Do our pitchers improve year to year? A few do but as a whole it seems most get worse. You could say the same thing about a lot of hitters unfortunately.
Honest Opinion about Pitching?
- Thread starter RobsterMobster
- Start date
Depends who you are talking about. Burkamper & Waldron seem to have regressed some. Hohensee is better than I ever remember him. Meyers continues to get better. I would say Mcsteen seems to be similar to last year.
Overall I would say the pitching seems to be about a push from last year but our Saturday guys have left a lot to be desired so far this season . Doesn't help that we have 4 would be contributors out with injury ...
Overall I would say the pitching seems to be about a push from last year but our Saturday guys have left a lot to be desired so far this season . Doesn't help that we have 4 would be contributors out with injury ...
I guess I feel like if you are in position to win with 5 or 6 runs on a Saturday and/or Sunday, you're not doing too bad at this level, pitching-wise.
Always curious what others think. I don't feel the progression is there overall. I look at the perspective of what it will take to win a Regional and beyond. I will say our pitching is night and day above our hitting.
It is definitely hit and miss with zero consistency. Erstad knows all about consistency and how not to build it. Burkamper has regressdd as the season has went on. Ive wondered if he diesnt have some minor injury he isnt telling them about. He was horrible today. If he had even a decent game today, Huskers probably win that this one as well.
The staff has a 3.41 ERA so its hard to complain too much. I don't know how much regression there has been, Burkamper has been inconsistent throughout his career and Waldron is hopefully just experiencing a Sophomore slump.
I get more frustrated with guys like Luensmann (and Howell last year) being tinkered with when they already have defined roles that they have excelled at. If you have the best closer in the league why in the world would you try to stretch him out?
I get more frustrated with guys like Luensmann (and Howell last year) being tinkered with when they already have defined roles that they have excelled at. If you have the best closer in the league why in the world would you try to stretch him out?
I agree with Burkamper, when he's on he's great, but when he's off, runs pile up quickly.
3.41 team ERA isn't anything to scoff at, but we've had a problem Silva leaving guys in too long compounded this season with a bunch of injuries. Like Erstad said before the season, you can never have too much pitching.
Imagine this staff with Tillotson, Eddins, and Engelken.
I agree with that, I probably should explain what I mean a little better. I'm more so referring to the top guys we have. It seems our top pitchers never take that next step. I even go back to guys like Kubat and Bummer. They had a great year and then regress the next.
You'd think with as much experience we've had with a couple pitchers a year one would eventually crack the All-Big Ten team by the time they were a Senior/Junior. I think Meyers can and should however. I see other teams in the BIG and they all have that ace with a crooked K to walk ratio and we just don't have that.
Agree 100% with you about tinkering with the established role players. Wonder if those types of moves affect the whole team? Not sure the answer because I'm not in that dugout but I tend to get this "underperforming"'type feeling the last few years is all.
I also look at what needs to happen for us to get to that next level as a team. Something's going to have to give. An elite staff or better hitting. With Erstad's offensive philosophy being what it is the lack of pitching progression from our top guys probably won't cut it unfortunately.
My observation is, on the whole, our pitchers do not improve their tools while in the program. They may gain more poise due to experience, and perhaps grow up a bit. I think this explains Jake Hohensee's progress.
But I do not see tool development happening.
Guys are not developing velo, for example. Kyle Kubat and Chance Sinclair both graduated from the program throwing about the same velo as they did when he came. So too with out closer from last year - forget his name.
I don't understand why that is the state of things. There are ways to develop velo and all our guys should be doing them. OSU,Vandy, North Carolina, VA, all of them are adding velo all the time.
High velo guys who come in raw, on the whole, have not improved their finish. E.g. Burkamper, Max Knudsen, Byron Hood, Mitch Steinhoff are all examples of this. It's early, but I fear this isn't happening for Sean Chandler as well.
Their isn't much work being done in the pitching development end of things. Regrettably, that was my observation.
TC
But I do not see tool development happening.
Guys are not developing velo, for example. Kyle Kubat and Chance Sinclair both graduated from the program throwing about the same velo as they did when he came. So too with out closer from last year - forget his name.
I don't understand why that is the state of things. There are ways to develop velo and all our guys should be doing them. OSU,Vandy, North Carolina, VA, all of them are adding velo all the time.
High velo guys who come in raw, on the whole, have not improved their finish. E.g. Burkamper, Max Knudsen, Byron Hood, Mitch Steinhoff are all examples of this. It's early, but I fear this isn't happening for Sean Chandler as well.
Their isn't much work being done in the pitching development end of things. Regrettably, that was my observation.
TC
