Possible SP Minor League Contracts

[Graham's Cracker]

Looks like we added a vet for Buffalo. the Jays signed Claudio Vargas.

Vargas' Minor League Numbers

Hadn't heard that name in a while. He played for the Expos like a decade ago.

When I first read it I thought we had acquired Jason Vargas. Claudio seems like perfect veteran fodder for the AAA rotation though.

[Skin Blues]

I thought we signed Vargas to a minor league deal a couple years ago... maybe I'm thinking of the guy that used to close for the Expos. The guy that didn't curve the bill of his hat. EDIT: Yeah that was Chad Cordero in 2011... never mind.

[Mad-Eye Moody]

I like CV, Liriano, and Webb from that list. The others are underwhelming. Bedard could be an option since he's had success in the AL East before. Actually I wouldn't mind any of those on that list on minor league deals for SP depth.

[MikeM]

I'd personally stay away from the boom or bust reclamation projects like Webb or Harden or Bonderman or whatever. They'll probably just amount to nothing. We have McGowan for that.

I'd rather move into the Pavano, Randy Wells, Aaron Cook, Stauffer category. Don't know if any of those guys would go to Buffalo though. But I'd rather be looking for guys you know will probably be healthy and can do a 4.80 ERA.

I'm intrigued by Stauffer.

[agk47]

i read somewhere kazmir is sitting at 93 in winter ball, he's only 28. Easily worth a flyer.

[Ado05]

i read somewhere kazmir is sitting at 93 in winter ball, he's only 28. Easily worth a flyer.

Agreed, but only if he is throwing 93 regularly. He was a good pitcher, so it wouldnt to see if he could regain that form. A ST invite or a minor league deal would be okay.

[flatjacket1]

i read somewhere kazmir is sitting at 93 in winter ball, he's only 28. Easily worth a flyer.

Velocity means very little. It helps, but at the MLB level you need more. You can throw darts at 95 and just get hammered, you need movement and secondary stuff.

[agk47]

i read somewhere kazmir is sitting at 93 in winter ball, he's only 28. Easily worth a flyer.

Velocity means very little. It helps, but at the MLB level you need more. You can throw darts at 95 and just get hammered, you need movement and secondary stuff.

kazmirs issues were directed related to his decreasing velocity which was attributed to a general lack of durability. he was sitting at 86 - 87 a year ago, if hes sitting at 93 sounds like he may have found his form

[flatjacket1]

kazmirs issues were directed related to his decreasing velocity which was attributed to a general lack of durability. he was sitting at 86 - 87 a year ago, if hes sitting at 93 sounds like he may have found his form

Doesn't mean anything, increase in velocity typically means a decline in movement. People always say things like "Imagine Buerhle thew 95!" and I think to myself he could be worse.

I'm not saying that velocity means nothing, but it's too little to draw a conclusion on. I'd take 88 from a guy with movement over a guy with 98 who throws darts.

[The_Hater]

i read somewhere kazmir is sitting at 93 in winter ball, he's only 28. Easily worth a flyer.

Velocity means very little. It helps, but at the MLB level you need more. You can throw darts at 95 and just get hammered, you need movement and secondary stuff.

kazmirs issues were directed related to his decreasing velocity which was attributed to a general lack of durability. he was sitting at 86 - 87 a year ago, if hes sitting at 93 sounds like he may have found his form

Interesting but he was still getting shelled on Roger Clemens Independent league team last year. His ERA was near 6 in about 12-13 starts. He was also throwing about 86 with the Angels in 2011 so I would be interested to know what happened that these lost 6-7 mph suddenly reappeared.

[Skin Blues]

kazmirs issues were directed related to his decreasing velocity which was attributed to a general lack of durability. he was sitting at 86 - 87 a year ago, if hes sitting at 93 sounds like he may have found his form

Doesn't mean anything, increase in velocity typically means a decline in movement. People always say things like "Imagine Buerhle thew 95!" and I think to myself he could be worse.

I'm not saying that velocity means nothing, but it's too little to draw a conclusion on. I'd take 88 from a guy with movement over a guy with 98 who throws darts.

Yes but clearly the lost velocity hurt Kazmir rather than help him. You have to analyze on an individual basis. It doesn't help to ignore Kazmir's velocity simply because Mark Buehrle is successful at <85 MPH. Scott Kazmir is not a similar pitcher to Mark Buehrle. For many pitchers, losing 2-3 MPH on their fastball is the difference between being lights out and throwing batting practice.