Prospect Insider - Live Blogging Pineda

Live Blogging Pineda

By Jason A. Churchill

By 06-23-2010

At 7pm we'll be live blogging Michael Pineda's first start in Triple-A Tacoma.

To join in on the action, click here.

Pineda has created a major buzz as a there are twice as many media members here today as normal, maybe three times as many, and the walk-up for tickets is enormous.

Photos from this game by Paul Marsh.

We'll get some video of Pineda of later.

Until then, enjoy the live blogging.

live-blogging-pineda

Comments
The following 7 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: rocketdawg31 on 06-23-2010 23:08:35

6 IP, 1 hit allowed. 5 K's?

Nice AAA-debut, big fella.

2. By: rocketdawg31 on 06-23-2010 23:09:42

I saw him in spring training, and he really reminds me of a taller version of a young Juan Guzman- the body type, the life on the ball.

Good comp?

3. By: PositivePaul on 06-24-2010 01:01:51
Jason - I meant to say this before I left but you were busy talking (haha no surprise!)...

Looking at my pictures I can't help but think that his arm action and the way he pitches reminds me tons of Francisco Cruceta. I think he has better command though.

4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 06-24-2010 01:57:59
I don't see either Guzman or Cruceta in Pineda at all, other than they were both righties and both not caucasian.

5. By: rocketdawg31 on 06-24-2010 02:03:11

You're kidding, Jason. Right? I can see Paul's point on the arm action, but what prompted my Guzman comp is the body type and the fastball life.

Guzman's body weight seemed to be 80% in his butt and legs, just like Pineda's.

Pineda's taller and probably sits at a bit higher velo, but I see him and I'm reminded of a lot of starts Guzman made for Toronto.

6. By: Jason A. Churchill on 06-24-2010 02:35:59
Guzman was much stronger and pitched with a much lower center of gravity. The fact that he and Pineda both have strong legs and life on the fastball -- so what? So do 100s of others pitchers in baseball.

It's not that there isn't anything they do alike, but I can't see any way that Guzman is a reasonable comp, in style, talent level/abilities or anything else other than mass generalities that you can make with so many others.

And when I'm looking for a comp for a pitching prospect, I'm looking not only for similarities in physical makeup and abilities, but for similar ways they get the job done. Not physical resemblance.

Pineda throws from a 3/4 slot... Guzman over the top. Pineda has some buggy whip action, Guzman a sturdy shove/mid-arm path.

And Guzman's best pitch was by far the wipeout slider.

They really aren't much alike at all. I haven't really found an ideal comp for Pineda in four years. I've always had to combine three or four different names, taking one or two things from each name and molding it together.

I guess Rafael Soriano is the closest thing yet, but I don't even feel close on that one, either.

7. By: PositivePaul on 06-24-2010 11:10:14
Well for me as I mentioned it seemed like they had similar pitching motions at times. Looking back at my archive of Cruceta pictures I'm not quite so sure now that I see the resemblance I thought I did. Maybe between these pix:

Cruceta

Pineda

Cruceta seemed to tuck his head in more and have his front shoulder higher than Pineda does.

Maybe it was, as you mentioned, the physical similarities in that they're both tall, meaty, not-caucasian righties that throw hard. If I ran a SQL query on the database of all of the past & present pitchers that fit that profile, I might even crash SQL Server...

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