought we were just giving up on one of "the bright young stars" of the Pirates future. But the latest news I can find is that he’s been put on the 60-day disabled list, meaning I guess that he’ll be a bright young star next year.

by Trogluddite on Jun 4, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

At the time of the Bay trade...

…Hansen was not nearly as good a prospect as any of the three guys we got yesterday. He was the fourth banana in his own deal, behind (in order of importance) LaRoche, Morris, and Moss.

Some prospects are going to fail. That’s why you need to have a large amount of prospect biomass in the system, so that you can suffer attrition and still produce a large number of ML players.

by Vlad on Jun 4, 2009 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You can....

cherry pick guys all you want. Many were burying Andy when he started 0-18 this year. That is why you have to accumulate talent in the organization. The more you have the more likely that you have guys who make it and produce at the ML level. If you aren’t going to trade for high ceiling prospects what are you going to acquire?

by dtoddwin on Jun 4, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs