LeBron James’ Internal Battle Rages On
June 21, 2010MLB Trade Rumors: Mets Eying Carmona
June 21, 2010Following what has been an abysmal-at-best start to the 2010 season, the Cleveland Indians have decided to option starting pitcher David Huff to Triple-A Columbus. Through 13 starts, the left-hander is 2-9 with a 6.04 ERA and 1.69 WHIP, striking out 34 and walking 30. There’s a chance that the 25-year-old Huff can work out his kinks with the Clippers and be back with the team in a few weeks. But until that happens, Huff’s spot in the rotation will be taken by someone currently with the Clips.
But with the team not announcing Huff’s replacement until tomorrow, who will it be?
The two names that continue to be floated about are Aaron Laffey and Carlos Carrasco. Prior to being sent down, Laffey had a record of 0-1 in 25 innings of bullpen work. His numbers were nothing to write home about, sporting an ERA of 5.61 and a WHIP of 1.675 to go with only 11 strikeouts (13 walks).
A deeper dive to see if Laffey may have just been unlucky out of the ‘pen shows us that Laffey was actually dealt some unfavorable hands. His BABIP is sitting around .328 with his 2010 FIP at 3.91, signaling more “underlying talent” than his player profile would suggest. Not allowing a home run in 25 innings is a start – but as TD exclaimed earlier today, the Indians may have the worst defense in the league which would lead to considerably better defensive independent figures.
Since being optioned down to Columbus earlier this season, Laffey has been strictly a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, he is 0-1 with a WHIP of 1.770 and 15 walks to nine strikeouts.
Carrasco, he of the Cliff Lee trade, has been a tad better. In 13 starts with Columbus, the 23-year-old has a record of 5-3 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.331; numbers that are in line with his career averages throughout the minor leagues. If you may recall Carrasco’s brief stint with the Indians last season, he gave up nearly three home runs per every nine innings of work – something that lead to an ERA of 8.87 (7.08 FIP). His numbers in Triple-A thus far are a bit better at 1.4 HR/9, but still north of where the Indians would like it to be.
The other issue Carrasco has going against him in this call-up debate is the fact that he is a right-hander. Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson and Mitch Talbot are also right-handed. With Laffey being a southpaw, odds are that he could get the nod if only to mix up the handedness of the starting rotation.
For what it is worth, Josh Tomlin has easily been the most successful pitcher for the Clippers thus far, sporting 6-2 record with an ERA of 2.81 and a WHIP of 1.08. Unfortunately for Tomlin, he gets two marks against him as he is also right-handed and is not on the 40-man roster.
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(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
7 Comments
My guess is they go with Laffey. Although, I would rather see Carrasco get another shot. Unfortunately, none of the options at AAA are very good.
The real talent/potential is all at AA or below.
I agree that Laffey would make more sense in terms of the makeup of the rotation, but given the teams current state I think the handedness of the rotation should be the least of their worries. Carrasco should get another shot not only as the more highly touted prospect and as one of the main return in the Cliff Lee trade. He hasn’t been great in AAA but lets see what he can do.
I guess we probably won’t see Carrasco until we trade Westbrook.
I think Carrasco is better than Laffey, so bring him up and we can have the all-Carlos battery
Alright, these abbreviations are getting out of hand…ERA? Ok we all know that one. WHIP? Fine. But I feel like people are just starting to make up stuff from there…BABIP and FIP? Maybe I’m by myself here but all of these stats and abbreviations are just flying over my head.
[…] by his outings. The Indians will have to call up a starting pitcher for Friday’s game, and Aaron Laffey is the most likely candidate to be that player. That will mean a reliever will be shipped back to Columbus to make room. Raffy […]
[…] there is one pending move that we’re not 100% sure about, and that is the return to Columbus of LHP David Huff. The move is, of course, pending, as we don’t know yet who will be heading north to take his […]