Garrett Olson: The Orioles send Olson to the minors, but he should be back when the rosters expand in September. He has struggled, 6.38 ERA, but a 63% strand rate and a .314 BHIP% can take part of the blame. For success, Olson will need to get his K’s back up to the level that he showed in 7 starts last year for the Orioles, 7.8 K/9, and cut back on the walks, 3.9 BB/9.
Clay Buchholz: The Red Sox sent the struggling Buchholz, 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA, to Double-A. He is still showing a nice ground ball/strike out package, 8.5 K/9 and a 47% GB%, and bad luck has played a part, 63% strand rate and a .312 BHIP%, but Buchholz will need to cut back on the free passes, 4.9 BB/9, to fulfill his promise. At 24 years of age, there is plenty of time for that, but it will not happen this year.
Kip Wells: The recently signed Wells could get a spot start with the Royals over the weekend. Over the last two seasons, he has shown a nice ground ball/strike out package, 2007/2008 K/9’s of 6.8/7.9 and GB%’s of 48%/57%, but he is getting hurt by poor control, BB/9’s of 4.3/6.6 and ERA’s of 5.70/5.65. He cannot be trusted until he shows big improvement in his control.
Carl Pavano: The extremely fragile Pavano could actually get a start this weekend for the Yankees. There was a time when Pavano was an effective pitcher; in 2004 he went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA, with solid skills; 5.6 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, and a 48% GB%. However, he has thrown only 11.1 major league innings over the last three years and has just 13 minor league innings under his belt this year. There is no way to tell how much the injuries and age have taken a toll on his skills. If you pick him up, put him on reserve for a couple of starts before you even consider activating him.
Luke Hochever: Hochever was placed on the 15-day DL with a contusion on his rib cage and it is possible that he has thrown his last pitch in 2008. He had a rough season, 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA, but was hurt by a 62% strand rate. His 5.0 K/9 is too low and his 3.3 BB/9 is too high. He turns 25 years of age next month, so he still has time to fulfill his hot prospect status, but if he doesn’t begin to show improvement next year, he quickly could go from prospect to suspect.
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