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ayaghmour2 · 05-18-2024, 04:55 PM

As is custom with nearly every offseason, we deal away from our pitching depth to either fill a hole or improve the farm system. This year it was almost the exact opposite of last year, as instead of a 3-for-2 with the Kings, we did a 2-for-3 with the Kings. And instead of adding FABL talent, we subtracted.

It was the long awaited move of one of our six starting pitchers, with George Oddo and former 1st Rounder Tommy Seymour heading to the Kings for a trio of prospects. Oddo, a former 8th Round Pick, debuted for us in 1945, and went 7-7 with a 3.02 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, and 71 strikeouts. He didn't pitch the following season, but made two starts in '47 before 20 or more in each of the past three seasons. An excellent stuff pitcher, he has a 12.8 K% in 681.1 FABL innings, and his 1.5 K/BB is quite impressive. The issue for Oddo has always been the longball, so much so that a stretch of eight starts saw him allow two homers in seven of the eight starts. Yes, 14 homers in 8 games. This necessitated the Jim Morrison acquisition, sending Oddo to AAA, where he won all six of his decisions. And since a 28-year-old is far more appealing then a 35-year-old, Oddo was the odd(o) man out. I'm fully ready for him to do what Ron Berry did and have a great season, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

The return is three prospects outside of the top 100, though considering Jimmy Isgro ranks 101st, is nothing more then semantics. A 21-year-old righty, Isgro had a rough season with Class A Springfield, going 3-17 with a 6.49 ERA (60 ERA+), 1.81 WHIP, and more walks (88) then strikeouts (73). Concerning, right? Nah... He was just 20! Well, for 22 of his 24 starts, and the former 1st Rounder has always been a guy I wanted in our system. He was absurd in high school, 19-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and 351 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched. A four pitch pitcher who stands 6'3'', he's got a real nice sinker that helps him keep the ball on the ground. He's still working through the command part, but it's tough to elevate his pitches. His splitter is a real nice strikeout pitch, and he attacks hitters with his cutter and fastball. Generally I'm not the biggest fan of guys with three fastballs, but he's already in the 89-91 range, and the cutter almost functions as a harder sinker. It may be his best pitch, and if we can keep him out of the center of the plate, I think he's going to be a very effective starting pitcher.

The second prospect ranks 5th in the Kings organization, a spot below Isgro, and 130th overall. That would be Buddy Byrd, a second basemen who they took 9th in the 1949 draft. "Tweety" had a rough go of it in Class B, hitting just .212/.250/.251 (33 OPS+) in 536 trips to the plate. While that looks scary, he turned 19 in May, and was probably pushed a bit higher then he should of. A speedy infielder who we may move to the hot corner, Byrd did swipe 27 bags, somewhat making up for just 12 extra base hits. His -2.1 WAR is actually quite impressive, and lucky for us it can only go up! I think that should happen as soon as next season, and even though it's probably a bad idea, part of me wants to place him right back in Class B. He has a really nice swing and makes a ton of contact, allowing him to hit a ton of line drives, making him the ideal leadoff hitter. He didn't draw many walks this season, just a 4.1 BB%, but he's never going to strike out almost 20% of the time (18.1) again. He has too good of a contact tool for this to be anymore then a blimp, and I'm excited to see what he does in year one as a Cougar.

The last piece is another guy I've wanted for a while, even if he's not a higher ranked prospect. A former Gothams 5th Rounder, Tommy Wilde came to the Kings in July of 1949, with former Cougar draftee Carl Clark for former Cougar draftee Pinch Lenhart. A four pitch lefty, Wilde turned 21 in July, and like the other two joining us, he had a rough 1950. He was 7-15 with a 7.68 ERA (51 ERA+) and 2.07 WHIP, walking 87 and striking out 54 in 125.1 innings pitched. "Slick" seemed quite overmatched, but the towering 6'5'' lefty is an all stuff sidearmer who could have one of the most devastating sliders for lefty hitters. It looks like it's going to hit you, and then it's on the corner of the strike zone and you're walking back to the bench. Or you know, it actually hits you, because his command still isn't that great yet. That's something we'll have to polish, as aside from his sinker, he doesn't locate his pitches well. Even without much control, I think he can be a useful sinker/slider pitcher out of the pen, and with our pitching depth that may be the best use of him.

05-18-2024, 04:55 PM	#1421
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Trade News! As is custom with nearly every offseason, we deal away from our pitching depth to either fill a hole or improve the farm system. This year it was almost the exact opposite of last year, as instead of a 3-for-2 with the Kings, we did a 2-for-3 with the Kings. And instead of adding FABL talent, we subtracted. It was the long awaited move of one of our six starting pitchers, with George Oddo and former 1st Rounder Tommy Seymour heading to the Kings for a trio of prospects. Oddo, a former 8th Round Pick, debuted for us in 1945, and went 7-7 with a 3.02 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, and 71 strikeouts. He didn't pitch the following season, but made two starts in '47 before 20 or more in each of the past three seasons. An excellent stuff pitcher, he has a 12.8 K% in 681.1 FABL innings, and his 1.5 K/BB is quite impressive. The issue for Oddo has always been the longball, so much so that a stretch of eight starts saw him allow two homers in seven of the eight starts. Yes, 14 homers in 8 games. This necessitated the Jim Morrison acquisition, sending Oddo to AAA, where he won all six of his decisions. And since a 28-year-old is far more appealing then a 35-year-old, Oddo was the odd(o) man out. I'm fully ready for him to do what Ron Berry did and have a great season, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. The return is three prospects outside of the top 100, though considering Jimmy Isgro ranks 101st, is nothing more then semantics. A 21-year-old righty, Isgro had a rough season with Class A Springfield, going 3-17 with a 6.49 ERA (60 ERA+), 1.81 WHIP, and more walks (88) then strikeouts (73). Concerning, right? Nah... He was just 20! Well, for 22 of his 24 starts, and the former 1st Rounder has always been a guy I wanted in our system. He was absurd in high school, 19-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and 351 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched. A four pitch pitcher who stands 6'3'', he's got a real nice sinker that helps him keep the ball on the ground. He's still working through the command part, but it's tough to elevate his pitches. His splitter is a real nice strikeout pitch, and he attacks hitters with his cutter and fastball. Generally I'm not the biggest fan of guys with three fastballs, but he's already in the 89-91 range, and the cutter almost functions as a harder sinker. It may be his best pitch, and if we can keep him out of the center of the plate, I think he's going to be a very effective starting pitcher. The second prospect ranks 5th in the Kings organization, a spot below Isgro, and 130th overall. That would be Buddy Byrd, a second basemen who they took 9th in the 1949 draft. "Tweety" had a rough go of it in Class B, hitting just .212/.250/.251 (33 OPS+) in 536 trips to the plate. While that looks scary, he turned 19 in May, and was probably pushed a bit higher then he should of. A speedy infielder who we may move to the hot corner, Byrd did swipe 27 bags, somewhat making up for just 12 extra base hits. His -2.1 WAR is actually quite impressive, and lucky for us it can only go up! I think that should happen as soon as next season, and even though it's probably a bad idea, part of me wants to place him right back in Class B. He has a really nice swing and makes a ton of contact, allowing him to hit a ton of line drives, making him the ideal leadoff hitter. He didn't draw many walks this season, just a 4.1 BB%, but he's never going to strike out almost 20% of the time (18.1) again. He has too good of a contact tool for this to be anymore then a blimp, and I'm excited to see what he does in year one as a Cougar. The last piece is another guy I've wanted for a while, even if he's not a higher ranked prospect. A former Gothams 5th Rounder, Tommy Wilde came to the Kings in July of 1949, with former Cougar draftee Carl Clark for former Cougar draftee Pinch Lenhart. A four pitch lefty, Wilde turned 21 in July, and like the other two joining us, he had a rough 1950. He was 7-15 with a 7.68 ERA (51 ERA+) and 2.07 WHIP, walking 87 and striking out 54 in 125.1 innings pitched. "Slick" seemed quite overmatched, but the towering 6'5'' lefty is an all stuff sidearmer who could have one of the most devastating sliders for lefty hitters. It looks like it's going to hit you, and then it's on the corner of the strike zone and you're walking back to the bench. Or you know, it actually hits you, because his command still isn't that great yet. That's something we'll have to polish, as aside from his sinker, he doesn't locate his pitches well. Even without much control, I think he can be a useful sinker/slider pitcher out of the pen, and with our pitching depth that may be the best use of him.