Masterson Staying: Yea or Nay?

[soxfan17881]

As seen on Boston.com (LINK):

CINCINNATI - He has been exceptional as a temporary solution. So good, in fact, that Justin Masterson is beginning to raise the question of why the Red Sox would want to send him back to the minors.

 

"He pitched great," manager Terry Francona said of Masterson's latest effort, one in which he struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 loss to the Reds Friday night, a game in which long balls by Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn beat him. "He continues to impress.

 

 

"I don't think we have to map out his future today. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Some of that will probably be related to other people's health.

I don't see how he stays. He doing good, but it's a "protect the arm" issue, isn't it?

[ksushi]

He'll be in the bullpen in the bigs before the season is over. With Okajima struggling, we're going to need someone and he is probably the prime candidate. MDC is impressing, but we can't get by on him alone. He'll be in the rotation until either Colon or Buchholz get themselves together and get back up here.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

Buchholz is rocking Pawtucket....I can't wait for them to bring him back...

 

last 11 innings...0 ERs, 2 BBs, 14 Ks

[jacksonianmarch]

Masterson out of the pen will add a few mph to his already deadly sinker. I see him in the mix for setup man come playoff time.

[ksushi]

Absolutely. He is too intriguing to leave down at pawtucket. He has the ability to contribute to a major league team, Pawtucket would be stupid. He needs to learn to throw his change up a little better, but ST could help that, if we convert him to a reliever, it won't be exposed nearly as much.

 

Besides, if he impresses, and we need a long-term set-up guy, I wouldn't rule him out. Sure, he has been a great starter, but I don't think I expect him to be sub-3 for any lengthy stretch of time. Mid-3 maybe, but I don't know how sustainable this current streak is. Our rotation next year looks pretty nice even without him, with Beckett, DiceK, Lester, Buchholz and possibly wakefield. So, I don't think the need for another starter is very pressing, if he steps into a bullpen role and has a big enough impact, that could add a pretty special dimension to our team and push us over the edge for this year and provide a whole lot of stability in the bullpen going forward. Masterson to Papelbon? That could be nice. Death to RHH's

[jacksonianmarch]

prior to this yr, he was projected as a high end late inning reliever. His starting streak certainly has the sox in a bind, but come the end of the yr, he'll be converted anyway to keep his innings down

[ksushi]

I think it will happen before the end. Probably in the second half, ala papelbon.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

I read somewhere that if we had traded for Johan Santana and Masterson was involved then the Twins would let Joe Nathan walk and Masterson would become there closer of the future.

 

Honestly I want him in the rotation long term. He is a sinkerball pitcher with the ability to strikeout hitters. He has the best sinker in all the minors and could spark a debate in the majors (Brandon Webb and Wang are tough to beat though). When rosters expand and the minors season concludes then I would let Masterson contribute in the pen. His future to me though is in the rotation. Think of the young guns and how they are all different...Masterson a sinkerball pitcher, Lester a crafty lefty, Bowden a control pitcher, and Buchholz just flat out nasty. Trade someone for a great bat to replace Manny later in the future.

[jacksonianmarch]

you heard right, kinda. Nathan would have been shopped because a lot of teams thought he could be a high end impact BP arm right now. The twins likely would have had Masterson start in the setup role and then graduate to closer by midseason when Nathan would have been dealt.

[ksushi]

Yeah, I see Masterson as a starter long term too. He has all the intangible things you look for, poise wise. I think he could develop into a very dependable starter. But, i think they need to spread out the talent from our rotation as much as possible, we have about seven potential quality starters, the most attractive way to me to spread that out is by putting masterson in the pen, that sinker could be unhittable if he doesn't have to worry about lasting long innings and can cut loose for only two frames. To me, Buchholz and Colon could hold their own in our rotation, so a line up of Beckett, DiceK, Lester, Wake and either Buch/Chunk in the five is pretty nice IMO. masterson looks a lot better than Oki right now.

[rgmfick]

It is understandable why Justin Masterson should remain in the MLs. He has pitched as well, in many games better, than other starters. When Clay Buchholz has completing working out his delivery, arm slot, it seems Clay should also be back in the with the Red Sox. The Red Sox have nice problems, either pitch Justin and Clay in the starting rotation with Beckett, Dice and Lester and put Wake in the pen, or leave Wake in the rotation and move Masterson or Buchhoz into pen. I know the Sox have said previously that Masterson may be better suited for the bullpen. It is particularly important at this time that the Sox make the best decision, because either pitcher going to the pen, will see some change and lose the rythmn both currently enjoy as starters. Some might also say that Bartolo Colon further complicates this decision when he comes off the DL. Most ML teams are drooling at the decisions the Red Sox have to make.

[Sox Fan on Cape]

I really like Masterson and what he's accomplished to this point. However, has anyone notices how mightily he's struggled against lefties ? It's almost too painful to watch. Anybody have some stats on this ?

[Jayhawk Bill]

I really like Masterson and what he's accomplished to this point. However' date=' has anyone notices how mightily he's struggled against lefties ? It's almost too painful to watch. Anybody have some stats on this ?[/quote']

 

vs. RHB: .157/.244/.229 :thumbsup:

vs. LHB: .228/.358/.468 :thumbdown

 

Caveat: The reason for the high SLG is that five of Masterson's six HR allowed have been vs. LHB. That ISO vs. LHB will go down with time.