Quote:
Lately, on the Giants homepage, all the reports on Merkin Valdez seem to say he has a "smooth" delivery, quoting Felipe himself. I remember some reports coming out of the AFL on the board stating that he looked like Felix, with a max effort, kind of herky jerky delivery. Has he changed his delivery since then? Do people just have different opinions of what a "smooth delivery" looks like? The difference could be whether or not he'll remain a starter.


Gaston:

When I saw Valdez last summer, he was compensating for a leg injury, so it's possible he's now ironed out his mechanics. However, from what I saw, I wouldn't describe his delivery as "herky jerky," but it was definitely maximum effort. You might recall that pre-injury, his command was unreal, and post-injury a little less-than-perfect, but still pretty impressive (I love how he rates as having the best fastball AND best command in the system -- that's very 'Schmidt-like.') When I saw him, he was hitting 93 consistently and topped out at 97 (according to the guy with the gun who sat near me), but they were hitting him. Not line drive shots, but he did give up something like ten hits in five innings. The other team (the Rome Braves) knew he worked around the plate, so they guessed right a lot and hit a lot of singles to center field. Valdez also gave me the impression that he would do almost anything to avoid walking the batter, including (if necessary) throwing a pitch down Broadway. He's definitely not a nibbler. He trusts his stuff and will challenge you to hit it, which on that night, they did.

-Dave