Where's the Love for Meyer?

[Brent Maguire]

Yesterday's outing was the first one in Alex Meyer's career where he struck out 30% of the batters he faced and walked less than 10%. He also had a swinging strike rate greater than 10%, something he hasn't done a ton. Encouraging signs. 

[Jason]

41 minutes ago, Angels_Baseball said:

Yesterday's outing was the first one in Alex Meyer's career where he struck out 30% of the batters he faced and walked less than 10%. He also had a swinging strike rate greater than 10%, something he hasn't done a ton. Encouraging signs. 

I'm cautiously optimistic 

[AngelsFanSince86]

2 hours ago, TroutField said:

Santiago trade is still looking decent for both sides. Maybe Hector can put it together for a full season finally, he was a rollercoaster as an Angel. Never understood why we didn't try to keep Santana around. 

Santana was all over the place.  One year he would be great, the next he'd be terrible.  Here are his ERAs from his last four seasons as an Angel: 5.03, 3.92, 3.38, 5.16.  Then he went to the Royals and pitched great and then had two mediocre years after that followed by a very solid year last year.

 

That being said, what he was replaced with was absolutely terrible.  That was the year Dipoto rounded out the rotation with Jerome Williams, Tommy Hanson, and Joe Blanton.

[eligrba]

2 hours ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

That was the year Dipoto rounded out the rotation with Jerome Williams, Tommy Hanson, and Joe Blanton.

Good times.

[Inside Pitch]

2 hours ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

Santana was all over the place.  One year he would be great, the next he'd be terrible.  Here are his ERAs from his last four seasons as an Angel: 5.03, 3.92, 3.38, 5.16.  Then he went to the Royals and pitched great and then had two mediocre years after that followed by a very solid year last year.

Santana was more consistent than people gave him credit for -- that 5.03 season in 2009 saw him open the season the DL with a UCL injury -- at the time it was thought he might need TJ surgery and be out for 18 months... instead he rehabbed then gutted it out..   His first half ERA that year was over 6.00...   He posted an ERA under 3.90 the second half which was right in line with what he had done the previous year at 3.42 and the next two seasons 3.92 and and 3.38.  His last season in Anaheim he was legitimately awful -- but his final 5 seasons in Anaheim saw him pitch 998 innings of 100 ERA+ baseball.   

FTR...   His season with the Royals he posted a WAR of 2.5...  the season after that he was actually better at 2.9 WAR.  He got popped with a suspension in 2015 but if you project his WAR over a full slate of games started he would have again come in at 2.8 -- last year it was 3.2.  He's been a bit more consistent/valuable than it might seem.

Ervin Santana has put up 106 ERA and pitched 1700 innings since turning 25 (11th best total in MLB since 2008).   His ERA over that span a pretty clean 3.80.   By most standards he's been a bit underrated.

[AngelsFanSince86]

14 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Santana was more consistent than people gave him credit for -- that 5.03 season in 2009 saw him open the season the DL with a UCL injury -- at the time it was thought he might need TJ surgery and be out for 18 months... instead he rehabbed then gutted it out..   His first half ERA that year was over 6.00...   He posted an ERA under 3.90 the second half which was right in line with what he had done the previous year at 3.42 and the next two seasons 3.92 and and 3.38.  His last season in Anaheim he was legitimately awful -- but his final 5 seasons in Anaheim saw him pitch 998 innings of 100 ERA+ baseball.   

FTR...   His season with the Royals he posted a WAR of 2.5...  the season after that he was actually better at 2.9 WAR.  He got popped with a suspension in 2015 but if you project his WAR over a full slate of games started he would have again come in at 2.8 -- last year it was 3.2.  He's been a bit more consistent/valuable than it might seem.

Ervin Santana has put up 106 ERA and pitched 1700 innings since turning 25 (11th best total in MLB since 2008).   His ERA over that span a pretty clean 3.80.   By most standards he's been a bit underrated.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely would not mind having him on the team.  I just remember him being a frustrating pitcher to watch.  Maybe that is just the way I remember it.  If you include his breakout year at age 25, his last 5 years as an Angel he posted a 4.08 ERA and a 100 ERA+.  Not terrible, but not exactly inspiring.  Its telling of how he was with the Angels.  Up one year and down the next.  He was never actually average.  It was either above average or below average.  He has been very solid since leaving the Angels, but you can't predict this stuff.

 

But like I said, its not like they replaced him with better options.  He wasn't even replaced with pitchers who at the time seemed like better options.  So yeah, they probably should have kept him.  I just remember not being too upset about it when they didn't resign him until I found out who was going to be filling the rotation in his stead.  

[Inside Pitch]

4 minutes ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

Don't get me wrong, I definitely would not mind having him on the team.  I just remember him being a frustrating pitcher to watch.  Maybe that is just the way I remember it.  If you include his breakout year at age 25, his last 5 years as an Angel he posted a 4.08 ERA and a 100 ERA+.  Not terrible, but not exactly inspiring.  Its telling of how he was with the Angels.  Up one year and down the next.  He was never actually average.  It was either above average or below average.  He has been very solid since leaving the Angels, but you can't predict this stuff.

But like I said, its not like they replaced him with better options.  He wasn't even replaced with pitchers who at the time seemed like better options.  So yeah, they probably should have kept him.  I just remember not being too upset about it when they didn't resign him until I found out who was going to be filling the rotation in his stead.  

No, I think you have it right -- he WAS frustrating, in part because we saw what he could be when he was right.   But he was a pretty much a lock for 200 innings at a league average ERA -- when you consider that is always brought down by RPs -- he was in reality an above average SP for the most part. 

He was undervalued/underrated because people wanted him to be more than he was.   When it's all been said and done he's in the top 15 for IP, and Ks the last 10 years..   Ranks 32nd  for pitcher WAR over that span -- he has very quietly had himself a very solid, respectable career.   In some ways he's been John Lackey minus the WS wins the last ten years.

But yeah -- as a fan he was frustrating.