Bricks from the Warehouse

This is a continuation of our previous report card, which focused on the hitters. This one focuses on the pitching staff. As we explained before, we tried to judge players based on their overall seasons, rather than based on expectations for the player. A bad player who does slightly less badly than predicted doesn't get credit from us for exceeding projections. Keep in mind that this is all in fun; there's no grand system behind our grades.

• John Bale: Inc. No point in rating a guy based on 2 games.
  
  
• Buddy Groom: B+/A-. This may even be harsh. He has a 4.01 ERA, which is good but not great. But he's done everything else well. He's allowed 2 HRs in 28 appearances, has struck out 24 and walked just 4, and has allowed only 3 of 29 inherited runners to score. The way he's used, he can't be that valuable -- pitching less than one inning/outing -- but that's not his fault, and he's very good at what he does.
  
  
• Pat Hentgen: A. Sort of. A for performance -- he was among the league leaders when he pitched. But he's missed five starts already, and you can't help a team if you don't play. And we don't know how many more starts he'll miss.
  
  
• Jason Johnson: A+. Overall, he's the team's best pitcher. He leads starters (other than the suddenly brilliant Josh Towers) in ERA and IP. His poor strikeout rate (48 in 86 innings) is a little troublesome. But he's getting the job done, in spades. He's fifth in the AL in ERA.
  
  
• Jorge Julio: I. Pitched terribly, but 1.1 IP aren't much of a sample.
  
  
• Ryan Kohlmeier: F. He didn't blow many saves, but that has something to do with the fact that Hargrove stopped giving him save opportunities. He's lost his closer role, and he's probably in danger of losing his roster slot. ERAs in the 8s tend to create that risk. There's nothing good you can say about his season so far.
  
  
• Calvin Maduro: I/C. Rodney Dangerfield. Doesn't matter what he does; he'll always be the last guy called up and the first guy sent down. He got a brief stay (4 G, 7.1 IP) and didn't do much with it (4.91 ERA, 12 baserunners in those 7.1 IP), but it's not much of a test. He's not some kind of potential star, but he gets less of an opportunity than he deserves. (Also note that he's not some 30-year old who's been bouncing around the farm for the last decade. He's the same age as Willis Roberts, who hasn't been written off as a career minor leaguer by the organization.)
  
  
• Chuck McElroy: D-. I'd have scored it an F, except that (a) it's not his fault he was used as a starter, and (b) compared to Kohlmeier, he is a Cy Young winner. As a starter, he was awful. He averaged less than 5 innings per start, and had an ERA over 6. As a reliever, he has done superficially better (a 2.45 ERA). Still, his control is poor even as a reliever (10 walks in 18 IP) and he's given up a bunch of baserunners (over 14/9 IP). And he has allowed 7 of 17 (41%) inherited runners to score. The big problem? Mike Hargrove doesn't seem to know that he's alive. Until the recent bullpen implosion in Philadelphia, he had been appearing once a week, or less.
  
  
• Jose Mercedes: D+. Blechh. BaseballProspectus.com rates him as one of the most consistent starters in the majors. Consistency is only good when you're a good player. When you're a bad player, consistency is something to strive to avoid. He's pitched a lot of innings, but that's about the only good thing you can say about him and his 5.97 ERA and .304 Opponents' Batting Average allowed.
  
  
• Chad Paronto: D. Hit hard. Maduro would kill for as much of an opportunity as Paronto was given. 16 games, 17.2 IP, and he pitched badly. 5.60 ERA, 30 baserunners, only 10 Ks and a 10-7 K/BB ratio. He's never been anything more than mediocre in the minors, doing just enough to keep moving up while not enough to make himself look good, and it shows when he's facing major leaguers.
  
  
• John Parrish: I. 5 IP. Lucky for him he squeaks by with an incomplete, because he has pitched terribly. (6 walks in those 5 innings, a 9 ERA.)
  
  
• Sidney Ponson: B. He's only had one terrible start all year, in early April, and he appears to be getting stronger as the season continues, as he seems to have fully recovered from his stint on the DL. His last few starts have been excellent. We'd just like to see him string together 3 or 4 more good starts in a row.
  
  
• Willis Roberts: D+. He has had just enough good starts that he gets the "+", despite his 6.01 ERA. But most of his good starts were early in the season against weak opponents like Tampa, so we'll stick with the "D." He's not getting better as the season goes along. His April ERA was 1.95; as a starter it was 2.37. In May, it was 8.07. In June, 6.52. We can't figure out why anybody thought he'd work out.
  
  
• B.J. Ryan: C. Loads of baserunners (49 in 28.2 IP) and a 5.34 ERA. The only good thing: he has been solid at stranding inherited runners. He's just lucky that the pitching staff has bigger problems, like the other Ryan (Kohlmeier) and Willis, so they don't have time to worry about him.
  
  
• Josh Towers: A+. It might be slightly premature, but what the heck? There are a million caveats -- first time around the league, only a handful of starts, etc. -- but he's got more IP than a lot of the other guys I rated, so why not? His low K-rate is a little worrisome, but so far, he's doing everything else right.
  
  
• Mike Trombley: A. Has become the de facto closer. He had been pretty unhittable, but he has blown two saves in the last two weeks (after having blown none all year). He leads the team in appearances and relief innings, and trails only Buddy Groom in stranding inherited runners. His arm may be blown out by season's end, but for now, he gets the top grade.
  
  

As always, all comments -- positive and negative -- are welcome, so feel free to email us your opinion.