Consistency of routine and schedule are very important to a starter keeping the feel on his breaking balls which a guy like Hefner lives on!

First off his third pitch is a changeup. And he would be pitching with a guy who happens to have a pretty damn good one in Santana. This is just the kind of situation where Santana’s leadership is a plus and adds more to the team than just his performance! Very likely he gets through to Harvey where the MiL coaches do not.

Second, Waiting for a Waiver Wire deal will be way too late. Teams won’t start waiving guys right after the deadline, by the time that deal is made it will be way too late and we will have used Bautista for 5-8 starts which could be bad to do if we are in a race. Even if a team put a guy through Waivers on August 1st, By the time the deal to get him was done it would be late August and really not worth it because in a week you would move to a 40 man anyway!

While I understand your hesitance to bring a kid up in the Playoff race the truth of the matter is if we are TRULY in one this year then waiting to bring him up next year really isn’t any different as we are likely to be playoff players next year as well!

I was firmly in the camp of leaving Harvey down for the entire year but he has done so well vs the Minors you have to wonder if there is anything else he can learn?

Maybe he is not ready and maybe he loses enough to cost us a playoff this year….
Well then you got bigger issues than just what he cost you this year don’t you? Doesn’t it show you that maybe you need to get another starter for next year because the Kid needs more experience?

Young is gone in November no matter what. That means either Harvey or a trade is needed for next year. And there is no better time to find out which than now!

If Harvey could cost us a Playoff appearance this year then we have bigger issues than him and this year.

So I have given in from my previous stance on bringing him up. If we were not in a playoff race I would leave him down since there would be no benefit to it, but now that we are what better way to see how he can handle pressure for the next three years where he will be a key piece in the rotation and if our GM makes the right moves on the rest of the roster should put us in the running for another 4-5 years at minimum of playoff runs!

Are any of these guys better than giving our own a shot and some experience gained for next year?

He had 3 starts, 1 he got shelled in. Then

Wash 6IP 3ER
PHI 6IP 3ER

Plus 5IP Tor 2ER in relief.

does he have anything left on his checklist to work on /fine tune? If no, call him up.

If yes, is he really close or miles away? If miles away, leave him in minors. if close, the last part of the question becomes, can he make the last adjustments just as well in the majors (and keep in mind, there will be much better tests up there, and he will have to face it at some point).

Oh, forgot the other part. After doing the above analysis (and that pretty much is the survive/thrive/get destroyed debate), do you expect him to have better results than the other options (Hefner or batista)?

What we don’t know is how the rest of the coaches feel about Harvey. If collectively they all share Backman’s opinion one I would think have to heavily consider that.

It’s probably six one, half dozen of the other. And I won’t be surprised if Batista gets shelled, they do call up Hefner to see what he can do and put Batista back in the BP. That is, if they don’t decide to just call up Harvey.

I am saying he is supposed to be Harvey’s biggest advocate. When there is REAL talk about calling him up, Wally’s not going to say “he’s not ready.” Because then he’d be the sole reason why his own player doesn’t get the call up that he likely is dying to get.

That’s all I am saying. He’s not the guy I wanna hear from in a spot like this because he’s supposed to advocate for him.

Having said that what Backman did say was “He’ll take a lump or two if they call him up, …But his fastball command is much improved. He can help them.”

The question is has he gone as far as he can go at AAA or is he ready for his next stage of development at the major league level?

Seems like his fastball and curveball are Major League quality based on Backman’s quote. “…he’s gotten better at getting the ball down in the zone, hitting his spots with the fastball instead of just overpowering guys at this level. His curveball is major-league quality and he’s getting better with his changeup.”

He is getting better with his changeup but how far along is it?

Not having seen Harvey pitch all I have are the results of what he has done and what his coaches say on the record. Right now according to Backman they would not be doing a disservice to Harvey if they called him up. Now if all the coaches collectively agree with Backman is another thing.

We should get a better idea soon enough

Also, not sure why Batista is next in line for SP depth. Looking at numbers, isn’t Hefner better than Batista?

I think we almost have to bring someone in for SP depth for the rest of this season.