Quick Looks Summaries (9/14 to 3/15)

I am putting all my Quick Look “Final Thoughts” together for the start of spring training. Remember these looks are a little more fluid since pitcher are now throwing, changing and breaking down.

Henderson Alvarez
Henderson Alvarez is what he is. Without a swing-and-miss pitch, he will likely continue on the Doug Fister mold of a High GB/Low K pitcher. He doesn’t have much of a ceiling or floor right now.

Chase Anderson
He has some OK thinks going on. He gets has good swing-and-miss numbers across the board, but the fly ball tendencies (40% GB%) in his home park in Arizona scares me. I think he is best used as a matchup starter versus weaker teams or in pitcher friendly parks.

Chris Bassitt
I wasn’t impressed, but he could work out in Oakland’s large park since he is a flyball pitcher. I see a 5th starter/longer relief future for him.

Mike Bolsinger
I expected to find a horrible pitcher and he wasn’t. His 13% K%-BB% is comparable to Lance Lynn and Francisco Liriano. It would be nice for him to throw a pitch which broke horizontally. If he finds regular playing time, he could be a serviceable pitcher in deeper or NL-only leagues.

Lisalverto Bonilla
He wasn’t ready to pitch in the majors, but his pitches were decent when he controlled them. Don’t let this call up determine any future take on him. He isn’t going to be touted, but he could turn into a usable starter if he can get the walks under control.

David Buchanan
The 25-year-old right hander is becoming a groundball machine with no walks and OK number of Ks. Reminds me of Doug Fister.

Eddie Butler
I am not sure what the all the fuss is about. He may have been dealing with injuries, but nothing was impressive except for the sinker. I think his change and sinker are decent looking on their own, but the lack of speed difference makes them less effective.

Carlos Carrasco
I don’t know why he struggled early in the season, but he isn’t now. He has four pitches which are all working together. Hitters need to gear up for the heater and then they look lost when the two breakers are thrown. I need to go look at one of his earlier season games one day to see what changed. As for now, the results seem real.

Wei-Yin Chen
Overall, he is kind of boring, but sometimes boring is good. Like Alvarez, he should produce like he has for the past few seasons. He is a nice innings eater and an acceptable play if the league is deep enough.

Alex Colome
His motion and pitch reportage scream reliever, but Rays may not have the luxury to send him to the bullpen. A cleaner delivery would help. It would as be nice for each of his pitches to be a little more unique in speed and motion. I would like to see if he makes any improvements in spring training. As of right now, he is a late round flier for me.

Daniel Corcino
He is just not a good pitcher. His secondary stuff is not good enough to make up for a below average fastball. Unless he develops his change into something distinctive, I see his future in the bullpen as a long reliever with some spot starts.

Jarred Cosart
No strikeout power and too many walks for my taste. He can’t live on just groundballs. I have him on a list to look at again in spring training to see if there is any improvement.

Jacob deGrom
He established his fastball and then his other pitches just threw off the batter. If he can refine his breaking pitches, I actually could see him be an elite pitcher like Justin Verlander. The problem right now is if he can keep the high heat going. If he begins to lose velocity, I don’t think his other pitches are good enough (in their current state) for him to maintain his results.

Rubby de la Rosa
That was ugly, but there was some flashes of talent in the 4th inning. He needs to be consistent in his pitches in order to produce like he can. I wonder if he may be injured and is compensating in some way.

Anthony DeSclafani
He is a reliever and with 2-pitch mix (hard fastball and power slider) he could end up closer at some point. Don’t own him if he is a starter, but if he moves to the bullpen look to pick him up. In a small sample in 2014, he had a 25% K% and 0% BB% as a reliever (8.2 IP).

Odrisamer Despaigne
A lot of good and bad, but basically too many pitches. I would like to see him drop 2 or 3 of the worst pitches and go with the sinker, change and curve (maybe the slider). I think less would be more in this case. Overall, I think he could be a useful starter in all but the shallowest of leagues. His 52% GB% is good (and could get better) and is strikeout and walk rate are acceptable. Additionally, he gets to throw half his games in San Diego where he had a 1.83 ERA (5.31 on the road).

Felix Doubront
I wanted to see if the Cubs could turn around Doubront like they did Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel. Nope. He isn’t fooling anyone and really doesn’t belong starting in the majors.

Danny Duffy
Duffy was a mess. It will be interesting to see how he throws in his next start. I just didn’t like what I saw.

Roenis Elias
He has the talent to be an above average pitcher, but he just needs to trust his pitches more and throw them for strikes. I saw the potential of a #2 to #4 starter, but he will skirt being useful with the high walk rate.

Nathan Eovaldi
I can see why people love him. High 90’s fastball. Two good breaking pitches. From this start, I see the potential, but also the inconsistency landmine. I would like to see if the Yankees try to change him. I have no problems taking a chance with him, but the person must live with the ups and downs.

Robbie Erlin
Nothing really stood out with him. A lefty with couple of fastballs and a curve which were all OK. His change is better, but not a lights out pitch. All the tools together may be better than the parts, but I was just not impressed.

Mike Fiers
I would like to see how he does when he faces a team twice. I wonder how well the deception and pin point control can be the backbone of his or any pitcher’s production.

Brian Flynn
I would love to call him a LOOGY, but I don’t think he is dominate enough against left handed hitters to get them out consistently. The best case is if the Royals can harness the sinker and curve, keep the change and then have a #4 or #5 starter.

Kevin Gausman
He has limited value until he finds at least an average second pitch and hopefully a third one. He has been able to live off his elite heat until now, but he needs some more pitches. His place may eventually be in the bullpen.

Kyle Gibson
He needs to find the strike zone more. He increased his Zone% a bit from 2013 t0 2014 (41.9% to 43.6%) and saw his K% increase (12.2% to 14.1%) and BB% drop (8.4% to 7.5%). He must trust his stuff a little more.

Marco Gonzales
I had higher hopes for him, but his value is linked to him throwing strikes. Will he quit walking as many hitters or will they tee off on his weak offerings if he attacks the plate. I think he is worth a flier if the walk rate comes down.

Shane Greene
I am going to own way too many shares of him. I could see his numbers improve as he learns to trust his arsenal of pitches. His projections have him regressing. Don’t believe them. Pay for the 2014 results and don’t be surprised if he improves.

Jesse Hahn
It will be interesting to see if he can get by on the 2.5 pitch mix. He has enough above average pitches to navigate twice through a lineup and still be effective the third time. I am intrigued by him and may look the pick him up in the later rounds in 2015 especially to use in his starts at home.

David Hale
He was OK and the whole is better than the parts. He gets ahead with the four-seam fastball and then goes for the kill with the other three pitches. I like him as a potential starter in a deeper league. In NL-only leagues, he should be owned across the board because he will contributing in the pen or starting.

Brad Hand
I am going to own some shares in 2015. I like the late season improvement and would like him to use the 2-seamer even more.

J.A. Happ
I think the sum is better than the parts, but the parts aren’t really that great. It would be interesting if he swapped the usage of the two and four-seamer. I will take him in AL-only leagues, but that is it. Just not enough wow to consider elsewhere.

Andrew Heaney
I don’t like what I am seeing with Andrew Heaney. His unique release, amazing slider and destruction of LHH got him through the minors, but major league RHH are going to eat him up. I would rather own T.J. House and would not be surprised one bit if Heaney ended up taking the Andrew Miller career route.

Jeremy Hellickson
I don’t like what I saw. I think he may not be fully recovered from his operation, or may even need another one. I will pay attention if he still uses his windup or goes exclusively out of the stretch in spring training. He isn’t ownable except in the deepest leagues.

Kyle Hendricks
I just have not seen enough of him to convince me he can keep up the results. I would not be surprised one bit if his ERA from now to season’s end was near 4.00 (which is where his ERA estimators are hanging out).

Derek Holland
I see couldn’t find a reason to not own him in 2015. All his pitches are there and he does a great job working a batter. If his price correct, don’t feel bad about picking him up.

T.J. House
Great sleeper for next season. Hopefully, he can stay off some radars. His strikeout, walk and groundball numbers are in line with Sonny Gray and Alex Cobb. I am a little worried he may be a gimmick pitcher and teams will adjust to him. I am just not sure what that adjustment will be. More solid contact?

Drew Hutchison
I like what I am seeing with him. I wish his pitches had a little more speed difference from his fastball and could be thrown for strikes regularly. He is going to be another season removed from Tommy John surgery, so his control with likely improve some more. He is definitely a pitcher worth taking a chance on in a deeper league.

Nate Karns
His fastball and slider make a viable bullpen arm if starting doesn’t work. I would like to see him pound the strike zone more and smooth out his change up.

Jordan Lyles
He is young enough to finally put everything together, but it will be tough to in Colorado. I would like to see his Zone% go up and hopefully the walks will go down and strikeouts up.

Carlos Martinez
Right now he is a fastball/slurve pitcher who can over power hitters early in the game, but struggles later, especially against LHH. Being able to throw his change consistently and command his other pitches would help. Right now he is 4-5 inning starter or a good bullpen arm.

Nick Martinez
Looked overmatched, especially since the Mariners took away his curveball. He may have a future in the game, but it would be nice to see him spend some time in AA/AAA refining his game.

Tyler Matzek
Too many deficiencies working against him. He pitches for Colorado. He can’t get righties out. Has command issues. He needs a changeup. I won’t own any shares of him next season.

Trevor May
I liked the curveball and all his pitches seemed to work together. He needs to be more consistent (pitches near the zone, amount of break). Right now he has the floor of a #4 starter, but could put it together and could move up to a #2.

Wade Miley
I think he has the chance to be a good pitcher if he could throw strikes more. He has some good downward movement on his pitches with a good amount of swing-and-miss. His main issue will be throwing enough called strikes early in the count to set up his breaking pitches.

Shelby Miller
I expected worse. The lack of curve ball use and production worries me a bit. It was a good pitch a few years back, but now not so much. The cutter gives him a nice 3rd pitch, but right now he needs to get back his curve if he wants to be effective.

Rafael Montero
For a pitcher whose main strength is control, it is not a good sign when he loses it. I don’t know what his issue is, but he doesn’t have good enough stuff to have no control. I have a weird feeling he may be hurt, but not sure.

Jimmy Nelson
Jimmy Nelson has a place in the majors as a pitcher, I am just not sure it is as a starter. His lack of control and no third pitch will limit how far he can go as a starter. Look for a third pitch to see if he can take the next step to being one of the league’s best starters.

Hector Noesi
He needs to find a way to allow few home runs and walks. In this age of pitching, he just doesn’t do enough good things to be in consideration for a roster spot.

Daniel Norris
I am not sure what the hype was about, but this MLB performance was disappointing. He will need to be able to command and control his pitches for strikes to be a successful MLB pitcher.

Brett Oberholtzer
Nothing stood out at all. The change just seems to play off hitters waiting on his fastball. I could see his ERA being BABIP driven as it has been for the last two seasons.

Jake Odorizzi
I could see myself owning a few shares in 2015, by I am not going go all out to own him. If he could make a few additional tweaks, his game could really clean up. The one issue he will have to deal with is the home runs generated by the rising fastball. If he doesn’t improve, there will hopefully still be the high strikeout rate.

Michael Pineda
I think he is a nice option for 2015 as long as his health holds up. The slider is crazy good and I can see why he uses it so much. It is the only pitch really. He would be an amazing relief pitcher, but can be useable as a starter. I am not going to be targeting him, but if the price is right would have no problems owning him.

Yusmeiro Petit
Petit strategy seems to throw strikes and hope he gets two strikes on the hitter. Once at two strikes, throw the curve for the punch out. With the high number of strikes, he isn’t walking anyone. Right now, he seems to be able to work with that formula. My one worry is his heavy flyball nature (36% GB%, lower 25 percentile) will lead to home runs. I like him as a late round option next season.

Drew Pomeranz
I can’t see any reason to use him as a starter except in the deepest of leagues. He would be an ideal long reliever/spot starter, but not a regular starter.

Jose Quintana
I am a little surprised he is able to keep up his production with a 92 mph fastball and only one decent breaking pitch, but he has done it for two seasons. His control of his fastball is some of the best I’ve seen. His release point is consistent and I think if the control goes he will be done in the league.

Cory Rasmus
He has the potential to be a good fastball-change pitcher with an acceptable curve and slider to use when needed. I like him as a late round pick especially since he wasn’t given the chance to be successful in the postseason.

Robbie Ray
None of his pitches stick out at all. I think he is in the show because he is a lefty who can throw in the low-90s. He has a ways to develop before being major league ready.

Tanner Roark
He flew under the radar by being average and there is some usefulness to that. He reminds of his teammate, Doug Fister. Both won’t walk or strikeout a bunch of batters, throw a bunch of innings and keep their team in the game. If Doug Fister is draftable in your league, so is Roark.

Carlos Rodon
Inconsistencies are leading to a high walk rate (12% in A+ and 15% in AAA) which will limit his potential right now.

Danny Salazar
So much talent, but just can’t seem to put it all together. It would be nice he developed another pitch which he could throw for strikes, but until he does, he will struggle as hitters become familiar with him. If he ever has to move to the bullpen, buy immediately.

Hector Santiago
Santiago is not fooling anyone. Hitters are just teeing off on him, especially right handers. He gets no swing-and-misses and just hopes the ball stays in the park. He is only useful in deep AL-only leagues and then probably only against lefty loaded lineups.

Matt Shoemaker
His ability to get batters out is because of his change/splitter and slider. He needs these pitches because his fastball is nothing special. If he can stay healthy, I could see him pitch effectively for a while because the he doesn’t rely on elite velocity.

Blake Treinen
I love the sinker and I could see him be a decent major league pitcher. I am not sure where he will fit into a stacked Nationals rotation. I am not sure if his secondary stuff is good enough to get the swings-and-misses needed for the late innings. I will keep an eye on him and where he eventually slots in with the Nats.

Nicholas Tropeano
He has the chance to be a good pitcher if he could improve his fastball in some way. He has two swing-and-miss pitches, but he needs to get ahead in the count to do so. He will need to mess with his fastball before he can take a step forward.

Jacob Turner
He has the pieces to be a really good pitcher, but he hasn’t put the pieces all together yet, especially the ability to consistently throw strikes. I think the Cubs will continue to work with him and I will likely be picking him up late in drafts next year hoping for Carlos Carrasco type turn around.

Yordano Ventura
Ventura is surprisingly disappointing. He just seems like everything should be better. Look for improvement in his breaking balls as they could lead to more strikeouts and less walks as hitters need to be weary of them and not just sit on his straight fastball.

Michael Wacha
I was happy he was finally able to get his command down in the third inning to see a spark of what he might be. What to see if he is able to get the ball over the plate regularly to start the 2015 season before investing too much in him.

Taijuan Walker
He is a stud. It will be interesting to see what he can do over a full healthy season.

Allen Webster
Webster’s inability to throw strikes is currently his greatest weakness. He needs to correct this issue before he can be considered useable in any format.

Zack Wheeler
I wonder if “less is more” would work with Wheeler. Drop the change and become a fastball/slider/curve guy like Kershaw. Get those three pitches down cold. Also, he needs to trust the pitches and just throw them for strikes.