It’s undeniable, David Price was incredible last night. We already touched on his start, a bit, after the game last night. Let’s take an opportunity to look at how he attacked Albert Pujols at the plate to see if there’s anything young Jeremy Hellickson can learn and utilize in his start tonight.
Though the Angels have some pretty good hitters on the team, Albert Pujols is undoubtedly the most worrisome player in the batting order…and for good reason. But Price was able to equalize anything Pujols could do at the plate, inducing pop-outs and line-outs. Pujols ultimately went 0-4 at the plate.
When throwing his fastball, Price pitched to the corners of the plate; a strategy that was very effective. Price threw inside to Pujols in the first inning, and the most he could do is shoot a line-drive right at SS, Sean Rodriguez, on the first pitch he saw. In the fourth inning, Price threw two perfectly placed pitches over the outside corner, and all Pujols could do is pop out.
David Price changed things up against Pujols in the seventh by introducing his cutter and change-up into the mix. Price, again, pitched to the corners with his fastball, and pitched inside with his cutter and change-up, to great effect I may add. He was again able to get Albert to pop out. Take a look at the location of pitch number one: down and inside. That fastball knocked him off of the plate and set him up for the outside corner pitches. I must say that dust off pitch worked beautifully. Dare I say that it needs to become part of the Rays pitchers repertoire, not just for this series, but in general?
Price saw Pujols one more time in the ninth, with one on and one out. Safe to say, an out was a necessity. Price changed his plan of attack once more, and got another Pujols pop-out. This time, Price relied on three change-ups and a curveball, all over the plate.
This brings me to mister Jeremy “AL Rookie of the Year 2011” Hellickson. There was an obvious reason that Helly was effective last season: he was able to locate his tried and true pitches, namely his fastball and change-up. Young Jeremy looks a bit different in 2012. Why? His tinkering with a new toy, much to a fault. That new toy? His cutter. He has, what Brian Anderson calls, “Shiny New Toy Syndrome.” That is to say, he’s leaning on his less effective pitch than he is his more deadly pitches. It’s become enough of a concern, that Joe Maddon has made mention of him getting a little to “fancy” with his pitches on multiple occasions. Maddon also had this to say,
“The problem is when a young pitcher who’s had a lot of success tries to introduce a new pitch into the mix, then he’s possibly taking away from something else that he does really well,” Maddon said.
“You only get so many opportunities to throw a pitch in a game. I don’t mind the idea that he’s messing with something that might be good for him down the road. But most of the time the hitters are going to tell you when you need to become more creative.”
There is a lot that Hellickson can learn from David Price’s performance last night that he’ll be able utilize tonight, especially in the way that Price attacked both sides of the plate; something that Helly is typically able to do, and effective at doing. If Hellickson is to be as effective as he was on Easter against the Yankees, he will need to make sure that his location is on point. A homer-less Albert Pujols will be coming to the plate at least three times tonight, looking for that elusive number one. And you’d better believe he’s ready to knock it out of the park if the opportunity presents itself.
Ugh…LHP CJ Wilson. Talk about a thorn in the Rays side. Wilson is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 42 K’s against the Rays in regular season starts. Then again, Wilson got hammered in last start against the Rays in the 2011 ALDS, posting a 10.80 ERA/8 R (6 earned)/7 H/3 HR line. He lasted all of five innings. Getting to Wilson is possible. With the Rays bolstered lineup, that possibility becomes even greater.
Finally, Carlos Pena. What can I say about him that hasn’t already been said? Pena is, arguably, the Rays captain that just hit his 1,000th career hit off of a blast to right, last night. Pena has posted a .300 BA/.440 OBP/.568 SLG/1.007 OPS line, with 18 hits including four doubles and home runs, 12 runs and 13 RBI. Oh yeah, and he’s making $7.25 MM this year. Let’s contrast Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to ‘Los.
Albert Pujols has posted a .232 BA/.284 OBP/.333 SLG/.617 OPS line, with 16 hits, six runs, and four RBI. Pujols is making $12MM this year in the first year of a 10 year, $240 MM contract. Prince Fielder has posted a .328 BA/.389 OBP/.453 SLG/.842 OPS line, with 21 hits including two home runs, 11 runs, and eight RBI. Fielder is making $12 MM in the first season of a nine year, $214 MM contract. I implore, from a purely offensive point of view, which player has offered the most bang for the buck in this still young season?
Rays (10-7) 4/25/12 Starting lineup:
Jennings LF
Zobrist RF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Keppinger 2B
Upton CF
Scott DH
Rodriguez SS
Gimenez C
Hellickson RHP