Bleacher Bums Forum

No harm in letting him stay there for a while.  The plate is the same distance in Myrtle as in South Bend, so his ability to practice locating his pitches doesn't matter much where he's at, I'd think.  Breaking-ball artists, the curve can come and go.  I'm fine with letting him see how consistently he can stack success there.  Given his lack of pitching experience, I also imagine they might be very, very, very careful with his workload and pitch-count this season.  I'd not be surprised if they keep him on a 4-5 inning limit and keep his pitch count more around 65 than 90? 

My only concern is sometimes when guys can dominate at a level it can stunt their growth.  Pitching is still an art and sometimes struggles and working your way out of it can be better for the career.  It can also lead to habits that may not translate to hitters at higher levels.  Nobody likes to see guys struggle as prospects, but sometimes the adjustments can lead to something better.  I haven't watched him so I have no idea if this applies to him or not.  The other theory is that pitchers only have some many pitches to throw before their arms will blow up, why waste them against low level hitters.

Any time someone is new to the league, they can have great success because the league has not seen enough of him to find and exploit his weaknesses.  If promoted too soon, it can put him in a position where he is destined to fail.  I would much prefer to have his weaknesses exposed in a league where he is mostly their equal, rather than have him work on many weaknesses at once.

Give the league time to expose his flaws, and give him time to cure those flaws.  If they don't find flaws after a few weeks, there is plenty of time to promote him.

Tenn:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/smokies-vs-barons/2021/06/04/645145#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=645145


South Bend:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-lugnuts/2021/06/04/644109#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=644109


MB:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/fireflies-vs-pelicans/2021/06/04/648962#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=648962


Iowa:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-storm-chasers/2021/06/04/646881#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=646881

Carraway gave up his first hits of the season today. Did fan three with no walks, however.

Carraway gave up his first hits of the season today. Did fan three with no walks, however.

Two walks.

Sunday's games


Iowa:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-storm-chasers/2021/06/06/646879#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=646879


Velasquez: 3-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K

Albertos: 1-4-4-4-1-0

https://www.milb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-lugnuts/2021/06/06/644106#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=644106

Ben Leeper with his first game in AAA.  He started to get good reports shortly after he was signed last year, and ArizonaPhil said he touched 98 in Mesa this spring.  Dominated in AA, and three up, three down with a strike out tonight.

He has been almost exclusively a reliever (7 starts in 8 years).  But injuries and call ups have decimated Iowa's starting staff. 

What the heck.  It will be interested how much his velocity of 100 mph decreases as a starter.  He is the polar opposite of Hoyt Wilhelm, who never started a game until he was 30.  His knuckleball couldn't break a window.