6/25 Cubs (Alzolay) vs Braves (Fried) 7:05 NBC Chicago+

[squally1313]

Quintana is butt again, so whoopedee doo if he or Lester mysteriously ended up on the IL.

 

Hey man, whatever we have to do to get Alzolay's 6.18 FIP in the rotation. The dude pitched all of 39.2 innings last year and hasn't gone longer than 6 innings in a start at any level since last April, so we should definitely just slot him in every fifth day for the next 3 months.

I know I started all this discussion. I think Adbert’s looked good enough he deserves another start, I don’t want him permanently in the rotation necessarily. But him staying in through the break I think makes a lot of sense. It buys everyone some extra rest. After the break and when Hendricks is back I’m fine if he goes back down or moves to the pen (he probably should stay up in the pen, imo).

 

I'm assuming you don't want to delay Kimbrel at all. Kyle Ryan, as much as he looks and sounds like a guy you face in AA in Road to the Show, now has a 3.58 ERA and 3.54 FIP. You could shuttle Barnette back down, but we're trying to see if he can be anything too. Then it's Kintzler or Brach, either of which you would probably lose if you tried to send down.

[Cubswin11]

 

Hey man, whatever we have to do to get Alzolay's 6.18 FIP in the rotation. The dude pitched all of 39.2 innings last year and hasn't gone longer than 6 innings in a start at any level since last April, so we should definitely just slot him in every fifth day for the next 3 months.

I know I started all this discussion. I think Adbert’s looked good enough he deserves another start, I don’t want him permanently in the rotation necessarily. But him staying in through the break I think makes a lot of sense. It buys everyone some extra rest. After the break and when Hendricks is back I’m fine if he goes back down or moves to the pen (he probably should stay up in the pen, imo).

 

I'm assuming you don't want to delay Kimbrel at all. Kyle Ryan, as much as he looks and sounds like a guy you face in AA in Road to the Show, now has a 3.58 ERA and 3.54 FIP. You could shuttle Barnette back down, but we're trying to see if he can be anything too. Then it's Kintzler or Brach, either of which you would probably lose if you tried to send down.

If Brach dies he dies.

 

But I’d view the moves as Barnette down for Kimbrel (obviously don’t delay that), then a phantom IL trip for Brach, Monty, or Chatwood (after his start tomorrow), DFA Brach or find a trade for Monty as all reasonable moves to keep Adbert around.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

Hey man, whatever we have to do to get Alzolay's 6.18 FIP in the rotation. The dude pitched all of 39.2 innings last year and hasn't gone longer than 6 innings in a start at any level since last April, so we should definitely just slot him in every fifth day for the next 3 months.

I'd prefer every 6th day, occasionally swapping roles with Montgomery and Chatwood.

 

But he's not one of our best 5 starters, and we aren't exactly running away with the division. If a spot opens up, which is probably likely, given that the #NotAllPitchers thread is 800+ posts long at this point, then he should get the first shot. But having to potentially lose one of our middle relief options to upgrade from Monty/Chatwood to Alzolay and his 6+ FIP for one start seems pretty shortsighted.

 

This is why I mentioned every 6th day.

 

And on any given day, he might be top 5 depending on who is currently on the IL.

[jersey cubs fan]

. Then it's Kintzler or Brach, either of which you would probably lose if you tried to send down.

is that a threat or a promise?

[squally1313]

I guess I just don't know how Alzolay fits into the plans for this year. Yes, it's exciting to have a potentially legitimate pitching prospect. And as good as Hamels has been this year, you'd have to think that spot in the rotation next year is Adbert's logical destination. But like I said, he only pitched 40ish innings last year...he's already pitched more than that this year. I have no idea what his restrictions are, if any. If we need him to start a playoff game for us, we probably have bigger problems. Would his stuff play up out of the bullpen for us this year? Is that worth it, given the risk it impacts his present/future as a starter?

[squally1313]

I'd prefer every 6th day, occasionally swapping roles with Montgomery and Chatwood.

 

But he's not one of our best 5 starters, and we aren't exactly running away with the division. If a spot opens up, which is probably likely, given that the #NotAllPitchers thread is 800+ posts long at this point, then he should get the first shot. But having to potentially lose one of our middle relief options to upgrade from Monty/Chatwood to Alzolay and his 6+ FIP for one start seems pretty shortsighted.

 

This is why I mentioned every 6th day.

 

And on any given day, he might be top 5 depending on who is currently on the IL.

 

But if we're pitching him every 6th day, that means our better starters are only pitching every 6th day. It means we have one less arm in the bullpen behind pitchers like him and Darvish who aren't going to go very deep into games with any regularity. If we were up 8 games or back 8 games, absolutely. But I'm not costing Hamels and Hendricks 4 or 5 starts in the second half when we're up one game in the tightest division in baseball.

[jersey cubs fan]

But if we're pitching him every 6th day, that means our better starters are only pitching every 6th day. It means we have one less arm in the bullpen behind pitchers like him and Darvish who aren't going to go very deep into games with any regularity. If we were up 8 games or back 8 games, absolutely. But I'm not costing Hamels and Hendricks 4 or 5 starts in the second half when we're up one game in the tightest division in baseball.

Our better starters are all fragile/volatile and half the bullpen arms are trash. So, what exactly is the downside?

[squally1313]

But if we're pitching him every 6th day, that means our better starters are only pitching every 6th day. It means we have one less arm in the bullpen behind pitchers like him and Darvish who aren't going to go very deep into games with any regularity. If we were up 8 games or back 8 games, absolutely. But I'm not costing Hamels and Hendricks 4 or 5 starts in the second half when we're up one game in the tightest division in baseball.

Our better starters are all fragile/volatile and half the bullpen arms are trash. So, what exactly is the downside?

 

Pitching our better starters less? If one of them gets hurt, absolutely let Alzolay go every 5th day. Adding a 6th fragile/volatile starter, who, again, didn't pitch that well in his 9 innings here so far, is something you do with a huge lead, not in our current situation.

 

And I agree that our bullpen pitchers are pretty trash. They still have to pitch. Putting in a 6 man rotation, and keeping Monty/Chatwood around (see below), means you have 5 other relievers, and your best one just started pitching about a week ago. Your second best one has been fighting injuries the past few weeks. Your third best one, we've been complaining he's been overworked for the last year and a half.

 

From above: If they want to just dump Chatwood and give that job to Alzolay, I'm totally ok with that. But given PTR, seems highly doubtful.

[Cubswin11]

I guess I just don't know how Alzolay fits into the plans for this year. Yes, it's exciting to have a potentially legitimate pitching prospect. And as good as Hamels has been this year, you'd have to think that spot in the rotation next year is Adbert's logical destination. But like I said, he only pitched 40ish innings last year...he's already pitched more than that this year. I have no idea what his restrictions are, if any. If we need him to start a playoff game for us, we probably have bigger problems. Would his stuff play up out of the bullpen for us this year? Is that worth it, given the risk it impacts his present/future as a starter?

I don’t think anyone is saying start him in the playoffs this year. He should probably get another start or two before the ASB/Until Hendricks is back though. After the break the off days are plentiful for all of July and most of August so the off days will give the rest to the regular 5 guys then (assuming health) so he can go back down then and keep starting in Iowa or move to the pen up here. I think once he’s moved to the pen he should be used like the Dodgers use Stripling, Maeda, Urias out of the pen or Brewers last year with Woodruff and Burnes out of the pen. That’s probably his best use and role on this team at optimal health and performance for the year and it shouldn’t affect starting plans for him next year.

Edited June 26, 2019 by Cubswin11

[squally1313]

That's fair, and I essentially agree with the last 75% of your post. Being fully aware this is the lamest possible hill to die on, I just don't want to throw out the (probably slim) chance that Brach (3.60 FIP, 1.49 in June) or Kintzler (2.18 ERA, 3.85 FIP) can play a reliable part down the stretch as a 4th-6th inning guy to get the marginal upgrade, at best, of Alzolay over Monty/Chatwood for a start or two.

[Cubswin11]

That's fair, and I essentially agree with the last 75% of your post. Being fully aware this is the lamest possible hill to die on, I just don't want to throw out the (probably slim) chance that Brach (3.60 FIP, 1.49 in June) or Kintzler (2.18 ERA, 3.85 FIP) can play a reliable part down the stretch as a 4th-6th inning guy to get the marginal upgrade, at best, of Alzolay over Monty/Chatwood for a start or two.

I hear ya and Brach has looked better. I’m worried the BABIP monster is coming for Kintzler. The best move to keep Adbert is probably a Monty trade, honestly. His best role/use doesn’t fit with the current roster construction and he can’t be his most useful self with it.