Hochevar? What's the deal with Luke? Is it time to send him back down and delay the arb a little...

Hochevar?

What's the deal with Luke? Is it time to send him back down and delay the arb a little longer?

Comments

I think that unless you basically send him down for good for an entire year

at this point there isn’t much additional arb benefit

I don’t know about pitching enough to say if he’d benefit from more time in AAA or not

I guess another option would be putting either ponson or horam back in the rotation, and having hoch become a bullpen guy

by royalsreview on May 17, 2009 7:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He will evevtuallt head to the pen

If you look at his numbers, he can’t get past ~50 w/o blowing up

by Jeff Zimmerman (TucsonRoyal) on May 17, 2009 9:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm willing to give Luke a few more starts

He was absolutely mowing down AAA hitting in a very batter-friendly league, which would suggest that he wouldn’t benefit from more time in Omaha. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt for the moment. If he continues to be awful for another couple of starts, then it would be worth reconsidering sending him back down.

I do wonder if Hoch might need to move to the pen—by a number of accounts, his stuff starts slipping sooner and at a quicker rate than most starting pitchers in a game. Maybe give him the Greinke treatment in 2007—let him try the pen, if he’s absolutely dominant as a reliever, then try him in the rotation again.

by DarthYoshi on May 17, 2009 10:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd agree with DarthYoshi.

2-3 more starts, and if he can’t get a little more effective, make him a long reliever for a while. He was dominating at Omaha, so I don’t think there’s any point in returning him there.

by hunter s. royal on May 17, 2009 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps, in keeping with NYRoyal's theory

He and Ponson could be the 5th starter. Each of them go for 3 or 4 planned innings and yield to the other guy.

"Well, if we destroy Kansas the world may not hear about it for years." Blofeld

The General Theory of Royaltivity

by kabrink on May 17, 2009 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know if that's how I'd draw it up, per se

If Luke catches fire one day and can go 6 or 7, Sidney won’t work. But with our “11 inning game bullpen”, I suppose we can give him every chance to succeed.

by sterlingice on May 18, 2009 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd give him at least 2-3 more starts

He has little to prove in AAA. Its getting to “sink or swim” time for Hooch. Either he’s a Major Leaguer or he’s not. Its time to find out.

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by RoyalsRetro on May 18, 2009 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I couldn't have put it better - Sending him down is ridiculous

He’s not going to pitch better than he has and after Moore praising how he has pitching looks like the biggest fucking hypocrit in the world. I totally lost respect for him after this move. I was on Moore’s side and now I think he’s pathetic. I don’t want to read this and then see that he was sent down:

Moore’s comments suggest Hochevar, if nothing else, isn’t working on a short leash after two bad outings.

"We’ve just got to keep running him out there and be positive," Moore said. "It takes a while. Look at Curt Schilling early on in his career. Same with John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. You can go on and on.

"Luke Hochevar is going to be a good pitcher for many years. Whether we get that guy this year, I don’t know."

Hochevar was dominant in six starts at Class AAA Omaha before his May 10 recall to the big leagues: 5-0 with a 0.90 ERA.

"For Luke," Moore said, "it’s just a matter of throwing strike one and being consistent with strike one. If he throws strike one, guys are going to expand (the strike zone) and move on that sinker. They’re not going to square that up.

"That sinker is really good right now. That’s the best we’ve seen from him. I’m really encouraged by what we’re seeing right now."

PATHETIC!! Congrats Moore, you might have just fucked up his career! You don’t send a young pitcher to AAA, who is only struggling with the mental aspect of the game, after he started 3 times and improved each one.

by GobbleforCyoung on May 24, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs