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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 30 Jul 2024 \ parent \ on: Trade deadline grades: Taking stock of flurry of pre-deadline deals Stacker_Sports
It definitely seems like a lot to give up for a guy on an expiring deal but maybe the Astros are confident they will be able to re-sign Kikuchi. He shouldn't be too expensive. He is so compelling because you usually don't see high 90s from the left side and he has a good slider but his other pitches tend to get hit around a lot. Astros are the masters of spin so I bet they see something with his breaking pitches they think can make him even more dynamic when paired with the high 90s fastball. I think he will do well for you guys. He was great at the beginning of the year but has struggled lately as they have been leaving him in too long with the beat up and frankly terrible bullpen the Jays have so some of his inflated ERA probably isn't his fault but he is a true 5 and dive guy. You don't want him facing a good team the 3rd time through. The other bonus is for some reason he pitches really well against the Yankees and in Yankee stadium which will be a likely playoff matchup for you guys and he will offer versatility coming out of the pen for a couple innings to bridge to your big guys at the end of the pen.
Yeah I read somewhere his batting average of ball in play is something wild like 375 when the league average is closer to 300 which shows that with the Astros good defense it should help make up for it. I was a little surprised we didn't go after someone like how Grinkie was his last few years when all he did was eat innings ever 5 days
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The Blue Jays have the best outfield D in baseball so I don't think D behind him has been the issue. Although infield D could be better. He doesn't walk a ton of guys but he gets into a lot of deep counts. He will get ahead 0-2 or 1-2 and then start fiddling around with his secondary pitches and let the hitter back into at bat and see a lot of pitches and when things go sideways for him he tends to give up big innings. When he is on he will be great but if he isn't he will often give up big 4 or 5 run innings. I think that's where playing with a team with a better bullpen will help him. The Jays bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball so there was a lot of pressure to go deep in games and he just isn't that guy. If the Astros say be aggressive, attack the zone and give us 4-5 good innings I think he will thrive.
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