Sunday, June 22, 2008

Pelf

SHK and I had a conversation about Pelfrey about a week ago, and the same things I was saying still apply.

The kid is clearly a serviceable part of big league rotation right now. Doesn't mean every start will be great, but more often than not, he's keeping you in the game.

The transformation that this guy has had, from a body language standpoint, is unbelievable. I don't know if it correlates to the stats. I haven't taken the time to look at a game log. But I will tell you this--if you look at his first 3 starts of the year, and his most recent 3 starts, he looks like a different pitcher. He seemed so nervous and, frankly, afraid to challenge opposing hitters before. He seems content to drill a 95 MPH 4 seamer into the zone now and let the chips fall where they may. That's an amazing amount of progress, and my guess is, it would reflect in his stats.

The exciting part about Pelf is you get the sense he's about to have a surge in confidence. With his arm you know he still has plenty of room to improve still.

2 comments:

SheaHeyKid said...

We could use him to finally realize his potential this year.. Couldn't come at a better time, since Pedro seems questionable at best (and that's being generous).

If Pelf is good enough to be a solid #4 now, then we have great #1, solid #3 who will have to serve as ok #2 (Maine), questionable #3 (Pedro) and solid #4 (Pelf). If this team would stop playing like it's scared of its own shadow we might actually put together a legitimate and meaningful winning streak. As I compared earlier, the team stats are really no different than the Sox, and there's no reason (except for discipline and approach) we shouldn't be #1.

SheaHeyKid said...

In their words:

"Pelfrey was real difficult to hit today," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "He had late, violent action we didn't see last time we faced him."

Certainly bodes well!