Back to our baseball blog on rookie pitchers, and here are some notes and thoughts on a some of those rotation rookies that we backed and bet recently. Note that all three will be back on the mound Friday and Saturday for Interleague play, as Philadelphia’s Antonio Bastardo makes his home debut against Boston, Oakland’s Vin Mazzaro tries to go to 3-0 across the Bay at San Francisco and Matt Maloney gets a second crack for a win following his solid debut and travels to Kansas City for his first road start against Luke Hochevar, who we backed for a big ‘Dog winner (+150) last time out. Hochevar pitched his first full season in the majors last year and was the 2006 no. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft.
Antonio Bastardo dominated both Double-A and Triple-A the past two season’s, and the 23-year old Dominican left hander was a non-roster invitee to the Phillies spring training this year before being sent to Double-A Reading. He was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley May 18 and held both right handed hitters and left handed hitters to under a .200 batting average combined at both levels while averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Bastardo was very solid in his MLB debut, allowing just one run on four hits through six innings with one BB and five K’s. He did throw 88 fastballs of his 102 total pitches. His slider is like a ‘backup slider’ that acts more like a change-up. A tougher task traveling to LA to face the Dodgers and former Philly Randy Wolf last Sunday night on ESPN. But Bastardo came up big in his second start and held the top-hitting Dodgers to just two runs and seven hits with four strikeouts in 5+ innings of work as the Phillies won 7-2. Bastardo should get lots of run support and relief help as he continues in the rotation with JC Romero now back in the mix in relief. Bastardo joins another rookie in the starting rotation, as J.A. Happ moved from the bullpen three weeks ago and has secured a starting spot with three solid starts while going 2-0 with a 2.98 ERA through four total starts.
Meanwhile, 22-year old right hander Vin Mazzaro joins fellow rookies Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Josh Outman in the starting rotation for Oakland, although Outman made his MLB debut last season. Mazzaro dominated the minor leagues at every level and was also impressive in his MLB debut while throwing six shutout innings of 3-hit ball on the road while walking four batters with one strikeout in a 5-0 win over the White Sox. He followed his MLB debut with his second victory at home over Baltimore 3-0, as Mazzaro threw a 7+ inning shutout gem allowing just five hits, zero walks with five strikeouts. That Big Drive winner was part of our 3-0 Sunday sweep and Mazarro looks like the real deal thus far as he has yet to allow a run in nearly 14 innings of work. Tonight he’ll likely need to throw another gem as Mazzaro and the A’s travel across the Bay to face Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants.
Matt Maloney had a solid MLB debut at home against the Cubs and was the first left hander to start for the Reds this season. He held the lead 3-2 when he departed after six solid innings of six hit ball. Maloney allowed two solo home runs and stuck out four with just one walk as the Reds won and cashed us a winner 4-3 in extra innings last Saturday. Maloney pitched masterfully at Triple-A Louisville, walking just nine batters in 10 starts while striking out 58 in 67 innings. He dominated with a 2.00 ERA and .237 BAA at the Triple-A level. Last year he ranked fourth in the International league in strikeouts. He’ll be supported by the National League’s no. 3 bullpen in ERA (3.40) and face the weak hitting Royals lineup Friday night in his road debut ( KC - .249 batting average – no. 12 in the AL). Unfortunately, the Reds are hitting just .247 as a team and providing their pitching staff with limited run support.
Bastardo has some big bats to support him along with a capable bullpen and top-notch infield and defense. Philadelphia leads the National League in home runs with 85 and OPS of .804 and the Phillies relievers have an ERA below 3.50 with a batting average against (BAA) of just .229. Oakland’s bullpen has fallen a bit and is now no. 7 in the AL with an ERA under 4.35, a BAA of .245 and league-leading 185 strikeouts through Thursday. However, Oakland is dead last in the American League in hitting with just a .238 average, including just .208 versus left handers entering the week. Oakland batters have a league-low OPS of .675 and have hit the fewest home runs (49). The A’s are also last in the majors in slugging and extra base hits. Compounding the problems at the plate are that Oakland pinch hitters have been unable to deliver, as they entered the week just 1 for 16 with six strikeouts for the season. Incredibly, over the last six seasons the Oakland pinch hitters have batted just .172 with just 18 extra base hits which ranks as the lowest in the major leagues over that span.
Still, Mazzaro joins a starting rotation filled with promise and youth. Mazzaro, Cahill and Anderson are all under 23 years old and seven of the nine Oakland pitchers that have started this season are under the age of 26. Mazzaro allowed just two home runs in 56 innings pitched at Triple-A Sacramento while holding hitters to a .205 average.
Our Sportsmemo newsletter editor Andrew Lange recently posted the stats of all the rookie pitchers that made their major league debut this season. A few others have since made their debut, and teams have gone 17-12 in those rookie debut starts. Here is a listing of those pitchers. Note that Atlanta rookie Tommy Hanson makes his second starts tonight in his road debut at Baltimore against fellow rookie right hander Jason Berken, who makes just his fourth MLB start. Plenty of balls figure to be batted around at Camden Yards tonight.
Arizona - Bryan Augenstein
Atlanta - Kris Medlen
Atlanta - Kenshin Kawakami
Atlanta – Tommy Hanson
Baltimore - David Hernandez
Baltimore - Jason Berken
Baltimore - Brad Bergesen
Baltimore - Koji Uehara
Chicago Cubs - Randy Wells
Cincinnati – Matt Maloney
Cleveland - David Huff
Florida - Sean West
Florida - Graham Taylor
LA Angels - Anthony Ortega
LA Dodgers - James McDonald
Minnesota - Anthony Swarzak
Oakland - Vin Mazzaro
Oakland - Brett Anderson
Oakland - Trevor Cahill
Philadelphia - Antonio Bastardo
Philadelphia - Andrew Carpenter
Seattle - Chris Jakubauskas
Texas - Derek Holland
Toronto - Brett Cecil
Toronto - Robert Ray
Toronto - Ricky Romero
Washington - Craig Stammen
Washington - Jordan Zimmerman
Washington - Ross Detweiler
It can be a little tricky wagering on the rookies in their debut and early starts at the major league level. Much nervousness and anxiety for the players and even sports bettors, as these prized pitchers try to perform their best and earn their way into the rotation for good. But proceed with caution and know that the numbers and stats may not always be what they seem for these young guns, and that projecting pitching profits from these prized prospects takes patience along with production from their own players and relief pitchers.
