How Andrew Walters’ Debut Impacts Cleveland Guardians’ Pitching Strategy
Andrew Walters MLB Debut Amid Guardians’ Challenges
The Cleveland Guardians have called up top pitching prospect Andrew Walters, marking his MLB debut with a promising inning on the mound. How will Walters’ addition impact the Guardians’ bullpen strategy? In a tough matchup, the Guardians fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2, with Gavin Williams’ start and the team’s offensive struggles under the spotlight. Meanwhile, the Lake County Captains, the Guardians’ minor league affiliate, celebrated a playoff victory, showcasing standout performances from rising prospects. Adding to the intrigue, the episode touches on the unusual case of Twins draft pick Derek Bender, who was released amid allegations of tipping pitches. The discussion also explores potential changes to the Guardians’ 40-man roster as the offseason approaches.
Tune in to discover the implications of these developments and gain insider insights into the Guardians’ evolving strategy.
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20 comments
Great show Jeff! Loved boxscore bingo, loved 3 stars, and loved Cinnamon!
Meet up game was fun! Definitely would do it again!
BINGO!
haha…I joke about Sandlin, but in my defense I held out hope for Nick Wittgren for too long as well! No way you can pitch Sandlin in the post season, not based on his performance this year, that's for dang sure.
In Carl we trust regarding Gavin, because the team is running out of opportunities in the regular seasons to get him up to snuff and, notwithstanding the Kings of Recency Bias that dominate social media, this team's best chance to win the WS includes Gavin at his best or close to it, not running Cobb and Boyd out there in the playoffs in the #2 and #3 spots against the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, O's and Phillies.
Agree that Gavin struggled to put guys away. Pitch count goes up quickly with him. Definitely better than his last outing BUT, he’s not a strong starter in his current form. Sloppy game, but let’s clean it up and win tonight! …and hi kitty 🐈⬛
Love the show gentlemen.
One hit in 7 innings against the Rays bullpen
I will attribute my long-held theory to my love of the Academy Award-winning film "Major League."
I believe that the Guardians and former Indians have what I will refer to as In-Season pitchers – those on the pitching staff who help you get to the Postseason, but it takes everything they have.
I had Nagy in that role in 1997, and I had Karinchek in that role 2 years ago. Now I place Blake and P Avila in that role, they both have been extraordinary. Their job was to help this team make the next stage, and they have more than done that. However, like a booster rocket, using them past that stage is a useless endeavor. We are setting them up for failure after all of their success.
With that in mind, I propose keeping the 3-headed bullpen monster in place, deploying Walter PK to the Andrew Miller role, and moving Nick Sandlin with Gavin Williams to the P Avila role for the postseason, unless Eli does something. But he should only be used in blowouts either way.
If two pitchers have to go, I would then choose Sandlin and Eli to go and deploy Lively as the "blow-out, eat up innings guy" because you can deploy him earlier in the game….although this ain't a video game I got him being okay because of him being a solid Vet.
Thanks for doing what you do, you guys do it well.
Right when I think Gavin is starting to get ahold of things he has 1 or 2 starts that set me back to baseline on him. Thomas starting to hit the ball is refreshing though. Roll. Tribe.
IMO, if Cobb can start put Williams in the pen. Lively can remain a starter. He’s older and better in his routines. Our chances are good in postseason with our bp, Gavin makes it better with Walters
The biggest problem last night was lack of hitting.
Kwan also gunned down that runner at the plate, so that saved a run as well.
As for Bender I've seen sports burnout from a few HS & mid level college players but thats a first to me seeing it from a professional just starting a career. He had other options, claiming overall arm soreness or illness but screwing his teammates seems over the top.
That broadcast was so bizarre. They RAVED about Gavin’s mediocre curve, and they acted like he’s been in the lab creating this brand new cutter but he’s thrown that pitch since his MLB debut. Anywho- Gavin was missing EVERYTHING high and on the plate. He was throwing meat on his mistakes because nothing was down in the strike zone at all. It was a super weird start.
What a title lol “no one is safe”😭
There’s no scenario in which I’d sign a guy like Bender. If he doesn’t want to play as much baseball as possible, he doesn’t have the drive to be a professional.
Great show!
Prediction: Guardians end the season with 88 wins. Swept by Tampa, split with Minnesota, Swept at St. Louis, Split with Cindy, and Houston sweeps them at home. This is the WORST lineup of any contending team in the MLB. IF they make the playoffs, it’s as the last wild card team. Start looking at the offseason and whether they want to be a serious contender.
Houston cheating cost a called up minor league pitcher his career cause he was immediately sent back to the minor's and never made it back to the major's…….
Nice co-star!