Welcome to the 2013 Rotation, Erasmo Ramirez
Forget all the talk about him coming to camp with a chance to compete for a spot in next year’s rotation – Erasmo Ramirez has pitched himself firmly into a spot in the team’s starting five next year. Yeah, we’re dealing with less than 50 big league innings, but come on – a 5/1 K/BB ratio while getting some groundballs and destroying left-handed hitters with an out-pitch change-up?
The Erasmo Ramirez we talked about as a prospect the last few years first threw 86-90, then 88-92, then 90-94. This year, he’s sitting at 93 and hitting 95 in the eighth, as he did tonight. He’s no longer an interesting strike-thrower. With his new found velocity and the movement he’s getting on his change-up, he’s a legitimate Major League starter, and maybe a pretty good one.
Ramirez should get a few more starts before the season wraps up, but he doesn’t have to do anything else to earn a job in next year’s rotation. He’s shown enough this year. He’s in.
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28 Responses to “Welcome to the 2013 Rotation, Erasmo Ramirez”
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Good for Ramirez! I hope he can rest his arm in the off-season, after his injury this year. He doesn’t need Winter Ball; save his bullets to get MLB hitters out.
Felix, maybe Vargas, maybe Iwakuma, Hultzen, Ramirez. Maybe a good rotation, to go with the good bullpen Dave recently displayed.
ck, Hultzen has a bit to go dominating AAA before I would start including him in the rotation.
Not so fast. This is the team that gives more PAs to Olivo than Jaso. This is the team that forgets Iwakuma on the bench for Noesi and Beaven. This is the team that manages to burn Furbush for one out when they desperately need a long man to eat some of their 17+ frames. On most teams, Ramirez might be in, but here, I’ll believe it when I’ve seen a strong Spring.
I honestly feel the rotation for 2013 should start as Felix, Vargas, Ramirez, Iwakuma, Furbush.
If Furbush is a distaster as a starter in camp, then Beaven is passable as a 5th starter until the young guys are ready.
If Paxton or Hultzen or Maurer seem totally ready for the rotation, I would explore what Vargas could bring on offense in a trade. I might just do that anyway and fill the starter role with Beaven or a youngster or a Millwood-style dumpster pickup.
Mariners probably won’t break camp featuring two lefties in their rotation. I’m betting it will be Beaven, not Furbush to go with Felix, Vargas, iwakuma, and Ramirez.
In any case, they have a chance to have a formidable staff in ’13.
BUT – the offense is nowhere close to contending. Guti, Seager, Montero, Jaso leave 5 spotty entries in the batting order. Ackley is disappointing, Saunders is only average (sorry, but it’s true, a lot of holes in that swing), Smoak is not a major league hitter. There’s still some promise in Carp.
You don’t fill 5 holes in just 1 or 2 seasons. At least the Mariners don’t. Even then, the bench is crappy.
What are you talking about, Dave? Erasmo didn’t even make it through half the game today! What a scrub!
Eric Wedge started kevin Millwood over this guy. I have no faith in that meatheat.
I agree with Dave on Ramirez, he could be 2nd in our rotation next season, after Felix. Iwakuma first has to be signed to a contract, if he is then he’d be 4th after Vargas and Beavan slotted in at 5th, depending on who shows well in spring training.
I’m not so sure that Vargas and Iwakuma will both be here next year. Both are free agents. The locks for next season are Felix, Ramirez most likely, and Beavan. Millwood is also a free agent. It all depends on what Iwakuma and Vargas are looking for in a contract agreement. With Hultzen and other youngsters on the verge of making they’re MLB debuts I’m not so sure that the M’s want to tie up a lot of years and money to mediocre pitching, more so Vargas than Iwakuma. I think Hisashi could be a viable number 3. I would offer him a three year deal and let Jason Vargas walk. This would be my starting five coming out of Spring Training, Felix, Iwakuma, Ramirez, Beavan, Capps.
I believe that Capps deserves a chance to start. He’s got three plus pitches and everything you look for in a 2 or 3 pitcher. With that being said, I also believe Wilhelmsen is in the exact same situation as well. Pryor could serve as the closer of the future.
Both are free agents.
False, with respect to Vargas. He’s entering his last year of arbitration. Dave wrote a lengthy post about this recently.
I really don’t get why people are so bent on Beavan being in the rotation. I’d much rather see Furbush. A free agent would be more appealing as well. Beavan could be a good piece in a package for a useable player going forward.
As long as Noesi starts the year in AAA (or lower), I’ll be happy.
Watching him – it’s hard to believe the dude actually pitched a couple games for the Yankees in 2011.
I had read the reports on Ramirez and expected a control pitcher who threw in the high eighties so I was pleasantly surprised with the radar gun readings when I saw him in person. Eventually that just became the norm. Basically the opposite of Beaven, I had read that he had a good heater but never really saw it. Now I see him as more the control pitcher. It’s almost like their scouting reports were switched.
“Beavan could be a good piece in a package for a useable player going forward.”
He’d fit right in on the Twins. Kidding aside, I don’t think anyone is going to fall over themselves trying to pry Beavan from us. He’s a throw-in in a bigger deal.
Capps isn’t going to be a starter for the M’s next year. If they were even considering him as a starter, they would have let him start in the minors. And if they suddenly changed their minds about him, they’d have to send him down to accumulate innings and let him develop at working his way through the lineup multiple times.
There’s just no way he’s a candidate to start for the M’s next year.
Whether Hultzen starts 2013 in the rotation or comes up after a month or two, a rotation of Felix, Vargas, Iwakuma, Ramirez, and Hultzen would be nice to see. Add in that very good bullpen and and I’d say you could have one of the better pitching staffs in the league.
@groundzero55 on September 19th, 2012 11:36 am
For example, if someone were trading Cliff Lee for Justin Smoak?
Lets just hope the added velocity on his fastball isn’t synthetic.
Looking further down the road…
Felix – Hultzen – Walker – Ramirez – Paxton, plus that shiny new bullpen with a couple more year’s experience. Nice.
No more AAAA or savvy aging veterans on a one-year deal starters.
I want a Felix extension for Christmas.
Stop.
So for next year: Felix, Vargas, Ramierez in the rotation. Then, you could pick up Iwakuma next year, which would probably be good. Then you have Maurere, Paxton, Hultzen, and Walker waiting in AA/AAA that will be ready between next year or the year after probably barring disaster. That’s a pleathora of young, potentially great starting pitching. I’m getting excited.
My biggest hope for Ramirez? That they get a new picture of him that doesn’t make him look like a newborn that’s been dressed up in a cute little Mariners outfit. Seriously, in his current photo he looks like a baby.
BTW Prosser Steve – speculation about players using performance enhancing drugs goes against the USS Mariner Terms of Service (FYI I’ve made the same mistake in the past).
Erasmo–what a great name for a pitcher! Erasmo the Eraser!
I know he’s from Nicaragua, but I’m wondering if his parents are Car Talk fans.
@groundzero
What I said about Beavan was the polite way of saying he’s a throw-in 😉
How tall is he really? Does anyone know?
In the pitching department, the Mariners are in good position going forward. With the progression of Ramirez, Vargas, Beavan, and Iwakuma, it allows the Mariners to keep the Top 3 guys (Walker, Hultzen, Paxton) in the minors until they are absolutely sure they are ready and not being rushed because Noesi is getting lit up every 5 days. Iwakuma has really come on since joining the rotation, and Beavan has really got his stuff together and more consistent since his demotion. I’m real happy with this rotation going into next season.
^Iwakuma is no guarantee for next season as he was on a one-year deal. Hopefully they can re-sign him to a reasonable deal.
Beavan has certainly looked better, but his lack of K’s and high number of fly balls, still makes me question his ability to pitch consistently. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him packaged this off-season.