8
2011
2011 Player Review: Mike Pelfrey
An article by 
John Delcos of Newyorkmetsreport.com and Joe DeCaro of Metsmerizedonline.com will be doing more and more projects together with the goal of merging two successful blogs in the hope of giving our readers everything they’ll need in covering the Mets.
Today we begin a series on the Mets where we will take a look at each player from the 2011 season beginning with arbitration eligible players and Mets free agent players. Each day we will focus on a new player in a point/counterpoint debate on who the organization should keep or cut loose. Today we start with Mike Pelfrey.
MIKE PELFREY
THE SKINNY: Will it ever happen for Mike Pelfrey? Big things were expected from Pelfrey when the Mets made him their first-round pick out of Wichita State University in 2005. However, Pelfrey is 50-54 with a 4.40 ERA lifetime, including 7-13 with a 4.74 ERA last season.
REASONS TO KEEP HIM: He’s still relatively young, inexpensive and has an upside. The Mets have precious little depth in their rotation and their prospects are years away.
REASONS TO LET HIM GO: After parts of six seasons, Pelfrey has a losing record and appears to have regressed from 2010, when he won 15 games.
JOHN’S TAKE: Pelfrey has become frustratingly inconsistent during his Mets’ career, almost to the point where Oliver Perez comparisons are being made. Pelfrey appeared to have a breakout year in 2010 when he won 15 games, but last year took a giant step back into his previous world of losing focus and command. At this point of this career, Pelfrey is a No. 3 starter at best, but the reason to keep him is that he’s a No. 1 to the Mets.
With Johan Santana coming off surgery, and every other pitcher in the Mets’ rotation having significant issues in terms of health and production, little help on the minor league horizon, and the team not expecting to make a free-agent splash, the Mets don’t have many options other than to bring him back. Pelfrey earned just over $3 million last year, so it isn’t as if he’ll break the bank.
Pelfrey is still young and healthy enough for the Mets to hang on to him, especially since they aren’t expected to make a significant run at contending for the playoffs. At this stage of his career, Pelfrey’s value to the Mets is in the hope he’ll touch his potential. It’s not too late.
JOE’S TAKE: No one player on the current roster infuriates me more than Mike Pelfrey. As a gangster in a gangster movie once said, “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent”. That’s how I see Pelfrey – just a big hunk of wasted talent.
In 2010, I had some hope that maybe Pelfrey finally figured things out, but as the season wore on his amazing first half looked more and more like a fluke… Too bad. Pelfrey has had more excuses than wins in the last two seasons. His problems range from the mechanical to the physical to the psychological to the bizarre. Pitching coach Dan Warthen said something about fixing him during Spring Training, but instead he regressed terribly.
When given the Opening Day assignment by Terry Collins, Pelfrey spoke about what it felt like to replace Johan Santana and he said he was up for the challenge and was looking forward to it. On Opening Day he folded like a cheap chair. In that April 1st start against the Marlins, he only lasted 4.1 innings, allowing five runs, and it just got worse from there. Truth be told, if he is still on the team next spring he should not be assured of a rotation spot and he should earn it along with the rest pitchers vying for a spot.
As far as tendering/non-tendering goes, the better question is why didn’t Alderson try and move him last season? Teams take chances on pitchers with potential all the time and if you’re waiting for Pelfrey to boost his value – that may never happen while he’s a Met. I could think of a dozen other productive things the Mets could do with $5 million dollars than give it to Pelfrey.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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Good analysis guys. I also thought that Pelfrey may have finally turned the corner in 2010 but it was not to be. About the only thing you can within reason expect from Pelfrey to give you is innings but the quality of those innings leave a lot to be desired.
he sucks,especially against the nl east.who cares if he eats up innings,if he’s constantly gives up runs during said innings what’s the point.
I think were saying the same thing.
Time to move on from Big Poof!
For a guy who makes 30+ starts a year but doesn’t reach 200+ innings is not someone I’d consider an innings eater…it’s a guy who stays healthy, but can’t get out of the 4th inning.
I’d say there is no chance we’ll ever see the “Big Pelf” we’ve been hoping for for the past 4 years.
Even though his 2011 W/L record was bad compared to his 2010 record, it’s hard to argue that there was any real regression going on. Most of his numbers stayed pretty close to his career average. Even his high HR numbers shouldn’t be surprising seeing that he gave up 18(?) HR’s in 09.
Mike is a sinker ball pitcher who gives up a ton of fly balls. He has no good secondary pitchers, he can’t strike anyone out, he can’t hold runners on and falls apart once the pressure is on.
What’s worse is when he’s happy that even though he gave up 5 runs in the first couple of innings, he stuck around until the 5th.
I’m sorry, it’s time to move on.
In the past four years, MIke has pitched a total of 782.2 innings (200.2, 184.1, 204.0, 193.2). That’s an innings eater to me.
In the NL, Mike’s innings placed him at 27 out of the 355 pitchers.
In the MLB, he was 50 out of 661.
I hear your argument, but here’s another way to look at it. In the past four years, Mike ranked…(NL only)
2011=27th 33starts (1 relief)
2010=16th 33starts (1 relief)
2009=31st 31starts
2008=16th 32starts
So even in his best year, he didn’t rank in the top 15 in the NL. So he’s stayed healthy for four years and made over 30 starts, which we shouldn’t ignore. So he ranked 8th in games started, he ranked 27th in innings pitched with a 4.27ERA.
To me, that’s not good ratio. Sure, he has value as a #4-5 starter…but I can’t see paying him $6-7mil for another year of the same old thing.
It’s gonna be really frustrating if we go into next year without trying to improve.
Your original point was that he’s not an innings eater. He is,
Pelf’s just not very good. Stiil, someone has to make up for Pelf’s innings. He takes some of the strain off of the bullpen. If you thought our bullpen has been bad the past few years, just wait if Pelf is replaced with a guy who is goes only 135 innings. Time will tell.
It don’t see it as him eating innings. If he is averaging less than 6innings per start, that’s not good and it’s not good on the bullpen. Especially seeing that no one other than R.A.D. could qualify for the “quality start” consistently.
Mike only had 15QS in 2011, 20 in 2010, 15 in 2009 and 19 in 2008.
I don’t like the idea of the “quality start” as measuring how good a start was. Going 6innings and giving up 3 runs or less shouldn’t be difficult nor a goal. It should be the least you do every night. At least you’re leaving you team in a position to win. For a person to considered an innings eater (in my book), He’d have to average at least 6inning per start and get at least a .60QS% while making 30+ starts a year. They should also reach that make regularly.
Leaving the game in the 4th or 5th inning with less than two outs and runners in scoring position after giving up 3-4runs already does not save the bullpen, it hurts it.
Remember, wearing down a pen has more to do with how many innings they pitch. Constantly bringing them in mid inning in high pressure situations and forcing several guys to warm up (because the manager doesn’t know when the pitchers implosion will happen) hurts a lot too.
You can’t take away Mike’s ability to stat healthy (especially on this team) but we shouldn’t be rewarding (or even satisfied with) mediocrity. And that is what Mike is giving us.
‘No one player on the current roster infuriates me more than Mike Pelfrey.’
What Joe said….
Unfortunately, I think we’re stuck with him to start the season.
More and more I wish the Wilpons would have been forced to sell. It’s becoming very apparent going back to the hiring of Alderson just exactly what he was brought in to do. Tread water for the Mets while the Wilpons try and climb out of their financial mess with Sterling Mets – IMO.
I cannot believe that the Wilpons gave Omar practically free reign to bring in whoever he deemed necessary on whatever contracts he put together, which was fine with the Wilpons, BTW – and now with Sandy at the helm, the Wilpons have suddenly done a 180 and became baseball savy. Especially with that ‘will the sun come up tomorrow’ response on if Omar was still their guy.
Just smacks of MLB – Selig – telling them, ‘this is what you’re going to do if you have any hopes of retaining the team’.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…..
You are just full of excuses for Sandy Alderson.
Isn’t he supposed to be a genius who works magic with statistical analysis so therefore he should have been able to have a better off season than he did last year right? Oh wait…….now it’s the Wilpon’s fault.
Is it the Wilpon’s fault that Sandy Alderson has done nothing to generate fan enthusiasm since he took the job? Seems like all he’s done is tear the team apart.
So no magical statistical analysis finding diamonds in the rough? No magical statistical analysis used to find works of art in grandma’s attic? Or good ballplayers with little money?
So now it’s the Wilpon’s fault. Yeah okay. Nevermind that Alderson is simply doing a lousy job so far.
In 2011, 29 of the 31 SB attempts against Pelf were successful. That worked out to 6%CS. In prior years, going back from 2010 to 2008, the numbers were 29%CS, 27%CS and 55%CS.
Josh Thole and Dan Warthen need to get together with Mike to figure out what happened. Does Mike need a better slide step? Is Josh doing something wrong? Or whatever. It needs to be resolved. The best catcher defensively that I remember is Henry Blanco. Maybe he should be signed and then assigned to catch Mike.
I would rather give that 5M to Capuano instead of Pelrey.He’s had enough time to prove that he’s a big league pitcher to no avail.
Who is going to replace Pelf’s approximate 200 innings pitched if he is traded? Any suggestions?
I was wondering what happened to your report cards this year. I kind of like this better and I love the whole blogger dude vs the writer guy comparison too. It’s an interesting contrast.
Pelfrey has been frustrating, no doubt, but I’m still a believer. I’m not ready to toss in the towel yet. I think he may just be a late bloomer, and like Des mentioned, who is going to replace those 200 innings?.
seriously, is there any reason to keep this guy?? seriously?? can someone find me any logic in keeping this bum