Felipe Alou on Brian Wilson
Interesting observation from Felipe Alou on Brian Wilson (SJ Mercury) today:
Alou said he noticed right-hander Brian Wilson, a non-roster invitee who pitched at Class A, Double-A and Triple-A last season, as half of the pitchers threw off mounds during the opening workout. ``I see why he was so dominant,'' Alou said of Wilson, 6-2 with 21 saves and a 1.35 ERA overall.
That's great news, it wasn't some fluke successful season he had, if he still shows the ability to be dominant, unlike Foppert the season he was the hyped "next one". Wilson could become a dark horse for the #5 spot in the rotation, though I would rather they start him at AAA and be ready to come up if needed (after Correia and Hennessey in that order with Wright the #5 starter, ideally), else he'll get a full year starting at AAA to prepare him for 2006's MLB starting rotation. God only knows, he could make some sweet music; now wouldn't it be nice?
Alou said he noticed right-hander Brian Wilson, a non-roster invitee who pitched at Class A, Double-A and Triple-A last season, as half of the pitchers threw off mounds during the opening workout. ``I see why he was so dominant,'' Alou said of Wilson, 6-2 with 21 saves and a 1.35 ERA overall.
That's great news, it wasn't some fluke successful season he had, if he still shows the ability to be dominant, unlike Foppert the season he was the hyped "next one". Wilson could become a dark horse for the #5 spot in the rotation, though I would rather they start him at AAA and be ready to come up if needed (after Correia and Hennessey in that order with Wright the #5 starter, ideally), else he'll get a full year starting at AAA to prepare him for 2006's MLB starting rotation. God only knows, he could make some sweet music; now wouldn't it be nice?
posted by obsessivegiantscompulsive at 2/17/2006 04:03:00 PM
2 Comments:
Why do you think Wilson will be stretched to a starter?
kenshin
Wilson was a starter before his surgery. His specialty before that surgery was his curve. Apparently, from what I gathered from interviews he gave on sfgiants.com, he hasn't really used it since then, but found that it was still working nicely in the AFL, giving him at least 3 pitches he can rely on; I'm presuming (hoping) that he got hit around trying out new pitches/perfecting secondary pitches. He also noted in an interview that the Giants have not determined what role he will have in 2006.
Given that the system seems to have a lot of good relievers coming up (plus starters who look like they might slip to a reliver, like Valdez, Whitaker) but no great starter, plus there's more need at the MLB level for a starter, looking forward, than a reliever, it just seems the prudent thing to push Wilson into a starter's role to see what he could do now that he appears to be healthy. If he fails, they'll know pretty fast and can put him back to relieving where he has had great success.
Plus a prospect starter is much more valuable a trading chip than a prospect reliever. Not that I want to trade him but that's a reality with Sabean - right now I think Wilson is a keeper, his interviews impressed me about his level of maturity (Sabean's favorite catch phrase for prospects it seems, I've seen him use it so many times that I'm starting to get jaded, particularly after Jerome wasn't so mature after all and I got burned) and obviously what's not to love about his stats in 2005.
Post a Comment
<< Home