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Jeremy Guthrie a Hit Success
In what is turning out to be my favorite off-season move, not just of the Orioles but of all the mahor league teams, Jeremy Guthrie is turning heads with Baltimore in a variety of roles.
A few Oriole fans asked, "who is Guthrie?" These were the diehard fans. With many fans, this one flew completely over the radar. He had pitched parts of three seasons with Cleveland, but struggled for them in 2005 and 2006. He had also struggled at the high levels in the minors. Yet, he sped through the lower levels not even a year after college.
So, what happened to Guthrie, who at one point was considered the top prospect in the Cleveland farm system?
They drafted him as their first pick in the 2002 draft and gave him a signing bonus of $3 million, second-highest in club history. The right-hander had pitched at Stanford since the 2000-01 school year after returning from a two-year Mormom mission trip to Spain, during which he never picked up a baseball.
Guthrie shot through the Indians minor-league system. In 2003, his first full season, Guthrie split the year with AA Akron and AAA Buffalo. In AA through May 25, he had two complete game shutouts, held opposing batters to a .149 average and only .146 with runners in scoring position.
After the 25th, the Indians moved Guthrie up to Buffalo, where he struggled out the gate. He failed to get out of the second inning of his first start, allowing six runs on eight hits. He was winless over his first four starts for Buffalo until he pitched a complete game against Norfolk.
Wins were sparse over the rest of the year, with Guthrie enduring five and seven game losing streaks. His final numbers in AAA that season were very pedestrian, with opposing hitters batting .321 off him, with left-handers crushing him at a .341 clip. Guthrie also allowed 15 home runs. Still, Baseball America named him the Indians #2 prospect that season.
In 2005, Guthrie struggled out the gate in Buffalo, walking 18 batters in 19 innings and going 1-2 with an ERA hovering just below 8.00 after four starts. The front office decided to move Guthrie back down to Akron to try and work on his command.
He was a workhorse in Akron, but did not dominate like he had earlier. Some performances were dead-on, but some demonstrated how much command issues Guthrie had.
In his final two apperances for Akron on the season, Guthrie pitched in relief. He struggled in relief, too, pitching 3.1 innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs.
Still, the Indians needed a long-reliever on August 28th, after starter Chad Durbin struggled the night before. Cleveland called up Guthrie to give him a chance on the club. In his first major league inning, Guthrie was nearly perfect, allowing no hits or walks, striking out a batter and forcing a hitter into a groundout double play to also eliminate his enherited runner. His second appearance helped preserve a shutout of the Yankees, as Guthrie pitched two scoreless innings.
Overall, there was much to be excited about, as Guthrie proved to be an admirable reliever. Batters hit just .214 off him over 11.2 innings, hitting .091 with runners on base and .071 with runners in scoring position.
2005 was much the same for Guthrie. After what could be classified as a very successful relief stint with Akron and Cleveland, Guthrie was moved back to the rotation with Buffalo in 2006, with mixed results again. He only got one appearance with Cleveland on the year, a six-inning relief stint, where he gave up two home runs and four earned runs.
The Indians still kept him in the rotation at Buffalo to kick off 2006. Hopes were not high over Guthrie, as he had been passed on the organizational depth chart by Adam Miller and Jeramy Sowers, just to name a few.
Guthrie turned in a fine season for Buffalo, going 9-5 in 21 games (20 starts) with a 3.14 ERA, which was sixth-best in the International League. Still, he had four stints with the Indians, including a spot-start. Guthrie pitched poorly, with a 6.98 ERA and proving to look more and more like a AAAA pitcher, one who had success in AAA, but just can't put it together to make the jump to the majors.
In the off-season, Cleveland had a choice to make in regards to many pitchers in their organization. The team struggled in 2006 after many thought they were ready to compete. GM Mark Shapiro went out and made some moves, one of which was acquiring outfielder Trot Nixon on the free agent market, providing a stable bat and veteran leadership to the club. This cost Jeremy Guthrie his job with the Indians, as he was designated for assignment, being out of minor league options.
The Orioles were in desperate need of pitchers. They were focused on improving the league's second-worst bullpen from a year ago. They targeted Guthrie as a pitcher who could work with Leo Mazzone and fit the profile they wanted for a long-reliever. They kept silent hope that Guthrie could be a contender even for the fifth-starter's job.
His hopes went up and down in Spring Training for that starter spot. First, Kris Benson was not playing, then he was, then he was essentially pronounced out for the year. Veteran Steve Trachsel was brought on board through all of this and he was slated for that job.
Still, Guthrie worked with Mazzone to help locate his fastball and absolutely dominated spring ball. He was annointed one of the long relievers on the club, along with left-hander Brian Burres.
He pitched well throughout April, allowing only an earned run in each of his first three apperances. On April 16, he got his first major league victory, pitching 2.1 innings, walking three and striking out three.
On April 24, he suffered his first loss on the season, going five innings in his first start and allowing one run earned, one unearned.
Then, he was rocked on April 27 for three runs in just a third of an inning in a save situation against his former team. Later in the series on April 29, Guthrie got rocked for three runs again in an inning.
The next day, Guthrie rebounded, throwing a shutout relief inning in a losing effort against the Tigers. This was enough to earn him a full-time starting role, with the loss of Adam Loewen to a fractured forearm and Jaret Wright to another shoulder injury, along with Burres.
In his second start, Guthrie recorded a win against Tampa Bay. He pitched six strong innings, allowing six hits, one run and striking out two.
In his next start, Guthrie absolutely dominated the Boston Red Sox in Boston. He pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three hits, an unearned run, walking two and striking out two. After being pulled one out into the ninth, the bullpen promptly blew the win for Guthrie in a mind-boggling move replayed on many sports outlets.
Yesterday, Guthrie dominating the Washington Nationals on their home turf, going seven innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, walking none and striking out 10. The Orioles offense could not mount an attack until the 11th inning, giving Guthrie another heart-breaking no-decision.
On the year, Guthrie is 2-1, with a 2.95 ERA and 26 strikeouts. Seemingly gone are the control problems that plagued him with Cleveland, as his WHIP is only 1.06 and he has given up seven walks. It seems that Mazzone has cured Guthrie of what ailed him and that the change in situation seems to have opened up the potential that Guthrie always had.
We'll certainly reevaluate him later in the season, but right now, Guthrie has to be considered one of the surprises so far in this young MLB season. For what the Orioles gave up, which was nothing, it certainly appears to be one of the best off-season moves so far.
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Originally Posted by realmofotalk
