Chien-Ming Wang

[mul21]

I don't see the signs pointing to him being a star.

 

And may I ask why you think of that?

 

Solid but not spectacular Minor League numbers, where he was slightly old for his leagues. Very low K rates(and corresponding K/BB ratio) at the big league level, and nothing completely great with opposing batting lines. He gets a ton of groundballs, but it seems to me his ceiling is that of a Jon Lieber, which seems to fall short of the hype he was receiving in the thread thus far.

 

Didn't Jon Lieber start to have star like numbers before he blew out his elbow? You could certainly do a lot worse than a Lieber like ceiling for a run of the mill guy like Jones and another player, be it Guzman or someone else.

[YearofDaCubs]

I'm just glad to finally have healthy Wood.

Let's wait and see how he pitches first. The loss of velocity is a concern.

 

Slow. Gun.

Multiple slow guns? I don't think so.

 

How many times do you have to read that it was in the 40s and rainy? How can anyone possible think a pticher could have his best stuff on a night like that.

He's also pitched twice. It sounds like you pretty much made up your mind that he hasn't lost velocity. Time will tell and I'm hoping he didn't but so far there is enough evidence to speculate a loss of velocity is possible.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Didn't Jon Lieber start to have star like numbers before he blew out his elbow?

 

Not really.

 

You could certainly do a lot worse than a Lieber like ceiling for a run of the mill guy like Jones and another player, be it Guzman or someone else.

 

You could definitely do worse, my point was not on whether or not to acquire him but to address those who projected his success.

[katway]

Even though Wang has durability issues (he had a mysterious stint on the DL last year with some arm problems) and the Yankees need outfield help, it's unlikely they would trade a young pitcher who has shown he can pitch under the pressures of New York. We would have to overpay.

[sunnydoo]

Leads the majors in fewest HRs given up, fewest HRs per 9 innings, and leads the majors in ground ball outs.

 

64% of the outs he records are via ground ball.

 

Something tells me that in one corner we have the Sabremetric geeks who believe in Ks and limiting Babip vs. the other corner wanting GB outs off of BABIP.

 

To me it is the classic 2 seem vs 4 seem fastball discussion. I like 2 seem fastballers. Always have because of my idolization of Sutter. I understand the medical reasoning on the durability of overwhelming 2 seem fastballers, but i like their ability to keep the ball low in Wrigley on windswept days and the ability to get a DP in a jam.

[Outshined_One]

I really hate Yankees prospects. They're even more overhyped than the ones in the Cubs' system. Wang is no exception.

 

I love guys who keep the ball in the yard, but he relies so much on groundballs that it becomes a detriment. Last year:

 

ERA: 4.02

DERA: 4.39

K/9: 3.64

BB/9: 2.48

HR/9: 0.70

K:BB: 1.47

 

That screams back of the rotation starter to me.