Today is part two of my review, or summary of the player summaries, for the new 2010 Baseball Prospectus book. Today we feature the pitching staff (we did the hitters yesterday). Again, these are just a look at a handful of the entries for Reds players in the book; go buy it.
Bronson Arroyo–doesn’t have ace stuff, but the best league-average innings muncher
Homer Bailey–rededicated himself to his craft, prioritizing his workouts over hunting, with a focus on simplifying his mechanics and learning the splitter from Justin Lehr; now close to realizing his potential
Francisco Cordero–had one of his best seasons if measured by ERA and save rate, but K rate sharply dropped and line drive rate continues to rise; now is the time to sell
Johnny Cueto–sophomore season looked like his rookie season; small stature and emerging pattern of arm aches is a worrisome combination
Aaron Harang–was hit harder in 2009; he’s not a late-blooming ace after all, just a solid, midrotation starter in need of some luck
Daniel Ray Herrera–gets the job done against lefties (520 OPS against); righties murdered him (952 OPS against)
Mike Leake–if not for Stephen Strasburg, Leake would have gotten a lot more attention; could move quickly through the system, but he’s probably more of a #3 or #4 starter; on the small side, but has outside chance of being the next Tim Hudson
Matt Maloney–could excel as a midrotation starter in a pitcher’s park (flyball pitcher), but will have to work to be successful in Cincinnati
Nick Masset–ground ball pitcher, well-suited for GABP; BABIP was 100 points lower than when he played in Chicago; improved his K rate, walk rate, and line drive rate last year
Micah Owings–his OPS+ was better than his ERA+; his career hitting line is better than Rick Ankiel’s, even after Ankiel quit pitching to concentrate on hitting two years ago; BP says he’s a serviceable fifth starter, but he’s not playing to his strengths
Arthur Rhodes–good lefty relievers can pitch forever; will probably be effective well into his 40’s
Edinson Volquez–blame Dusty Baker for using him unncessarily at the end of 2008 (add Volquez to Dusty’s list of damaged young starters); it’s difficult to be optimistic about his return as a front of the rotation starter (example: Francisco Liriano)