When the Twins selected Ryan Pressly in the Rule 5 draft they dis so because they thought he had starter potential. So far he has earned his roster spot and more than proven he is not just taking up space with his 1.74 ERA 24/12 K/BB and 1.16 WHIP in 31 IP.

 

So while we debate and await the arrival of Gibson, Albers, etc. to inject some life into the starting rotation, does anyone know why this wildcard hasn't been played yet?

My guess is that they have not "stretched him out", and will send him to AAA next year to get time as a starter.

 

If he does well in AAA, he'll get promoted after he is consistent enough. If he doesn't do well, they might move him back to relief in a timely manner and put him back in the majors, or they might continue trying to make him a starter.

He was a rule 5 this offseason, so he has to stay up this year. He could definitely spend next year in AAA as a starter, but at this point, he's not stretched out to do it so other than an emergency, I don't see that happening.

His numbers in the minors as a starter are far less impressive. He seems to really have come into his own as a reliever. I'm not against trying to see if he has the stuff to be a starter in the future, but I can also see him being a key part of the bullpen in the future.

 

Overall, I'm really impressed with him so far this season and it looks like it was a good rule 5 pick.

 

Here is the baseball-reference link to his minor league numbers. His AA numbers look a lot closer to what he's doing now.

 

Ryan Pressly Minor League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com

My guess is that they have not "stretched him out", and will send him to AAA next year to get time as a starter.

 

Seems like Spring Training is sufficient time to get a guy up to 5+ innings.

 

My concern is more about his former team deciding he didn't have the correct mix of pitches to support multiple times through the opposing lineup. Has that changed? Those kinds of judgements don't seem commonly reversed, and I don't recall many instances of a team giving up on a guy as a starter and some other team discovering the hidden gold.

Glen Perkins has been outstanding in pen also......let's make him a starter, oh wait...he sucked as a starter

Don't move people who find success in a role!!

I think the path they will take with Pressly is to work him into a 7th or 8th inning guy. Great job by our scouts to find him in the AFL.

Why mess up a good thing? He has a defined role in a very good bullpen and is excelling at it. With his past starting numbers I wouldn't expect much more from him as a starter then what you get out of PJ Walters at best. No, don't move him to a starting role.

Seems like Spring Training is sufficient time to get a guy up to 5+ innings.

 

My concern is more about his former team deciding he didn't have the correct mix of pitches to support multiple times through the opposing lineup. Has that changed? Those kinds of judgements don't seem commonly reversed, and I don't recall many instances of a team giving up on a guy as a starter and some other team discovering the hidden gold.

 

Johan Santana says hello.

Johan Santana says hello.

Santana was still in low A ball when selected. It was not unrasonable on Houston's part to think that a team would not carry someone on their 25 man roster to keep him. That is a little different than Pressly's situation

Santana was still in low A ball when selected. It was not unrasonable on Houston's part to think that a team would not carry someone on their 25 man roster to keep him. That is a little different than Pressly's situation

 

Granted, the point was simply that Houston didn't think he'd be a starter, and he then turned into the best starter of the mid '00's.

I wouldn't be shocked if the Twins try him as a starter next year, in say, AA or AAA. But for a Rule 5 guy, and with options like Gibson already struggling to find room in the rotation, I don't know why anyone would mess with it.

btw, I would not move him either, I was just answering the question about moving him to starter......

Granted' date=' the point was simply that Houston didn't think he'd be a starter, and he then turned into the best starter of the mid '00's.[/quote']

 

In 1999 Santana started 26 games in single-A. Houston failed to protect him against the rule-5 draft (and the regulations for that draft are much different today, making Santana the essence of a moot point anyway), but there's no evidence they had given up on his role as a starter; they gambled nobody would take a single-A pitcher.

There is no reason to move Ryan Pressly right now. He is throwing some great baseball and we should keep him in his role. We have enough starters, plus he'd be horrible.

It's like with Swarzak and Duensing. They can hold down spots as relievers but just really suck when they have to start.

Pressly is a 2 pitch pony: FB and curve. And they are both good. He has nothing else. (or what he has is horrid). That a(n MLB) starter does not make.

I don't the Twins took Pressly with any illusions of making him a starter. I think they took him because his stuff plays up in the bullpen.

 

Another thing to consider is that he hasn't actually been that great. He's been lucky. .261 BAPIP with a 0% HR/FB rate. I would like to see Pressly improve his K rate a little since 7 K/9 is so-so for a RP'er. Or at least reduce his BB's a little to improve the K:BB ratio a little. 2:1 is not great. Still he's a great find in the Rule V since few of these guys even make it out of spring training much less look like they could be part of a bullpen for several years.