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Post by inger on Jun 22, 2019 0:04:44 GMT -5
Wade Miley / Scheduled for Saturday 6/22 /]
Miley has improved drastically the past two seasons. Since he missed a good portion of 2018, if the two seasons are put together he’s gone an aggravate 11-6; 2.94 after being a 4.00 and higher pitcher for most of his career. He’s now 32. It’s not unheard of for pitchers to bloom late, and I’m curious as to whether that is what’s happening here.
He has drastically changed his mix of pitches from his earlier seasons, so some of what’s been happening may get negated once the opponents all get to see the new Miley (Yanks have not seen him this season yet).
One noticeable change has occurred this season as compared to 2018 is that Miley has not regained full velocity. He touched 96 last season, but has more regularly been clocked at 92-93 this season. Will the velo be back? Time will tell.
In the past he relied heavily on his 96 MPH four seamer and a sinker that both tended to be hit pretty hard. Starting last season, he almost totally scrapped the sinker and went more to a high four seamer and cutter mix, with the cutter actually replacing a now less featured slider as his out pitch.
What’s odd though is that while Miley has experienced better run prevention, his FIP still looks more like the old 4.00+ ERA starter.
He’s a prime example of a pitcher that struggles mightily the third time through the order. The first two times through his splits are .213/.253/..325. Then .223/.299/.372. AND then they go to .314/.377/.571. That third time through generally occurs after the 51st pitch thrown and by the 75th pitch. This effectively renders him a five inning pitcher with disaster lurking shortly after if not during the fifth.
Splits from pitch 51-75 show a split against of .300/.391./517.
He simply would appear to lack the arsenal to stop a good hitting team beyond the second time through the batting order without running into some exceptional good fortune, like a well timed DP, or something of that nature.
Batters also tend to fare better against Miley by taking a few pitches, as he will often pitch outside the zone to avoid contact early in counts. He does not fare particularly badly in high leverage spots, though he does tend to pitch outside the zone a bit more and walks more batters in those spots. The trade off is that he keeps the ball in the park better than his norm in those tight spots. It also benefits to take pitches to get his pitch count elevated as early as possible since he is especially frail earlier than most starting pitchers.
Scoring early against Miley in bunches is rare. There seems to be no reason for that, other than perhaps his change of repertoire is fooling hitters. He’s not that good, really. He’s been better, but appears to be susceptible to regression. He’s still Wade Miley, folks. And so far his velo is down...I take that as a bad sign for him going forward.
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Post by kaybli on Jun 22, 2019 0:51:28 GMT -5
Great job inger! Looking forward to reading all the scouting reports in this thread!
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Post by inger on Jun 22, 2019 8:02:41 GMT -5
Great job inger! Looking forward to reading all the scouting reports in this thread! Thanks. Watch Miley shut us down so tight today It’ll take a crowbar to open us back up!!! LOL... |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 22, 2019 9:40:45 GMT -5
thanks, inger….Is this from a service, or is it your work?...it seems very comprehensive, but could include a suggestion of how quickly he works...I think hitters should try to disrupt his timing by stepping out, calling time, etc., or he will be quick-pitching hitters in effect...
I hope the home plate umpire has a tight zone today...Miley seems to live just off the plate...
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Post by inger on Jun 22, 2019 10:15:49 GMT -5
thanks, inger….Is this from a service, or is it your work?...it seems very comprehensive, but could include a suggestion of how quickly he works...I think hitters should try to disrupt his timing by stepping out, calling time, etc., or he will be quick-pitching hitters in effect... I hope the home plate umpire has a tight zone today...Miley seems to live just off the plate... The reports are an amalgam of information from sources such as Baseball America (Where I look to see what the pitcher started with), Fan Graphs, Baseball Reference, and any other sources I can locate by Googling the pitcher. Sometimes I’m able to find local sources from the city the pitcher works in. I assemble information and sort through the differences in opinion and deliver what I can. They’re surely not at a professional and perfectly informed quality, but it may help the view I stand why line up decisions have been made or what strategies may help to defeat the pitcher. If a couple folks enjoy them and I can gain a bit of insight for myself, my goal is accomplished. As for your point about how fast the pitcher works, I have seen information on that in some instances, though the way I’m collecting this information means that it’s unlikely I will consistently have that piece, and that the reports may gain some form of consistency over time, but will never become completely so. For the most part, I expect it won’t be mentioned unless there is something out of the ordinary about the pitcher and he works extra fast or extra slow... Then again, it’s entirely possible that this will run it’s course and I’ll grow bored doing it and decide to spend the time playing Scrabble or screwing... <Scrabble or screwing credit to Gene Wilder in a movie... can’t recall what movie off the top of this grey noggin)... Other character: What do you like to do”? Wilder: “Well, I like to play Scrabble... and screw!” Very funny moment, but maybe you had to be there... |
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Post by chiyankee on Jun 22, 2019 10:18:20 GMT -5
thanks, inger….Is this from a service, or is it your work?...it seems very comprehensive, but could include a suggestion of how quickly he works...I think hitters should try to disrupt his timing by stepping out, calling time, etc., or he will be quick-pitching hitters in effect... I hope the home plate umpire has a tight zone today...Miley seems to live just off the plate... The reports are an amalgam of information from sources such as Baseball America (Where I look to see what the pitcher started with), Fan Graphs, Baseball Reference, and any other sources I can locate by Googling the pitcher. Sometimes I’m able to find local sources from the city the pitcher works in. I assemble information and sort through the differences in opinion and deliver what I can. They’re surely not at a professional and perfectly informed quality, but it may help the view I stand why line up decisions have been made or what strategies may help to defeat the pitcher. If a couple folks enjoy them and I can gain a bit of insight for myself, my goal is accomplished. As for your point about how fast the pitcher works, I have seen information on that in some instances, though the way I’m collecting this information means that it’s unlikely I will consistently have that piece, and that the reports may gain some form of consistency over time, but will never become completely so. For the most part, I expect it won’t be mentioned unless there is something out of the ordinary about the pitcher and he works extra fast or extra slow... Then again, it’s entirely possible that this will run it’s course and I’ll grow bored doing it and decide to spend the time playing Scrabble or screwing... <Scrabble or screwing credit to Gene Wilder in a movie... can’t recall what movie off the top of this grey noggin)... Other character: What do you like to do”? Wilder: “Well, I like to play Scrabble... and screw!” Very funny moment, but maybe you had to be there... We certainly appreciate your efforts, inger. |
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Post by rizzuto on Jun 22, 2019 10:29:33 GMT -5
Nice job, Inger! I’ve enjoyed reading these. Thanks!
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Post by utahyank on Jun 22, 2019 12:33:32 GMT -5
The reports are an amalgam of information from sources such as Baseball America (Where I look to see what the pitcher started with), Fan Graphs, Baseball Reference, and any other sources I can locate by Googling the pitcher. Sometimes I’m able to find local sources from the city the pitcher works in. I assemble information and sort through the differences in opinion and deliver what I can. They’re surely not at a professional and perfectly informed quality, but it may help the view I stand why line up decisions have been made or what strategies may help to defeat the pitcher. If a couple folks enjoy them and I can gain a bit of insight for myself, my goal is accomplished. As for your point about how fast the pitcher works, I have seen information on that in some instances, though the way I’m collecting this information means that it’s unlikely I will consistently have that piece, and that the reports may gain some form of consistency over time, but will never become completely so. For the most part, I expect it won’t be mentioned unless there is something out of the ordinary about the pitcher and he works extra fast or extra slow... Then again, it’s entirely possible that this will run it’s course and I’ll grow bored doing it and decide to spend the time playing Scrabble or screwing... <Scrabble or screwing credit to Gene Wilder in a movie... can’t recall what movie off the top of this grey noggin)... Other character: What do you like to do”? Wilder: “Well, I like to play Scrabble... and screw!” Very funny moment, but maybe you had to be there... We certainly appreciate your efforts, inger. absolutely informative and enjoyable... |
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Post by inger on Jun 23, 2019 0:21:40 GMT -5
6/23 vs. Houston Astros / Justin Verlander
There is a long and interesting story about how Then girlfriend Kate Upton helped to save Verlander’s career by introducing him to her physical therapist. It’s too long to get into here, but then end result was to help Verlander rediscover the arm slot he had before his shoulder surgery and the correct way to rotate his hips so he would not continue to compensate for his groin issues and stiffness in his ankles.
We’ll suffice here to say he went from having dropped down to a 3/4 arm slot back to the much higher arm slot of his youth. In turn he developed much more rise on his fastball, and much more downward plane on his curve and slider.
So here we have a 36 year old pitcher who still has not only 95+ MPH, touch 97 when he wants to, but has so much upward movement on the pitch as to be able to get swing and misses as well as failure to make square contact. Then you have off-speed pitches, the change up, curve, and slider that move more on a downward plane and with a wide speed contrast. All weapons are of the variety to cause mass destruction.
Not only is Verlander extremely good vs. RHH, but this season he is also crafting strong reverse splits that are rendering lefty hitters even weaker. Much weaker. Like .120 BA weak, seldom walking and seldom hitting him for extra bases.
There doesn’t appear to be a weakness until you dig a bit deeper, and even then, those are but slight cracks in the armor. In some games Verlander is slow to find his command and he can fall behind in counts in the first and second inning (particularly the first), walking a batter or two and causing him to come more to the middle of the plate. This is when most of the HR damage can be done and the best time to score runs on him. And that, the HR is his other weakness, but only to a rather minor degree because most of the time past those first couple of innings he only allows solo HR.
He goes against the grain of many pitchers with lesser endurance and weaker weaponry in that he is not at all made weaker by seeing a lineup three and even four times. He varies his arsenal in late innings and maintains the speed on his fastball past the 100-pitch mark.
So, the key is to hit him early, and take him deep early while he may still be vulnerable to command issues. If not, it can be a long game with a high strikeout total. One other piece of hope is that Verlander has been rather human in allowing runs the past three starts. Yet, he’s struck out 30 in the 20.1 innings he’s thrown while going 0-1. Perhaps we may catch him at the tail end of a slight down cycle this time around. Let’s hope so...
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Post by kaybli on Jun 23, 2019 0:29:10 GMT -5
6/23 vs. Houston Astros / Justin Verlander There is a long and interesting story about how Then girlfriend Kate Upton helped to save Verlander’s career by introducing him to her physical therapist. It’s too long to get into here, but then end result was to help Verlander rediscover the arm slot he had before his shoulder surgery and the correct way to rotate his hips so he would not continue to compensate for his groin issues and stiffness in his ankles. We’ll suffice here to say he went from having dropped down to a 3/4 arm slot back to the much higher arm slot of his youth. In turn he developed much more rise on his fastball, and much more downward plane on his curve and slider. So here we have a 36 year old pitcher who still has not only 95+ MPH, touch 97 when he wants to, but has so much upward movement on the pitch as to be able to get swing and misses as well as failure to make square contact. Then you have off-speed pitches, the change up, curve, and slider that move more on a downward plane and with a wide speed contrast. All weapons are of the variety to cause mass destruction. Not only is Verlander extremely good vs. RHH, but this season he is also crafting strong reverse splits that are rendering lefty hitters even weaker. Much weaker. Like .120 BA weak, seldom walking and seldom hitting him for extra bases. There doesn’t appear to be a weakness until you dig a bit deeper, and even then, those are but slight cracks in the armor. In some games Verlander is slow to find his command and he can fall behind in counts in the first and second inning (particularly the first), walking a batter or two and causing him to come more to the middle of the plate. This is when most of the HR damage can be done and the best time to score runs on him. And that, the HR is his other weakness, but only to a rather minor degree because most of the time past those first couple of innings he only allows solo HR. He goes against the grain of many pitchers with lesser endurance and weaker weaponry in that he is not at all made weaker by seeing a lineup three and even four times. He varies his arsenal in late innings and maintains the speed on his fastball past the 100-pitch mark. So, the key is to hit him early, and take him deep early while he may still be vulnerable to command issues. If not, it can be a long game with a high strikeout total. One other piece of hope is that Verlander has been rather human in allowing runs the past three starts. Yet, he’s struck out 30 in the 20.1 innings he’s thrown while going 0-1. Perhaps we may catch him at the tail end of a slight down cycle this time around. Let’s hope so... Kate Upton saved Verlander's career? Damn that woman.
Good late night scouting report inger! Let's get to him early tomorrow (later today)!
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Post by inger on Jun 23, 2019 0:44:17 GMT -5
That article gave some insight into that relationship that took some of the “stigma” that I had attached to it. It also put Verlander in a nice light of how well liked he is despite his trappings. I hope it’s a true love match and not just a ball player that chased a skirt and caught it... I still find her a bit annoying, but it’s not me that has to put up with her...
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Post by kaybli on Jun 23, 2019 0:52:02 GMT -5
That article gave some insight into that relationship that took some of the “stigma” that I had attached to it. It also put Verlander in a nice light of how well liked he is despite his trappings. I hope it’s a true love match and not just a ball player that chased a skirt and caught it... I still find her a bit annoying, but it’s not me that has to put up with her... I hate that she introduced Verlander to the physical therapist who changed his game. She's directly responsible for our 2017 alcs loss! [img src="//storage.proboards.com/6828121/images/gszgVuvxUtZEFrgJSkis.gif" class="smile" alt="  "]
Burn her! Burn her at the stake!  |
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Post by inger on Jun 23, 2019 1:04:36 GMT -5
That article gave some insight into that relationship that took some of the “stigma” that I had attached to it. It also put Verlander in a nice light of how well liked he is despite his trappings. I hope it’s a true love match and not just a ball player that chased a skirt and caught it... I still find her a bit annoying, but it’s not me that has to put up with her... I hate that she introduced Verlander to the physical therapist who changed his game. She's directly responsible for our 2017 alcs loss! It’s said he didn’t want to go. To make the story even odder, this was a female therapist who worked with models, not sports stars. When he first visited with her she wanted him to do a squat. Since he had recently had a groin injury he told her there was no way could physically do a squat. So she takes a couple of pieces of rounded foam rubber and puts them under his balls. The balls of his feet, you dirty minded readers! Anyway he can do the squat and she explains that she had noticed his ankles had lost their flexibility from the years of pounding they had taken and then explains how he’s been compensating subconsciously by changing the way he rotated his hips. Now he’s 100% sold on her work... (And this was also putting stress on the groin area, horrible break with Kate waiting at home)... The rest is about him taking the pieces he learned from her (including shoulder slot) back to the team therapists and pitching coach and incorporating the information into his training. This seems as though there could be huge potential for performance improvement and career extension without PEDS if other players pick up on it and there are other therapists with equal knowledge of the way the human body works. It sounds like at least borderline kinesiology to me... |
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Post by kaybli on Jun 23, 2019 1:09:13 GMT -5
I hate that she introduced Verlander to the physical therapist who changed his game. She's directly responsible for our 2017 alcs loss! [img alt=" " class="smile" src="//storage.proboards.com/6828121/images/gszgVuvxUtZEFrgJSkis.gif"] It’s said he didn’t want to go. To make the story even odder, this was a female therapist who worked with models, not sports stars. When he first visited with her she wanted him to do a squat. Since he had recently had a groin injury he told her there was no way could physically do a squat. So she takes a couple of pieces of rounded foam rubber and puts them under his balls. The balls of his feet, you dirty minded readers! Anyway he can do the squat and she explains that she had noticed his ankles had lost their flexibility from the years of pounding they had taken and then explains how he’s been compensating subconsciously by changing the way he rotated his hips. Now he’s 100% sold on her work... (And this was also putting stress on the groin area, horrible break with Kate waiting at home)... The rest is about him taking the pieces he learned from her (including shoulder slot) back to the team therapists and pitching coach and incorporating the information into his training. This seems as though there could be huge potential for performance improvement and career extension without PEDS if other players pick up on it and there are other therapists with equal knowledge of the way the human body works. It sounds like at least borderline kinesiology to me... Interesting story. Maybe all our players should go visit this physical therapist so they don't keep getting calf strains. |
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Post by inger on Jun 23, 2019 1:09:42 GMT -5
That article gave some insight into that relationship that took some of the “stigma” that I had attached to it. It also put Verlander in a nice light of how well liked he is despite his trappings. I hope it’s a true love match and not just a ball player that chased a skirt and caught it... I still find her a bit annoying, but it’s not me that has to put up with her... I hate that she introduced Verlander to the physical therapist who changed his game. She's directly responsible for our 2017 alcs loss! [img class="smile" alt=" " src="//storage.proboards.com/6828121/images/gszgVuvxUtZEFrgJSkis.gif"]
Burn her! Burn her at the stake! What if I Just stake her at the burn? Would that do? I promise not to think at all about tying her up...handcuffing her with velvet handcuffs...in a tiny little nightie...Nope. Not thinking about it at all...Does she really HAVE to have a nightie on? Of course not! But I’m not thinking about that at all. No sir...Baseball, that’s what I'm thinking about. RBIs. ERAs. Day games. Nightie games. DAMN!!! |
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