is not that hard. We currently have 2 relievers in AAA better than him. 1 is on the 40 man, the other is not. But we have flexibility on the 40 man so calling up Balfor isn’t an issue either.

Plus, if Niemann is only going to pitch a few innings at a time, he’s an upgrade in the pen too.

I actually liked Birkins. Was said to see Glover replace him.

5+ innings, 6 hits, 7 Ks, 1 ER

Walking guys isnt good, but I think you undervalue the importance of not being hittable. When Jackson is locating his stuff, guys arent hitting it. His walks overall havent been that bad, and when you can pitch well with runners on base like Jackson has been, you have a lot of leeway as long as your stuff is good enough to miss bats, which Jackson’s stuff is.

Who is the more productive pitcher? Pitcher A has a 1.30 WHIP but gives up a lot of hits and very little walks. Player B has a WHIP of 1.30 also, but he gives up very few hits and too many walks.

I know walks are the worst thing a pitcher can allow to happen, because they are under his control. BUt dont hits drive in runs? Just saying, if all else is equal and they are giving up the same amount of baserunners, wouldnt you take the guy who gets guys out and just has bouts with control problems at times?

I dont know why the hate for Jackson. Last I checked his ERA is in the 3.30 range and hes our #4 starter. When he pitches great, he barely gets mention around here (I almost completely overlooked the ‘Sickles on Jackson’ post), but when he has a 6 inning 1 ER game he gets criticized.

Sorry for the 3rd post, but another reason why I take the guy who walks more and gets hit less, is because that is a correctable problem (in Jacksons case he is making noticable improvements). Wheras a guy whos stuff isnt that great and gets hit a lot can’t just make his stuff better

whatever dude, you have been hating on Jackson since before you talked to any scouts about him. And when you turn on a guy you tend to dig your heels in and rip them to shreds, I doubt anything youve discussed with scouts has altered that.

I’ll take the implied enthusiasm I see out of everyone surrounding Edwin and the continued support he receives from his coaches over some anonymous scouts

I think considering R.J.’s comments on Jackson as “hate” is rather hyperbolic. All I read is that he is dubious about the likelihood that Edwin can continue to keep runs off the board given his peripherals.

While I am probably more prone to optimism about Jackson due to a number of factors, including observations about how he appears on the mound, I also am unconvinced that he has turned a corner. It is not a question of WHIP or comparing him to other pitchers, or even of distinguishing between hitability and control.

Rather it is the recognition that it is rare for pitchers who tend to walk so many and strike out so few to continue to avoid giving up hits too. Jackson might be able to do it, but if so he is bucking historical patterns. Some players do buck those patterns, so it isn’t impossible, but given that he has not been an outlier in the past, it still remains likely that we are simply seeing a small sample exception that will correct itself soon enough.

I may be missing some newer rhetoric in the use of the word “hate” here, but if it suggests any personal animus or antipathy I don’t think that applies to what R.J., and certainly not to what I am saying. It is just a matter of trying to delve a bit deeper than ERA to see whether the underlying performance merits optimism, and while in my case I think it may, I don’t think we should ignore the warning signs in many of the numbers.

This is my first post here, but I’ve been a long time lurker. I’ve just seen some really flawed analysis lately so I figured I’d speak up. Jackson has a 3.29 ERA, has three outing of 0ER and three outings of 1ER. How is that luck? That looks pretty consistent to me. Does he walk too many batters? Sure of course he does. But lately he has been limiting his hits to singles. WHIP and BB/9 is not the end all of all statistical analysis relating to pitching. XBH/9, HR/9, and K/9 all must be taken into account when scouting Jackson. The fact is nobody is hitting him hard. Nobody is driving in runs. In order to score against Jackson you have to essentially have to essentially string together 3 base runners in an inning. That is very difficult to do even with someone with a slightly higher than desired walk rate.

Our relievers are dangerously close to the edge. Namely Dan Wheeler. He is being hit very hard. He is one person I’d worry about.