On Tuesday the starter was Chi-Hung Cheng making his final start for the Lugnuts. Cheng only went two innings and was hit around for four runs. Cheng's fastball was never his strength and in this game it sat between 82-86 mph. Cheng's curveball used to be his feature pitch but his command of it has declined, he threw it around 73-74 mph and while it was good he couldn't command it as he once did. Cheng also threw a change-up.
Cheng didn't give up a big blast but he walked the first two hitters in the second inning, then gave up three hard hit ground balls and a line drive.
Ryan Koch replaced Cheng and threw three innings. Koch threw about 85%-90% fastballs. Koch does have a good fastball, it is around 90-92 but moves nicely into right handed hitters. Koch showed a slider and a curveball. Obviously, if Koch is too succeed at higher levels he will need to develop and become comfortable throwing his off-speed pitches.
Joe Wice followed Koch and also pitched three innings. Wice is a left handed pitcher and throws from a 3/4 arm angle pulling the ball down and in to right handed hitters. Wice's fastball sits at 86-88 mph and also throws a slider at 81-83 mph.
Tim Collins pitched the ninth. As we know Collins is a short lefty who leans back in the wind-up to pitch fully over the top. Collin's fastball is 87-90 mph and he also has a very good curve.
On Wednesday the starter was Jimmy Dougher who is 6'7" tall and has a classic fu-manchu, Goose Gossage style. Dougher pitches from a 3/4 arm angle. Dougher threw a 87-89 mph fastball; a below average change at 81-82; a curveball and a slider. Dougher, in this start, gave up five runs on three home runs in five innings. Dougher has average stuff and needs to be fine, when he misses his stuff is hit-able.
Danny Farquhar followed Dougher, I had seen Farquhar pitch the previous week in Auburn. Farquhar throws from three different arm-angles, from 3/4; sidearm and from down-under. Farquhar's fastball sits at 88-93 mph and he also throws a change-up, a curve and a slider. Farquhar has pitched well and could move quickly next season, his approach gives him an advantage over the hitters. Traditionally "trick" pitchers often top out in AA and it will be interesting to see how Farquhar fares when he gets that high, as I assume he will.
Bobby Bell, also making his A ball debut, pitched the ninth. Bell throws a 89-90 mph fastball and an above average change-up, in fact Bell probably has a major-league change up now, the drop in it comes late and fooled many hitters in this game. Bell also throws a slider/cutter.
The young hitters didn't look great, it has been a long season for them and they are mentally and physically tired. In many at-bats the hitters looked over-matched by the pitchers. But the pitchers are usually 22-23 years old with more experience than the hitters. The hitters were often fooled by off-speed pitches. By next year they will need to improve their ability to handle the off-speed stuff.
Kevin Ahrens was swinging the bat well, he hit a double and a home run in the first game. It looks like he is still working on his footwork at third base. Justin Jackson was in a slump when I saw him in game one, he was pulling off the ball and couldn't hit anything on the outside corner. He looked like he was getting out of it in the second game. It was my first time seeing Eric Eiland, he is bulkier than I thought, he will probably end up around Vernon Wells size. Eiland was reported as being raw and that was obvious in the game I saw but so was his talent. Eiland did take a few unusual routes on fly balls but always got there in the end to make the catch. At the plate he was looking fastball all the way and anything off-speed fooled him. Eiland had been a football player in high school and I don't think he had played as much baseball as the others drafted with him. He does look to have a lot of athletic ability and speed to burn. Because of his size I would say that Eiland's first step or two is not that fast but when he gets up to speed he motors. Because of that, like Vernon, he might not end up as a big base-stealer if he makes it to the major leagues.
While in Lansing I asked three questions to some of the players, here are their answers:
BB: What was the biggest think you learned this year?
Yohermyn Chavez: I learned more about my swing (Chavez, and Moises Sierra, have limited english)
Justin Jackson: I learned what a long season it is, how you have to grind your way though every game and every at-bat.
Moises Sierra: I learned more about my swing
Marc Rzepczynski: I learned how important it is to stay durable, staying healthy is so important with a long season
Kevin Ahrens: How important it is to stay consistent
Jon Baksh: How important the mantal side of the game is. It's a long season so it is not good to check the box-scores after every game.
Eric Eiland: I learned a lot about hitting, about staying consistent through the season and about how to take good routes in the outfield.
BB: What was your biggest improvement this season?
Chavez: My arm and my throwing
Jackson: My overall knowledge of the game and how to handle the ups and downs of the season
Sierra: My English and my defense
Rzepczynski: My command and also to throw the pitch where I want, to pitch to contact
Ahrens: Everything
Baksh: My awareness on the bases and what I can and should so in various situations
Eiland: Everything but particularly my hitting
BB: What area of your game do you want to improve for next season?
Chavez: My swing
Jackson: My strength so I will be better able to handle a long season
Sierra: My swing and my running
Rzepczynski: Being able to throw all my pitches where and when I want to
Ahrens: I want to work on my strength and to improve my fielding at third base, third base is more of a reaction position so I want to work on that
Baksh: I want to gain some power which I need to do for a corner outfielder
Eiland: I want my hitting to be better plus to stay more consistent next season
