Brandon Morrow, Just Filthy !

[AceKobe]

Man i was watching the game against Cleveland, and oh man, he just abused the hitters, in the 2nd when he struck out the side.

The 3 pitches he struck the 3 batters out on were as follow.

Pitch 1 - 99 MPH (1st batter) Fast Ball
Pitch 2 - 100 MPH ( 2nd Batter ) Fast Ball
Pitch 3 - 89MPH (3rd Batter) - Curve Ball

Are you kidding me, his damn Curve ball is faster than most pitcher's fastballs, It was downright filthy and now i understand why he was taken ahead of Lincecum. He reminds of AJ, but with better control and a filthier fast ball. I think his Fastball along with Daniel Bard's is the best in Baseball.

His Curve ball is down right filthy too. He has problems locating his pitches which is normal for a young pitcher who has had only 19 starts.

Check the video out.

From 10 Seconds - 20 Seconds

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?conte ... k%3D264221

[Hoopstarr]

At one point, he threw two straight 91mph sliders to LaPorta followed by 100 and 99 mph fastballs for a K. But as pointed out by some, the Cleveland gun was probably fast. It had Frasor's FB at 94 and it hasn't been there all season. Regardless, he threw 104 total pitches, 62 for strikes, and 23 of them for whiffs.

[Michael Bradley]

Morrow is a true power pitcher. In 6 starts he has an 11.3 K/9 (42 K's in 33 IP) and fewer hits than IP. The problem with him, which is not surprising, is command. He still walks way too many batters and that is going to limit how deep he goes into games.

However he is only 25 and is still raw as a starter (thanks to Seattle's misuse of him) so this year is more of a development year for him. He threw 95 innings in 2008 and 124.2 innings last season so if he is on an innings limit this year (which I hope he is) he'll probably be shut down after about 155 or so. I think AJ is a good ceiling for him; it is just a matter of getting better control of his pitches (and of course staying healthy).

[Randle McMurphy]

His peripherals are Nolan Ryan-like right now.

Except Nolan Ryan didn't pitch in an era with pitch counts.

[Schad]

Morrow is a true power pitcher. In 6 starts he has an 11.3 K/9 (42 K's in 33 IP) and fewer hits than IP. The problem with him, which is not surprising, is command. He still walks way too many batters and that is going to limit how deep he goes into games.

However he is only 25 and is still raw as a starter (thanks to Seattle's misuse of him) so this year is more of a development year for him. He threw 95 innings in 2008 and 124.2 innings last season so if he is on an innings limit this year (which I hope he is) he'll probably be shut down after about 155 or so. I think AJ is a good ceiling for him; it is just a matter of getting better control of his pitches (and of course staying healthy).

Agree with pretty much everything here. The walks will likely remain a problem, but his biggest worry is the home run. His fastball has enough tail that he has to start it a little high for it to have a shot to finish in the zone, and when they hang, they get hit hard.

[Alfred]

He was cooking all night long. One batter he threw 97, 98, 96 MPH. Three near-100 MPH fastballs in a row.

[Hoopstarr]

Morrow is a true power pitcher. In 6 starts he has an 11.3 K/9 (42 K's in 33 IP) and fewer hits than IP. The problem with him, which is not surprising, is command. He still walks way too many batters and that is going to limit how deep he goes into games.

However he is only 25 and is still raw as a starter (thanks to Seattle's misuse of him) so this year is more of a development year for him. He threw 95 innings in 2008 and 124.2 innings last season so if he is on an innings limit this year (which I hope he is) he'll probably be shut down after about 155 or so. I think AJ is a good ceiling for him; it is just a matter of getting better control of his pitches (and of course staying healthy).

Agree with pretty much everything here. The walks will likely remain a problem, but his biggest worry is the home run. His fastball has enough tail that he has to start it a little high for it to have a shot to finish in the zone, and when they hang, they get hit hard.

He recently lowered his arm slot slightly. I think he should go further to get more movement and sink and cut down the HRs. He'll sacrifice velocity but he's got that for days. Of course, not everyone has the makeup to make this kind of change.

[Schad]

He recently lowered his arm slot slightly. I think he should go further to get more movement and sink and cut down the HRs. He'll sacrifice velocity but he's got that for days. Of course, not everyone has the makeup to make this kind of change.

Yeah, the arm slot does look like it might have helped...only one HR in four starts. Like you say, though, whether he sticks with it or migrates back to his old arm angle is another matter.

[s e n s i]

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/video/p ... 9&c_id=tor



Haha, the batters are so helpless. That 89mph curveball is just nasty. When he can locate it like that it would be unhittable.

[SharoneWright]

Funny that people were ragging on him after his first couple innings this year...

I like the fact that we've got a true power arm (as has been mentioned) in the mix considering our left-handed tossers... The thing I notice about Morrow right off the hop is that he has such an easy delivery. This ain't no "max effort" guy. imho that bodes really well for him becoming something of a work horse in the future - kid is still just learning to pitch though. I thing the organization committing to him as a starter is obviously the right strategy and is starting to really benefit his confidence. Hard to go wrong acquiring an arm like that - very good get by AA.

[Alfred]

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7847249&c_id=tor



Haha, the batters are so helpless. That 89mph curveball is just nasty. When he can locate it like that it would be unhittable.

That curveball was insane!

[satyr9]

Yeah, his stuff is really electric, just needs to put it together, but I'm starting to feel about him the same way I do about Snider: he'll get there if you let him work through the bad. I didn't feel that way at the beginning of the year, simply 'cause I hadn't seen enough to know, but IMO seattle may have really screwed the pooch mismanaging him early and degrading a truly significant asset's value. If he can refine himself and gain the extra command while keeping his stuff, he's really filthy.

BTW, here's ESPN saying nice things about the Jays rotation:

Out of the blue: There's a starting rotation out there that has already had three different pitchers take no-hitters into the seventh inning this year. And it's not the Giants, Cardinals or Yankees.

It's those Roy Halladay-free Toronto Blue Jays, of course. And according to the Elias Sports Bureau, they're the first team since the 1967 Orioles to have three different pitchers sustain no-hit bids that long before we even flipped the calendar to June.

Shaun Marcum, Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil are the three Blue Jays to flirt with a no-hitter so far. And the fourth starter, Brandon Morrow, has taken a no-no into the sixth. So how good is this staff? Here's one scout's review:

"I see Romero as the guy who's going to emerge as their go-to guy to shut down a series," he said. "To me, there's almost a scary resemblance between him and vintage Johan [Santana]. His change has really developed. But he's got three other pitches to go to. With more experience, and a team that can catch the ball, he's got a chance to be an 18-20-game winner.

"Marcum's got the makeup of a front-end rotation guy. His stuff is a little below that. But he battles so well, I wouldn't bet against him. I've always liked Cecil. And Morrow doesn't have the feel of those other guys. But he's got quality stuff. It's a pretty impressive young group."

Nevermind the top of the article has Vdub in the top 5 worst salaries in baseball (big surprise I know), that's some very positive things said about the young arms.

edit: and I just discovered the link's already in the vdub tradeable thread. I'll leave it for now.

[Modern_epic]

Yeah, his stuff is really electric, just needs to put it together, but I'm starting to feel about him the same way I do about Snider: he'll get there if you let him work through the bad. I didn't feel that way at the beginning of the year, simply 'cause I hadn't seen enough to know, but IMO seattle may have really screwed the pooch mismanaging him early and degrading a truly significant asset's value. If he can refine himself and gain the extra command while keeping his stuff, he's really filthy.

BTW, here's ESPN saying nice things about the Jays rotation:

Out of the blue: There's a starting rotation out there that has already had three different pitchers take no-hitters into the seventh inning this year. And it's not the Giants, Cardinals or Yankees.

It's those Roy Halladay-free Toronto Blue Jays, of course. And according to the Elias Sports Bureau, they're the first team since the 1967 Orioles to have three different pitchers sustain no-hit bids that long before we even flipped the calendar to June.

Shaun Marcum, Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil are the three Blue Jays to flirt with a no-hitter so far. And the fourth starter, Brandon Morrow, has taken a no-no into the sixth. So how good is this staff? Here's one scout's review:

"I see Romero as the guy who's going to emerge as their go-to guy to shut down a series," he said. "To me, there's almost a scary resemblance between him and vintage Johan [Santana]. His change has really developed. But he's got three other pitches to go to. With more experience, and a team that can catch the ball, he's got a chance to be an 18-20-game winner.

"Marcum's got the makeup of a front-end rotation guy. His stuff is a little below that. But he battles so well, I wouldn't bet against him. I've always liked Cecil. And Morrow doesn't have the feel of those other guys. But he's got quality stuff. It's a pretty impressive young group."

Nevermind the top of the article has Vdub in the top 5 worst salaries in baseball (big surprise I know), that's some very positive things said about the young arms.

edit: and I just discovered the link's already in the vdub tradeable thread. I'll leave it for now.

Nevermind that?!? Dude, the article implied Vernon might only be the third worst contract in the league! It was great news.

[tsherkin]

His peripherals are Nolan Ryan-like right now.

Except Nolan Ryan didn't pitch in an era with pitch counts.

Most of them, anyway. The big disparity, of course, is his WHIP, which is noticeably higher than Ryan's (except in Morrow's second season). And he's averaging more than a full extra walk per 9 innings.

Ryan was tough to get a hit off of, but yeah, he walked a lot of guys too.

[Randle McMurphy]

Ryan walked an unbelievable amount of guys for the success he had, especially in his younger days in the 70s.

[satyr9]

Nevermind the top of the article has Vdub in the top 5 worst salaries in baseball (big surprise I know), that's some very positive things said about the young arms.

Nevermind that?!? Dude, the article implied Vernon might only be the third worst contract in the league! It was great news.

Well by my count he was second on the list, and they're talking tradeability too so they skip an important detail moving forward. They fail to mention vdub's salary for this year included 8.5 million up front as part of his original signing bonus, which is why his 5 year total is only 98.5 instead of 107. to illustrate why that's important, in a year Soriano has 4/72 remaining on his deal, while Wells has 4/86. Maybe Vernon's 3.5 per year better than Soriano (probably he is), but comparative value is moot at this level to me. You're too overpaid for anyone to want you, so to me highest salary loses, regardless of relative skill.

Now, at least Vernon plays bad but not excruciatingly negative defense like Soriano. He's got no range, but he doesn't forget his job is to catch the ball when he's in the field, which for a guy making anything in the 20mil per range is just too painful for words.

And I probably didn't have to get all serious about this here did I? Sorry, I was trying to be light about Vernon's contract, but it's still just too painful. I'll be able to exchange banter without these interludes of moroseness by 2013, I promise.

[tsherkin]

Ryan walked an unbelievable amount of guys for the success he had, especially in his younger days in the 70s.

I agree, he walked a crap-ton of batters and his BB/9 only plummeted because he discovered the joys of control after he turned 30. Before then, he was WORSE than Morrow in that capacity, though still FAR less hittable.

[Hendrix]

So what happens when Rzep comes back?

I'de imagine it''s between Morrow, and Eveland getting knocked down right? I hope Cecil sticks around for the rest of the year. So Eveland goes down despite not really giving much reason to so far this year?

[Schad]

So what happens when Rzep comes back?

I'de imagine it''s between Morrow, and Eveland getting knocked down right? I hope Cecil sticks around for the rest of the year. So Eveland goes down despite not really giving much reason to so far this year?

I would guess that Zip is likely to spend a month or two in AAA to get back into game shape, which is good news in one regard: if they placed him in the rotation now, they'd likely punt Cecil back to AAA simply because he has options. Hopefully, Zip goes to AAA and does well, so that when Eveland predictably implodes (and he will...his peripherals are in line for an ERA in the high-5.00s) he'll get his spot in the rotation.

Or, the Jays will continue with the Tallet-as-starter nonsense.

[Michael Bradley]

Yeah there is very little chance Eveland is going to maintain an ERA below 4.00 with his K:BB and K/9. Eventually the hits will pile up and he'll become the turd he was prior to this season. I just hope he continues to do well until July and the Jays sell high on him (he's only 26 and a lefty) but that's probably asking too much. As of now he is eating up quality innings which is more than most expected. I would not take him out until he comes crashing down to earth. Tallet on the other hand is someone I would put in the bullpen upon return. Whether Cito will do that is another story.

I don't think they will bump Morrow from the rotation this year unless he either 1) gets hurt, or 2) reaches his innings limit. In a rebuilding year like this guys like Morrow are very important because they present upside that still needs to be cultivated. Let Morrow develop this year, good performance or not. He is a guy that if things go right can really be a contributor moving forward.

By July I would guess the rotation will be Marcum-Romero-Morrow-Cecil-Rzep anyway. I doubt Litsch will factor in, and McGowan at this point is probably a closer candidate at best as far as his future is concerned.