Appreciating Guardians starting pitching and how they managed to get to .500

[caulfield12]

When Syndergaard/Thor starts for them, which could come as early as Game 2 or Friday (assuming they're skipping a final rehab start he was supposed to make for the Dodgers), they will be on their 14TH starting pitcher of the season.  FOURTEEN.   Imagine if the White Sox had to go their 14th starter in 2023...what that record would be at this point.   They would definitely be challenging the A's and Royals for the very worst record in baseball, if not below them.   

The only starting pitchers (off the top of my head) that the White Sox have drafted and developed to the big leagues in the last decade plus are Chris Sale, Chris Bassitt (Round 16, pick 501), Hector Santiago (Round 30, pick 915), Daniel Hudson and Brandon McCarthy.

 

When you look at the Sox future rotations, we're basically going to start off 2024 with two guys, assuming Clevinger is jettisoned.  And a good amount of SoxTalk posters have little to no faith or confidence in Michael Kopech at this point for a long list of reasons we don't really need to delve into here.  

 

From ascending to descending order of 2023 starts

 

IL Bieber  4th Round-Pick 122 overall

Tanner Bibee  5-156

Logan T. Allen  2-56

IL Cal Quantrill 1-8 (acquired from Padres as part of five player Clevinger deal, along with Josh Naylor)

Civale  3-92

H. Gaddis 5-160

IL Battenfield  (originally drafted by HOU at 9-286)

Gavin Williams 1-23 (#1 prospect)

Plesac (released, but still eligible for 2024 Sox rotation) 12-362

Xzavion Curry 7-220

IL Triston McKenzie Comp Bal Round, Pick 42

Toukki Toussaint 1-16 (with White Sox as we all know)

Thor/Noah Syndergaard Compensation Round A, Pick 38, draft pick by the Blue Jays originally

 

Starter #15 would have been their #3 prospect in Daniel Espino who's been injured for much of this season, hence the trade of Amed Rosario to plug in the gap for Bieber

 

Just for good measure, we can throw in former starter/now reliever Eli "Captain" Morgan at Round 8, pick 252.  So, instead of worrying about dumping Hahn for Mike Chernoff or Antonetti, we should be picking off all their scouts who scouted and selected these guys, especially since the departures of Giolito and likely Cease (this year or next) would tell you how highly unlikely it is we see JR authorize a $100+ million pitching contract while he's still running the club.  Which means, quite simply, you have to get them from the draft or international signings.

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

 

Unfortunately the Cubs were smart enough to notice Carter Hawkins first and brought him over to Wrigleyville in an attempt to emulate his Indians/Guardians success...

 

Cliff Lee, CF Sabathia, Corey Kluber and finally Shane Bieber.  Those are the headliners fans remember for winning Cy Young's.

https://sportsnaut.com/cleveland-guardians-keep-producing-cy-young-winners/

That doesn’t count Trevor Bauer, who was acquired as a minor-leaguer from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade in 2012, debuted with Cleveland in 2013 and won a Cy Young with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020. 

Or Bartolo Colon, an original Cleveland signee and workhorse ace for the team before winning a Cy Young in 2005 with the Angels.

Or Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants’ two-time Cy Young winner, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2005 but did not sign, eventually drafted and signed the next year by the Giants.

Or Clevinger...haha.

[The Kids Can Play]

The Cleveland Guardians do this simply because they have one of the lowest payrolls every year. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise. As Andrew Friedman, the current Pres of the Dodgers once said in an interview, what he attributed to his success, was the fact during his Tampa Bay days as the GM, he always had the lowest or one of the lowest payrolls each year. He wasn't allowed to sign big free agents. Thus he had to build the Rays through proper scouting, drafting, and player development. Hence why the Rays always had one of the best farm systems every year under his watch. Interesting how Friedman keeps doing the same farm system results with the Dodgers.

Where this applies to Cleveland is the fact, the Guardians also have one of the lowest payrolls each year. They have simply done this with one of the premier managers in baseball in Terry Francona and one of the best young GM's in all of baseball in 42 yr. old Mike Chernoff. 

Since 2016 for managers:

The White Sox had Renteria, LaRussa and Grifol as their managers and Guardians just Terry Francona.

Since 2016 for Front Office:

The White Sox had Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn.

The Guardians had Chris Antonetti, Pres of Baseball Ops and Mike Chernoff as GM

When a FO can't spend a lot of money, if forces them to excel at the core basics, which is building a successful team through young prospects and developing them in the minors into major league players. The Guardians once again have one the best farm systems in baseball.

When is Jerry going to figure this out? That's right, he won't. We'll have to wait for the next Sox owner after Jerry is gone.

[caulfield12]

7) Aaron Civale, RHP, Guardians
Contract status: controllable through 2025

With Shane Bieber on the injured list, the Guardians could pivot and make Civale available as they pursue offensive help. The 28-year-old righty has recorded a 2.54 ERA and 3.61 FIP on the season, and as a bonus, he comes with two-plus years of team control.

Trade likelihood: Medium

 

mlb.com