Hughes is for real

[Anuj09]

Hughes makes me wonder how good Homer Bailey will be when he gets the call. I know he's not quite as good as Hughes but who knows ? I picked him up for my fantasy team - dropped Brandon McCarthy that f***in P.O.S. How good is Lester exactly ? Like what is his potential - is he Ace caliber ?

[riverside sluggers]

Heading into this season Id say he has #3 pitcher type stuff, as I said his ceiling is Cliff Lee

[Rdsxmbnt]

absolute ceiling is Cliff Lee? I think thats selling his talent short

[riverside sluggers]

As of right now, thats his ceiling. Thats not selling his talent short, any team would love to get ahold of Lee on their team. If somehow he finds himself to pitch in the majors the way he did in the minors, then soxprospects.com comparison of Andy Pettitte comes into light

[Anuj09]

both are fine # 3 guys. Lester being an Andy Petite type at this point of his young career would be a luxury. I'd still take a healthy 2005 form Cliff Lee over a lotta lefties right now.

[example1]

whoah who was saying Jon Lester was a future Roger Clemens?

 

Anyways the Lester that was up in the bigs isnt the same one that was dealing up the ladder of the Sox system, if anything his sickness (minor car accident hurting his back) mustve had some effect. Id say his ceiling is Cliff Lee, soxprospects.com has the mlb comparison of Andy Pettitte

 

EDIT: I thought so...

 

rotoworld

 

I think that Cliff Lee ceiling is a little low, and perhaps Andy Pettitte is a little high. Somewhere in between... he has all the tools, what really matters is how he utilizes them. He has been nothing short of dominant during certain stints in the minors.

 

He is hard to make comparables to... I was thinking that if he can really harness his stuff and stay healthy Tim Hudson could be a good comparison. I think that in their primes Pettitte is a better pitcher than Hudson in big games (and therefore a better pitcher overall). Until we see proof I see no reason to think Lester is a particularly good or bad pitcher in big games.

 

How about Mark Mulder?

[riverside sluggers]

Where was I harping on Lester? I just said as of right now this is his ceiling, like what he has shown in the majors thus far along with his fight back to regain his mentality/stamina. I think this kid will be a good pitcher. Time will tell how he fares

[ksushi]

As of like a year ago his ceiling was as high as anybody's and he has a short stint in the majors and isn't the second coming of koufax and he loses his ceiling? He still has the same stuff, not everyone comes up and dominates.

 

 

As for hughes, I love his stuff. His curve is wicked and his change is filth. I think calling him a power pitcher its giving his fastball a little too much credit, but that doesn't mean he doesn't use it well because he can sure as hell punch guys out with it. Great poise, great stuff. The one knock I have is his delivery. It sucks. He might have forearm problems later in his career, but maybe not. I don't like it, if I were the yankees, I'd ask him to change it.

[riverside sluggers]

Ok Im lost to why majority on here are acting like I dont think he's going to be a good pitcher

 

And no he isnt the second coming of Koufax, he had a career 2.76 ERA. Thats a very lofty expectation to throw out

[Rdsxmbnt]

I think its mostly the Cliff Lee ceiling. I mean Lester was the 2nd best LHP prospect in the majors (behind liriano) just 1 year ago and probaly a top 10 prospect in baseball. Granted a lot has happened since then but he seems to have his stuff still and Id have to say if everything works out hes a legit #2 SP, with Cliff Lee being more of the expected (since Lee is a 4.00 ERA pitcher for the most part which is good but you'd have to think Lester could potentially be a good deal better than that).

[BSN07]

Don't expect Lester in the ML anytime soon(next couple of weeks). He was pulled early in his most recent AAA start because of a forearm cramp. He will get atleast 1 or 2 more starts in the minors if the injury doesn't set him back.

[Cityofchampions33]

Hughes makes me wonder how good Homer Bailey will be when he gets the call. I know he's not quite as good as Hughes but who knows ? I picked him up for my fantasy team - dropped Brandon McCarthy that f***in P.O.S. How good is Lester exactly ? Like what is his potential - is he Ace caliber ?

 

Shoulsa picked up Tim Linecum instead, he's the best propspect that's cming up this season and absolutely ripping up AAA.

[jacksonianmarch]

Hughes makes me wonder how good Homer Bailey will be when he gets the call. I know he's not quite as good as Hughes but who knows ? I picked him up for my fantasy team - dropped Brandon McCarthy that f***in P.O.S. How good is Lester exactly ? Like what is his potential - is he Ace caliber ?

 

Bailey is rougher around the edges than Hughes is. Bailey can get the ball into triple digits and has a world class bender, but his location is mediocre to say the least and he has a very large dropoff from his 2nd to his 3rd pitch.

 

Hughes doesnt throw nearly as hard as Bailey as he mostly sits in the 92 range and can dial it up to 95-96 on his best days. But he has a better curveball, a better changeup and MUCH better control. Hughes is more ready right now (once he is healthy) but the ceiling for Bailey is very high as it is and if he gains some control as he ages, he could be good for a long time.

 

As for Lester, I have heard ace be used in the scouting reports, but at the same time, his control is in need of some serious improvement. He has an advantage that he is a lefty with plus stuff, but I dont see him as an ace. More like a middle of the rotation to a #2 level guy.

[elsrbueno]

I'm hesitant to throw Lester into any prospect discussion or to try to tie his career to any current Major leaguers right now. Keep in mind that less than a year ago this guy was diagnosed with cancer.

 

Yes, he's healthy now but that takes it out of you. He was admittedly weak in spring training and the last thing we want this kid doing is pressing, overdoing it, and hurting himself. He's making slow and steady progress and I applaud the Red Sox for bringing him along slowly.

 

Before cancer, he was considered one of the better pitching prospects in baseball, but keep your expectations for this kid in check.

 

I also read an interesting article on Phil Hughes-- apparently he's been playing around with his mechanics?

 

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/if-it-aint-brokea-video-review-of-phil-hughes-mechanical-changes/