Midseason Grades- Pitchers

Good win tonight for the boys of the D. The Indians won, so they'll remain in second for the time being. A good reason for their contention? Pitching. Who's been good, who's been bad, and who's been Valverde so far?



Justin Verlander: C+
Poor Justin. He has an ERA below 4, is striking out a bajillion batters, and the fanbase is getting mad. Still, we expect more out of Verlander, and hopefully he will fix his mechanical issues and be the ace we all know and love.

Anibal Sanchez: A
If he wasn't injured, I'd probably give him an A+. Sanchez was absolutely dominating the American League before he got hurt. The FIP of 2.77 is just incredible. Hopefully he picks up where he left off upon returning.

Max Scherzer: A+
Max is starting to look like 2011 Justin Verlander out there. He comes out in the midst of a losing streak and promptly stops it. You expect a win on Scherzer Day, and he's delivered to a 12-0 record. Good grief, is his ERA really above 3? It seems as though it should be about 0.38 at this point.

Doug Fister: B+
Doug's had a couple of bad outings, but many good ones. Overall, his year has been slightly under the very high standards that we seem to have given him after that 2011 run, but he's been a solid #2ish starter for the team. Think about it; this is the guy who would go in a Game 4 for Detroit, and he's a lockdown starter. it's crazy.

Rick Porcello: C-
It's hard to get a beat on Rick this year. He's been very good for the vast majority of the year. Real improvements have been shown in Porcello's K rate and BB rate, as well as an increase in ground balls. The problem for him is that a few bad innings against Anaheim and Baltimore have made his season statistics look awful in general. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt as a #5.

Jose Alvarez: B
He's done a pretty good job at keeping Detroit in games. It seems teams are figuring him out as video goes out on him.

Drew Smyly: A+
Smyly has been a throwback reliever so far, often inheriting the ball for several innings at a time. Leyland wants to use Smyly for less and more often now, so expect Drew to be an 8th inning guy. Hard to find fault with his excellent season.

Joaquin Benoit: A
Benoit has inherited the mess at the back end of the bullpen in Detroit and ran with it. His rate stats are equal to or better than Smyly's, and he's 7 for 7 in saves. Thank goodness for Joaquin back there.

Phil Coke: D-
His ERA is getting close to 7. As much as I believe he's getting unlucky, it's also ugly to watch.

Al Alburqureque: B-
AlAl is as nasty as ever. Walk one, strike out two. Of course, the 8 BB/9 is disturbing, but it hasn't bitten him yet. Alburquerque's return to Detroit has been successful thus far, especially.

Darin Downs: B
I can't really comment on this one, since Leyland doesn't know who he is.

Luke Putkonen: B-
LuPu looks good sometimes; he looks like he's serving up BP others. As long as Detroit doesn't use him in a high-leverage role anytime soon, I'm okay with Putkonen sticking around.

Bruce Rondon: C+
We've seen flashes of brilliance in his short Major League career. We've also seen the most hittable 100 mph fastball in the history of ever. He's gotta learn at some point. I'd rather have him than...

Evan Reed: C-
Should probably not be in a Major League bullpen.

Octavio Dotel: D+
This is on the principle of not telling anyone he was hurt. That's really detrimental to the team.

Jose Ortega: B-
His stuff looked alright. In a few years, Ortega could be a legitimate part of the bullpen. He's not quite ready, yet, as evidenced by his blown save.

Brayan Villarreal: D-
Yeesh. I was never quite sure whether he would throw a strike or not. Villarreal may never have the mental toughness to be a part of the pen.

Jose Valverde: F
RIP, Jose.