James McDonald Makes Pirates Debut Tonight
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 5, 2010 12:44 AM EDT
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PrintThe Post-Gazette has a nice piece on James McDonald, who makes his Pirates debut tonight:
He will do so with a three-pitch repertoire -- fastball up to 95 mph, curveball and changeup -- plus a slider in progress. He also will do so with a 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame that is lankier than that of most starters. Neither of those fits the prototype, but ...
I've seen McDonald pitch several times, but I was still surprised when I went to FanGraphs to check on that 95 MPH thing. Too often, "up to 95 MPH" might be true, but what it really means is "...but he throws 88 most of the time." I'd had the idea that McDonald wasn't a soft-tosser, but that he sat at about 90-91. It turns out that his fastball averaged almost 93 MPH in 2009, when he spent most of his time coming out of the bullpen. He might take a mile per hour or two off that tonight, since he'll be starting and not relieving.
The more I think about the Octavio Dotel trade, the more I like it. Looking over McDonald's stat line, there's really no reason to view him as a disappointment or a busted prospect. He pitched badly in L.A. this year, but that was in four appearances. He pitched well in the Dodgers' bullpen last year and was very good at Class AAA both this year and last, when you account for how hard it is to pitch in Albuquerque.
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Dang.
Going to the game Friday, not tomorrow. I wish I could see his first start.
by thecheeseisblue on Aug 5, 2010 12:55 AM EDT reply actions
Ohlendorf, by comparison, averaged 93.7 MPH with the fastball in 40 relief innings with the Yankees in 2008 (now 91 MPH in the Pirates rotation)
That sounds about right for McDonald.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 5, 2010 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions
I wish him very good luck...
It’ll be refreshing to see someone other than No Relation or Burress every five days.
I was pulling for him in the Bay trade.
We didn’t get him, but we really screwed over the Dodgers on this Dotel deal.
If we can get a good mentor (not Chan Ho Park) that can teach him how to pitch effectively, and Chris Snyder can call the game well, we could have an exciting pitcher.
It's nice to see
The Pirates are acquiring a nice little collection of pitchers who project as back of the rotation types if they pan out. They have a healthy number currently bouncing between the bigs and AAA, and a second wave of them at AA and A.
what are you talking about?
he’s never been a front of the rotation guy, therefore he never can be. Therefore, he’s a back of the rotation guy at best.
Is this post for real?
Just because he was placed at the back of the rotation, in his first year up with the Dodgers, implies/means that he can’t become a front-of-the-rotation guy? That makes zero sense….
When you are ranked 1st on a Teams List of Prospects, for two years in a row, especially on the Dodgers, you aren’t being projected to be a back-of-the-rotation guy, or at the very least, you possess upside/potential to become closer to the front.
Whether he makes it to be that #2 is a different story…..but your argument makes zero sense in why he won’t.
by CabreraKilledMyChildhood on Aug 5, 2010 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Since it makes zero sense, it was obviously sarcasm.
Sort of how people sarcastically say someone will suck as a first time closer because they have zero saves.
Sarcasm is tough to get on forums like these.....
My bad if intended to be funny. If not, zero sense.
by CabreraKilledMyChildhood on Aug 5, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Fortunately we acquired Chan Ho Park…he was an All-Star once you know.
http://bleedblackandgold.com/
by Say Hey Johnny Ray on Aug 5, 2010 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions
If only we could have pushed those McLouth for Hanson and Morgan for Strasburg deals through…
by Adam Reynolds on Aug 5, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
This wasn't mentioned in the P-G piece...
…but McDonald also has very good bloodlines. Two of his cousins (Darnell and Donzell McDonald) have played in the majors, his uncle Ben McDonald played in the NBA, and his father James played in the NFL. That’s quite the family tree.
I know you probably didn't mean it literally,
but I always wonder whether “bloodlines” really have anything to do with it. There can’t be an “MLB” gene or an “NBA” gene, can there? I think it’s more likely that having an older pro athlete in the family (father, uncle, big brother) exposes the kid to a pro atmosphere, to pro facilities, to pro coaching from an early age, and if the kid has any athletic ability at all this really boosts the chances. Kind of like how kids who follow their parents into, say, acting have usually grown up around actors and learned from a very early age how to act and to conduct themselves around a stage. That exposure and that name open doors and give them many more chances to succeed than mortal human beings get.
It may be more nurture than nature. However, recent studies suggest that there are athlete genes. Among other things, genes can influence how well one’s body holds up under repeated stress. For example, some people run marathons into their 70’s and 80’s with no knee trouble while others need to give up running in their 30’s despite having no other health issues. There was a really interesting article in SI about this a few months ago.
I don't think there's a "MLB" gene, per se.
But it shouldn’t be a surprise if strong, athletic people have strong, athletic kids.
I’m sure that the environmental factors play a role as well, as you note.
Careful ...
That line of thinking is what got Jimmy the Greek canned. :-)
Except Jimmy broke it down by race.
And that was his mistake. Vlad didn’t make that mistake. The man spoke the truth more or less but that doesn’t matter.
I was excited when we got McDonald
I remember thinking he could be a big fantasy sleeper. Good stuff, better than most.
RIP NATE. RIP TONY PLUSH.
"I'D BE A CHEF"
-TONY PLUSH
I’m excited. I think McDonald is going to be a good player for the Bucs. He’s thrown for FIP under 3 in AAA, and though a small sample size largely skews it, his FIP in the four games this year he got hit in have been about half of his 8.22 ERA. I also like that he’s put up 11 K/9 in AAA on multiple occasions.
He clearly has an out pitch, though I don’t know what it is. FanGraphs says he throws a lot of curveballs, about 34% this year, well over his career average.
Nice move
I like McDonald. Though the Bucs have a small cadre of young position players as a foundation, I don’t see much in the pitching department. McDonald could be someone to build on. The bloodlines thing might be a stretch, but it can’t hurt. Dotel never did anything for me except raise my temperature. Every pitching appearance, no matter what team he was one, was an adventure.
I seriously hope J-Mac does wonders for you guys
It will only strengthen the idea of our GM being fired.
J-Mac can be awesome. He just has to lay off his straight fastball and use his change up more often.
Cool analysis.
If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any words on Lambo?
Hey, an out is an out - unless you're Mario, in which case it's probably two outs. -UtesFan89
Hard work always beats talent if talent doesn't work hard.
This should definitely be fun.
Question: Where does McDonald rate among our pitching prospects going forward? I’m not sure I’d take any pitcher currently in our system (since Taillon isn’t actually in our system yet) over McDonald right now, and that seems to put in perspective what a good trade this was for us.
Hey, an out is an out - unless you're Mario, in which case it's probably two outs. -UtesFan89
Hard work always beats talent if talent doesn't work hard.
im going to the game tonight
and im excited to see mcdonald! hopefully he can put me over .500 for the first time since i went to the opener! im 8-8…
You people are going to break my heart
I wish I hadn’t read any of this. Before, a good start from McDonald would have felt great. Now, anything but a good start will give me a sad.
He’s a Pirate now, therefore he will either nibble all night, throw straight FBs down the middle, or have his shoulder literally explode in the 7th inning of a perfect game.
Relax
He was fabulous. It was a blast watching a guy wearing black and gold making hitters swing and miss.
by RichieHebner on Aug 6, 2010 1:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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