Is anyone fairly enthusiastic about Soler?

[Guest old original jb]

Just asking.

[Willets Point]

Cautious optomism.

[Guest Hillbilly]

Sure, lets see what he's got for a few more turns. Maybe he sticks and moves up the rotation.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I thought he looked better last night, in an overall general sense, than Brian Bannister ever did. Hell yuh I'm on board.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Yes. I think he might be a decent back of the rotation guy. If he starts hitting low 90's with regularity, maybe more than that.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Pretty optimistic. Why not? Jumping from AA and all. Jumping in against a good offense while hardly having seen anything like major league hitting thus far.

If you believe the game account of our fellow posters, he has El Duque's tendency to throw any pitch at any time, which I always liked. The two of them on a team together might help, or at least be interesting. Not that Yoshii and Nomo blew anyone's minds pitching in the same rotiation.

I'm more optimistic about him than about Hernandez, I think.

[Guest holychicken]

He is going to win 20 games this year. You heard it here first.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Um, OK! Prediction archives, have at it.

[MFS62]

When he loaded the bases with nobody out, I had a Koosman Karma flashback.
That's what Jerry did in his first major league start (against SF). But he got out of the inning with no runs scored.

But other than minor details, we're dealing with karma here, so I'd answer "hell yeah, I'm excited about him." He looks like he knows how to pitch and doesn't get rattled.

Later

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I sure like him a hell of a lot better than Lima. Of course, I guess that isn't really much of an endorsement.

Hard to make a fair assessment on the basis of a single start, but he showed enough ability to offer hope for the future. I'm cautiously optomistic, that he can be a decent fifth starter this season. We'll know more after seeing him out the another start or two.

[Elster88]

]Is anyone fairly enthusiastic about Soler?

Yes

[Guest old original jb]

Ok. Does anyone think he may have a bigger upside than Benson or Zambrano?

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Zambrano - Yes

Benson - Maybe, but a little soon to tell.

[Guest Hillbilly]

I like him a lot more than I ever liked Seo.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]Ok. Does anyone think he may have a bigger upside than Benson or Zambrano?

He definitely has a bigger backside than either of them.

[RealityChuck]

Cautiously optimistic. He showed competence and may be an innings eater, but it's too early to be sure.

[Guest Rotblatt]

old original jb wrote: Ok. Does anyone think he may have a bigger upside than Benson or Zambrano?

An interesting question. I think Zambrano had a bigger upside than Benson--I mean, his stuff was just nasty--but he never came close to realizing that upside. Benson, on the other hand, had decent but not great stuff but has made the most of it.

Well, he's made SOMETHING out of it, anyway.

So I guess to answer your questions, I think he may have a bigger upside than Benson, but not Zambrano.

[Elster88]

After Floyd's son comes back I'd MUCH rather see him and Soler get some more starts at the ML level then see El Duque start.

There's no way in the world that Willie has the brains to do this one....but once everyone's healthy I'd rather see El Duque in the pen until either Bannister or Soler proves they don't have the ability to start.

What do you think, CPFers?

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Willets Point wrote: Cautious optimism.

Same here. Not comfortable yet, but hopeful.

[Guest holychicken]

Edgy DC wrote: Um, OK! Prediction archives, have at it.

Uh oh. I was under the impression that noone remembered predictions. D'oh!

[MFS62]

88, not a bad idea. His funky delivery and funky stuff would be a change in "look" from whatever pitcher he replaces. He might be effective once through a batting order. IIRC he was effective in that role for the Chisox.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

holychicken wrote: He is going to win 20 games this year. You heard it here first.

And last.


The encouraging thing about last night is that while Soler's main problem was the 1st inning walks (duh!) his overall control in his brief minor legue stint was excellent - leading you to believe that it was mostly a case of settling in rather than an ongoing concern.

And while I'm still not wild about the El Ducky trade (I always hated that nickname too, but, like ARod, his actual name takes too long to type) we have - or will soon have - the pick of Ducky, Soler, Maine, Bannister & Gonzalez to cover those 4th & 5th slots in the rotation which certainly sounds better than how things were a week ago.

[Elster88]

I'd remove Gonzalez from that list of potential 5th game starters. He belongs on the emergency last-minute resort list.

[Guest holychicken]

He is going to win 20 games this year.

]And last.

Or so you thought!

MUAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

[Frayed Knot]

He is the last resort as far as I'm concerned but he was also the last resort coming into the season but that's what 3 simultaneous injuries plus a drug suspension will do to a rotation. Also, Maine and especially Bannister are NOT ready yet so he's not quit as far down the pecking order as you'd like.

[The Big O]

MFS62 wrote: He looks like he knows how to pitch and doesn't get rattled.

I liked what the radio guys seemed to be blathering about him. They commented that he didn't smile much, even after pitching his effective innings. Don't know if that's part of his general demeanor or if he was just upset about the top of the 1st. I think they said he was fist-pumping a lot. They (baselessly?) speculated that it seemed he was going to be driven to become a better pitcher, even if he has some moderate success. Ya like to see a guy who won't rest on his laurels.

[Guest Spacemans Bong]

I remember it being a fairly big coup when the Mets signed him so you have to think he's got stuff.

[Frayed Knot]

He pitched for the Cuban National team at one point which made him at least a potential "get" at the time of his signing. But Cuban pitchers have been a mystery since they've been arriving; some good, some bad, and some ugly.
We just traded for the one who's been the most successful to date - even though that date may have expired by this point.

[Elster88]

Elster88 wrote: After Floyd's son comes back I'd MUCH rather see him and Soler get some more starts at the ML level then see El Duque start. There's no way in the world that Willie has the brains to do this one....but once everyone's healthy I'd rather see El Duque in the pen until either Bannister or Soler proves they don't have the ability to start.

I really like this idea, but it got stuck on the page before this one.

[soupcan]

Elster88 wrote: After Floyd's son comes back I'd MUCH rather see him and Soler get some more starts at the ML level then see El Duque start. There's no way in the world that Willie has the brains to do this one....but once everyone's healthy I'd rather see El Duque in the pen until either Bannister or Soler proves they don't have the ability to start.

Why would you think that's out of the question? I'm thinking that that IS the plan.

If Soler continues to impress he should keep starting. Bannister showed no reason to take him out of the rotation when healthy and El Duque is a proven bullpen commodity. It's logical, and I'd be more surprised if it didn't happen.

And I'll add that if Bannister or Soler do falter in the rotation that with the addition of Duque in the 'pen Heilman should be the first option of those two for a starting role.