Another encouraging Liriano quote, but this one's from outside the organization!

From an NL executive, "Our scouts said he was as good as he was in 2006 when we all thought that he was the heir to Johan." I've been trying to temper my excitement about Liriano, but it's getting tough.

over 2 years ago Steven Ellingson 13 comments 0 recs |

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Reports all over on this...

I just linked to Jorge Arangure’s story with similarly glowing reviews of Liriano’s pitching performance in winter ball. Must…not…get…hopes…up…

by dctwin on Feb 8, 2010 4:14 PM EST reply actions

Way too late

I’m drunk on the kool aid ….

by Gunnarthor on Feb 8, 2010 5:00 PM EST up reply actions

I'm trying to not get too excited...

But it’s hard not too when just about every scout that watched him came to the same conclusion. If he really is throwing his fastball 96 plus, with his slider biting again, it will take this team to another level even after the off-season additions. Especially now that he knows how to throw a change up too.

by dyoung21 on Feb 8, 2010 6:13 PM EST up reply actions

Control

To me his biggest downfall last year was his control of the fastball. If he can locate that pitch, even throwing only in the low 90’s he will have success.

by .mnqwerd on Feb 9, 2010 5:42 AM EST up reply actions

He didn't have control in 2006

Keep that in mind. The big thing was that he threw a 96 MPH fastball that hitters couldn’t turn on consistently. Last year, he was throwing 91, and that doesn’t exactly setup his high 80s change up very well. If he is consistently hitting 93-94, I’d imagine he’s going to be a much better pitcher, even if his control has not improved at all. I do hope he’s improved on it a bit. If his fastball has returned to 95-96 and he has controll now, look out. We will all quickly forget about that Johan guy.

by diehardtwinsfan on Feb 9, 2010 8:41 AM EST up reply actions

Not exactly

He definitely did have control in 2006. He walked just 2.38 batters per 9 innings. In 2008 that rate fell to 3.79 per 9 innings. Last year the wheels came off and it plummeted to 4.28 per nine. The first number is very good. The second number is around average. The last is quite bad.

In 2006 he could throw 96 or 97, but that’s not what he usually did. He averaged 94-95 (average 94.7mph). The radar gun readings from his ESPN game had him at 92-95, so right in that range but still not as hard on average as 2006. Velocity-wise, he seems on track. But that was one game and that gun could have been ‘hot’, that’s not entirely uncommon. So we still have to take those readings with a serious grain of salt. But it’s promising.

The big wet-blanket for me watching him pitch in that Dominican league game was that he was still sailing his fastball into areas nowhere near the strike zone every bit as much as he did last year. Even if never throws hard again, if he can learn to control his fastball, it still has enough movement to be an effective pitch. The key is not getting himself down in so many counts.

Corey Ettinger writes for Infieldirt.com, a site that is primarily Twins related, but which has frequent notes, stories, and thoughts from other teams around baseball, with a focus on the AL Central. If you live in the Fargo area, you can listen to Corey on the Derek Hanson show every Tuesday at 3:30 on AM1660.

by Corey Ettinger on Feb 9, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions

From all reports and all accounts I read, he threw that hard all winter. All the scouts were saying he was sitting right around 95-96 on the fastball, and his slider was looking as good as ever. Also, after Tommy John surgery alot of guys can throw harder after the surgery, than they could before.

by dyoung21 on Feb 9, 2010 2:25 PM EST up reply actions

I watched his game on ESPN

And saw the radar gun readings between 92-95 on the ESPN televised game. So no, he isn’t throwing that hard.

And as you’ll recall, “reports” were saying the same thing back in 2008. Then he came out throwing 88-89. So if you want to put that much faith in “reports” go ahead. I’ll “trust” the radar gun. The slider did look really good though. The fastball however is still all over the place, and that’s been the problem since 2008.

by Corey Ettinger on Feb 9, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions