Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wednesday, June 11th

Sorry I haven't been on the last week lifes been crazy. I will try to add stuff more often now that i got a little more time. Today I am going to start a series on comparing Twins organization players to see who the better player is. Today I am going to start with Kevin Slowey vs Scott Baker. I welcome your comments to let me know if you agree or disagree.

  • Kevin Slowey: Major League Numbers: 19 starts 6-7 4.89ERA
  • Minor League Stats: 55 starts 21-13 1.94 ERA

  • Scott Baker: Major League Stats: 56 starts 19-21 4.56 ERA
  • Minor League Stats 78 starts 27-23 3.01 ERA

They both had very good minor league careers with Kevin Slowey much better in the minor leagues. The only problem I see with Slowey is i do not think he has a strikeout pitch and he pitches it down the middle way too often he won't pitch inside. He is a control pitcher that pitches to contact, who has very good control and did all he could in the minor leagues. Scott Baker on the other hand has that good slider to get hitters out and he throws a little bit harder than Slowey. I don't think there is a big difference between the 2 of them but i see Scott Baker as a Brad Radke clone and i see Slowey as a backend of the rotation guy. They are both good pitchers but I see more upside with Baker than I do with Slowey. With Baker when he came up he thought he could get hitters out up here with his high fastball and quickly found out that hitters in the big leagues thrive on that. It took him a couple of years of up and down in the minors for him to get it. Some time last season he got it and ever since he has been awesome for the Twins. A groin injury slowed him down this year but i think the sky is the limit for Scott Baker. Kevin Slowey on the other hand I dont see him getting a whole lot better then he is now. I don't really have alot of facts to base it just a gut feeling. Don't get me wrong I look at him as a major league pitcher but he will always give up alot of hits and will have to get out of alot of jams. He is a AAAA pitcher because he is not elite in the Majors, but there is no sense putting him in the minors because he dominates down there. I would consider if the Twins could get the right offer to trade Slowey for some good prospects because I think alot of teams value him and you could get a nice return.

Overall I would take Scott Baker in a heartbreak I look at him as a #2 starter and Slowey as a 4 or 5 and with Baker's potential him and Liriano could make up the new version of Santana and Radke.

4 comments:

Dianna said...

You take a guy with 19 starts and compare him to a guy with 56 starts. Isn't that kind of comparing apples and oranges?

Travis Aune said...

no im basing it on the kind of stuff they have the ceiling they have.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Dianna on this one. I do think it would be very interesting to see Scott Baker's numbers after 19 big league starts. All of the crap that is being said about Slowey now was said about Baker for about 2 years. I don't knwo that I would call Baker an "Elite" pitcher. I also don't think anyone is questioning which of the two is a better pitcher right now.

By the way, good to have you posting again!!

thrylos98 said...

I agree with the other commenters here. You need to take into consideration that Baker is 2 years older than Slowey, as well as their WHIP numbers and their respective numbers at the respective ages. I would argue that Slowey now at 24 is actually ahead of where Baker was at 24. I think that both of them could be Brad Radke #2-3 type starters