I feel bad for Jordan Little, coaching staff tried to ride him a bit...
too much this weekend. I know we don't have many consistent options in the bullpen but one thing that should be clear to the staff at this point is that Little is not effective as his pitch count goes up.
For the year, here are his pitching lines for appearances under 25 pitches and those with 25+:
<25: 9 GM | 0-0 5 SV | 8.0 IP | 6 H | 1 ER | 0 BB | 13 SO | 0 HR
25+: 5 GM | 0-2 0 SV | 8.2 IP | 14 H | 12 ER | 3 BB | 8 SO | 7 HR
Basically, he either has it or he doesn't and when he doesn't, he is giving up home runs at a high rate.
Heading into this weekend, he hadn't thrown more than 43 pitches in a single week (43 pitches in a game last week against GT) and this weekend he ends up throwing a total of 74 pitches with 35 on Friday and another 39 on Sunday.
It will be interesting to see if Szefc tweaks the approach with the starters next series. I think the move of Renfrow to Saturday gives us a better chance at a win on Saturdays and Stieg has given us a chance to win a number of Sunday games but going with Neff on Friday and only getting 2 innings out of him puts a lot of strain on the bullpen right out of the gate and leaves little margin for error the rest of the weekend with our relievers.
9 Replies
G
Grandpaw
2y
Stieg throws a lot of pitches, a lot of balls, a lot of 3-2 counts. His fast ball is his go to pitch but his off speed pitches are problematic. Same thing last year. He should have at least one reliable off speed pitch for strikes, better two or more. Less pitches longer time on the mound. Doesn’t seem they’ve worked on that.
(In response to this post by QCP)
2y
Parliament would be an ideal effective combo. Lefty, then sidearm junk ball change up guy then flamethrower
Mix in other guys here or there if they see trouble before throwing 3 innings.
That would seem to be an ideal combo for a Friday or even a Sunday if we wanted to go back to Renfrow Fri, Stieg Sat.
** Edited by hokiepro at 4/23/2024, 8:40:53 AM
(In response to this post by QCP)
C
chagerma
2y
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
H
HokiePWC
2y
since March 26.
(In response to this post by QCP)
H
HokiePWC
2y
employed this strategy a couple years back. Major difference though as you point out is if we are trying to piece together Friday night we can really get behind the 8-ball on Pen availability through the rest of the weekend.
(In response to this post by QCP)
2y
If we are going to go with Neff or anyone other than Renfrow or Stieg, I think we need to go with them for starter level pitch counts as long as they are pitching decent.
I know Neff hasn't thrown more than 41 pitches in a game this year but he has been a starter in the past so I would think transitioning him into more pitches shouldn't be as big of a change.
The extra 4 innings in the first two games of the Duke series exacerbated our bullpen issues so in other series it may not be as big of an issue but it does increase the chances of seeing a gassed out bullpen on Sunday.
(In response to this post by HokiePWC)
2
2hhoop3
2y
Szefc and Fecteau have been at VT long enough and not sustained an inordinate and unexpected amount of roster turnover so that pitching depth and performance should be the issue that it is. The situation seems largely to be a function of evaluation, recruiting, development and staff management and without more specifics it is just a wild guess as to which of those areas might be the largest contributing factor.
** Edited by 2hhoop3 at 4/22/2024, 10:39:06 AM
(In response to this post by QCP)
H
HokiePWC
2y
year's class signed after being drafted. Obviously we don't know for sure, but would have been nice to have them in the fold.
Roster turnover, well that is what it is these days in the Portal era.
Hate to say it, but it seems like Bullpens are a crap shoot for 80% of the country. We need Kirchner and Shoemaker (one developed and one portal) to be really good and capable of getting 6 outs or more. Maybe Exum too, but two high leverage guys that are very dependable. Total crapshoot without those security blankets.
(In response to this post by 2hhoop3)
2y
I don't know what else he can tweak with the starters. Just wish he would have Kirtner in longer on Sunday.
** Edited by HokiesACC2004 at 4/22/2024, 1:55:17 AM
** Edited by HokiesACC2004 at 4/22/2024, 1:58:13 AM
(In response to this post by QCP)