Chicken Friars » Radhames Liz

Luebke Promoted to Portland, Has Solid First Start

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:18:17 +0000

Righthander Cesar Carrillo has been placed on the minor league disabled list, so the Padres called up lefthanded starter Cory Luebke from Double-A San Antonio to take Carrillo’s place in the Triple-A rotation.

After missing several weeks to open the season, Luebke was his usual strikethowing, effective self in Double-A, posting a 2.40 ERA and 44/12 K/BB in 56 innings.

In his first start in Triple-A, the lefty threw six solid innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. The 25-year-old walked three and struck out seven.

With Will Inman also on the DL, the Beavers have lost their two most consistent starters to injury. They’re left with a rotation of Luebke, Josh Geer, Steve Garrison, Cesar Ramos, and a fifth pitcher. Radhames Liz, who used to be the fifth starter, was moved to short relief yesterday, taking over for Luebke and throwing a scoreless seventh, so he seems to be out of the rotation picture. Liz went 5-5 with a 4.93 ERA as a starter, and was hampered by homer (10 in 65 2/3 IP) issues. The 26-year-old needed to be moved to the bullpen at some point.

At this point, Luebke may actually have positioned himself as the first guy to be called up if the Padres need an extra starter.

Radhames Liz Making Strides With Command

Sat, 15 May 2010 04:08:07 +0000

I have to hand it to Portland’s Radhames Liz. I thought the idea to convert him back to starting was insane, but he’s made some strides with his command, walking just 11 batters in 31 innings while punching out 35.

That’s a 3.18 K/BB ratio and 3.19 BB/9, which are good rates.

Liz still has some issues with righties due to his lack of a quality breaking pitch, but he’s shut down lefthanders this year. If he can polish up the slider and/or use his plus changeup more to righties, he might be able to cut it as a big league starter.

It’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon for a guy like Liz the second he puts together a few solid starts where he isn’t walking everybody. It happened with Daniel Cabrera for years–you always think the thrower is about to turn the corner and become a pitcher with great stuff.

Cabrera’s career is a cautionary tale for anointing Liz as a future quality starter after just 31 innings of work, so let’s not get too excited yet. But keep an eye on Liz. If he keeps this up for another 50 innings, the Padres might want to think about dealing Jon Garland to make room for the former Orioles fireballer in the rotation (and getting prospects back to boot).

Examining GB/FB Splits: Portland Beavers Rotation

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:05:02 +0000

If you follow the minor leagues, it’s pretty easy to know a pitcher’s strikeout rate, walk rate, or ERA. One stat, however, that you have to dig a bit deeper to get to is batted-ball splits–groundball rate, flyball rate, and liner rate.

Of course, groundball rate is a great skill for a pitcher to have, and it can (to an extent, at least) transcend low strikeout rates. A pitcher who doesn’t get many swings and misses is a more palatable option if he induces a lot of grounders (a la Chien Ming Wang) rather than inducing a lot of flies (a la *insert AAA mainstay here*).

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