Drabek Shut Down

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The Phillies have placed Kyle Drabek on the inactive list after throwing 158 innings this year.  It was stressed that Drabek is not injured, he is simply being shut down after reaching what the Phils set as his inning limit. The 21 year old righty was 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA for Clearwater.  He threw 61.2 innings and walked 19, while striking out 74.  Opponents hit just .218 against him in “A” ball.  After his promotion to AA Reading, Drabek went 8-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 15 starts, throwing 96.1 innings.  He walked 31, struck out 76 and AA opponents hit .252 against him.  In five August starts, Drabek was 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA.  I would look for him in the Lehigh Valley rotation to begin next year.

42 thoughts on “Drabek Shut Down”

  1. I applaud the Phillies for this move. There is nothing to gain by throwing him out there every five days not long after tommy john surgery.

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  2. I was a staunch opponent of this move, and have been critical of this move since it was brought up a few weeks ago. Based on how Drabek was pitching as of late, I don’t think it’s a bad move.

    My original position was that being in a playoff race would be good for Drabek’s development, but it appears he would do more harm than help to actual w’s and l’s right now.

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  4. yea there is really no point in him pitching in his last 2 or 3 starts, 158 innings is a lot of innings for his first full year in the minors after surgery

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  5. smart move. i can’t recall this happening under prior Phillies regimes. another check mark in the good column for Amaro.

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  6. This year, again and again, almost without fail, Amaro and the new Phillies management team under him, proved that they “get it.”

    Smart move guys.

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  7. Wow…its like the Phillies FO actually gets it.

    Smart move and a great long-term move. He’ll be pushing for a rotation spot by the 2nd half of next year maybe.

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  8. very good move. drabek had nothing to gain by pitching any more innings this year. btw does anyone know who t.b. got for kazmir?

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  9. john from philly.ne Says:
    August 30, 2009 at 9:40 PM
    very good move. drabek had nothing to gain by pitching any more innings this year. btw does anyone know who t.b. got for kazmir?

    bag of balls by all acounts, salary dump

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  11. great news.. thanks jim! maybe in time to throw some instructional league innings?

    and also, great call on Drabek. Wolever made a smart decision here.

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  12. This is a smart move. Normally I think these pitchers are babie, and usually they are. But when youre coming off TJ surgery ad youve thrown a career high in innings, starting to see the production drop a little then you gotta do this. Very wise precautionary decision. They do need to stop babying these guys IN GENERAL, BUT this or anyone not far removed from surgery can be counted as an exception.

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  13. Putting Drabek on the TIL (which was a smart move) leaves Reading’s roster at 22, since they were already one playrer shy of the 24 man limit. They probably will be adding some players soon since they are still in the playoff hunt.

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  14. Good move. But will he really begin in Lehigh next yr? i thought he might begin the yr briefly in AA then jump to AAA after a month or so.

    Doesn’t matter, just glad they are taking care of the crown jewel right now.

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  15. This is expected. I thought, starting in August, they might slow down his innings by putting him in the bullpen for 1 inning stints. Someone pointed out earlier that wasn’t the best move because he’d try to crank it up with a shorter appearance. That would put more stress on his, surgically repaired, arm. I think Kyle will get some innings in Spring Training and then start in Reading. He’ll be in LHV quickly after that.

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  16. dont know if my post went thru above so excuse the possible repeat. mathieson is having a great recovery really have to root for him. btw where is barnes at williamsport, hurt?

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  17. Yeah, Barnes broke his foot a couple of weeks back and is out for what’s left of season. His replacement Villar is a fine athlete, and I say he should get that Lakewood spot at SS next season in lieu of Barnes. Seen Villar in Saturday’s Williamsport at State College game, had maybe his best Minor League game. The most impressive thing was two saves on Bad Throws. On a bad throw from Hewitt at 3B he had to spin around and leap high and catch on his backhand, he did so, and was able to spin back and get the runner coming into 2nd on a close play. On a very bad throw from David Doss (catching ) he had to leap high , reach high to the Right Field Side , hurdle the runner coming in near standing and tag him from between his legs on top of the runner’s head. The tag was late however.
    Villar also ripped a hard hit single to left when Batting Right, beat out a grounder to deep short when batting Left, made a very good sacrifice bunt, and stole 2 bases.

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  18. I have to say, it is very difficult to read posts that suggest that young pitchers (or even older pitchers) are being “babied.” Being “babied” hasn’t got one bloody thing to do with limiting the number of innings a pitcher pitches in a given year or the number of pitches that a pitcher throws in a given game. It’s about not destroying a pitcher’s arm or ruining that pitcher’s velocity and it’s about teams protecting their investments. Over the years I have watched enough pitchers have their arms ruined by overuse. Stop with the “babying” nonsense already.

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  19. Nice to see the organization having a plan for a guy like Drabek and sticking to it. Most likely he starts next season in AAA, puts up around 150-170 innings and is ready take a role with the big club in 2011..

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  20. the inquire is reporting today that many in the org think that drabek will pitch in the rotation at some point next year.

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  21. ive never seen villar but if hes better than barnes whove ive seen alot than he,s pretty good. however i expect barnes to be at lakewood next year, he deserves it, for some reason despite being the all-star ss he doesnt seem to get the respect he deserves. maybe it,s N.D.

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  22. Yep, it’s just like I said on another thread. If the Phillies do the right thing next season, they will start Drabek as the 5th starter at the beginniing of next season. They will likely be few starts at the very beginning, and they can carefully manage Drabek’s innings throughout the season. Jamey Moyer has the final year of his contract, and he can continue in his current long relief role at the start of the season. While Drabek starts off as the 5 th starter, if he does well, he can continue in that role. On times when Drabek needs a rest or to absorb some lessons , Moyer can slide into a spot starting role, and Drabek can pitch every 5 days , or so, in long relief for a time. If they want to carry the likes of Kyle Kendrick or Drew Carpenter let them excel in a long relief role for a time and then they can be considered as starters. I would rate neither highly in even making the team in that role, even if they don’t bring back Myers, Park, and Eyre, and non-tender Chad Durbin, as I would place the Arizona Fall League participants ( if they do well, and there are no complications) ahead of Kendrick and Carpenter.

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  23. I guess we should not go too far off the Drabek reservation on this thread, so if anyone wants to continue on the Great Barnes v. Villar debate, I will put something on the Boxscore Round Up of August 26.

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  24. Drabek’s not ready for the majors and he may not even be ready for AAA. This is his first full season back from an arm injury. If he makes to to the big league team by next July or August, even as a situational reliever, that would be fine by me. The goal is to have him ready for 2011 when the team will almost certainly have one or more slots to fill in the rotation. As I see it, 2011 is looking something like this:

    Hamels (already under contract)
    Blanton (they love this guy and I think they’ll give him a 3-year deal this off season)
    Happ (he’s locked in for another 5 years – nothing to worry about there)
    Drabek
    Who the heck knows, but it won’t be Moyer and probably won’t be Myers (maybe Lee signs, maybe Stutes, Savery or Worley is ready – just as likely there will be another trade for a major league starter by 2011)

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  25. Lee has another year on his contract. Worley is not ready same with Stutes and I am not sure they are very high on Savery. He has control issues and is very hittable. I doubt that Drabek starts in Philly next season but maybe by midseason if nobady else steps up in the 5 spot.

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  26. from reading whats going on right now in the system. i would put mathieson on the fastrack. as a matter of fact he seems to be the systems 2nd best pitcher. i would say without any health setbacks both drabek and mathieson will be on the major league team next year. worley and stutes seem to have hit the wall, and if mathieson has a number 2 it,s pretty hard to argue with 97 mph.

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  27. from everthing ive read mathieson and drabek are the systems top 2 pitchers. i would be more than surprised if both are not with the 2010 phillies.

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  28. Mathieson needs to be groomed as Lidge’s replacement. Having been through two TJ surgeries and not having a ton of pitches in his arsenal, he seems a prime candidate for the bullpen. And you know what, that’s precisely what the team needs – a young flamethrower.

    Just an fyi – my sons were at the Reading games yesterday and, apparently, they let kids onto the field. My eldest son said that Scott Mathieson was, by far, the nicest guy on the Reading team and spent a ton of time talking to, and taking interest in, the kids. Between this and his incredible perseverence, he is a very easy guy to root on. Go Scott!!!!

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  29. I would not be the least bit surprised to see Drabek in Philly around July 2010. If nothing else it gives him a chance to get his feet wet before they will really rely on him to be a big part of the rotation in 2011.

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  30. The statistical differences between his performance at Reading versus at Clearwater (fewer strikeouts, higher batting average against, higher ERA) all suggest to me that Drabek needs more time in the minors. He should probably continue at AA at the beginning of next season. It appears that his problem stems from facing more left-handed hitters (he seems to have faced almost equal numbers at AA). Drabek has shut down righties (.166 BA) at AA, but lefties hit him for a .322 average. This has to be corrected (maybe he needs to develop a better changeup). Otherwise, it may play out a lot like it did with Kyle Kendrick.

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  31. catch my sentiments about mathieson exactly. i see him as a reliever in the red sox mold. i hope he has a strong 2nd pitch. i dont know about closer but certainly in the mix. but i hope he can close. right now i would probably put him in mt top 5 prospects, and considering what he,s been through i really hope he makes it.

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  32. i checked out this villar,s stats and he seems to be a bobby wine, chico fernandez type. all glove no bat. .190 ba.? barnes could probably be described defensively as chase utley at this point in his development. not bad no whiz but grinder who will get better defensively. he,s already a hitter.

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  33. No intention of hijacking a Drabek thread, but thought it more appropriate to post here. Interesting appearances all around in this morning GCL game, a 2-1 Phils win:

    – Clay Condrey pitching 1 scoreless
    – Tony Bastard pitching 1 scoreless
    – Jarred Cosart going 5 scoreless, with 2 hits surrendered and 7 Ks

    Oh, and some Colvin kid making his pro debut, pitching 2 innings, surrendering 1 unearned run, walking 2 and striking out 2…

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  35. Great move resting drabek. Too bad they didn’t do it with Knapp but at least they learned. Myers is confusing me. I don’ think they would bring him back for any reason . His two year old is tooooooo dangerous.

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  36. I don’t think Drabek will be in the mix for a rotation spot until the second half of next year. Then it depends on performance.

    The team can easily go with Lee, Hamels, Blanton, and Happ for the 1st 4 spots and let Moyer start out as #5 (or Pedro if they choose to re-sign him). Drabek could then get a half season in AAA and we still would have Carpenter, Savery, Worley, and Stutes as potential emergency options from AAA.

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  37. I think it is too early to say where Drabek starts next yr (AA or AAA). Some of it will be dependant on what he does in Spring Training. I assume he will get the big league invite and how he pitches and more to the point, how he prepares in the offseason will decide where he goes.

    As to whether he pitches in the ML in 2010, there are so many x factors it is impossible to say.

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  38. I don’t think that Drabek can be an effective starter at the major league level until he can figure out how to get left-handed hitters out. Major league left-handed hitters would be expected to be quite a bit better than the AA left-handed hitters who hit over .320 against him. Since he did not progress in this area at Reading and is now being shut down, it is impossible for him to remedy this deficiency without more time at the minor league level. All this talk of him getting a shot to start next year would appear to be ie in the sky.

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  40. Все-таки потрясное изобретение – блог. Казалось бы обычный сайт, но видоизменили подачу разной информации, передали сайт в руки толькоодного человека и открылась еще одна новая грань общения со всем миром. 🙂

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  41. Just for the record I translated the above dialoge from Russian to English and this is what it came up with…
    “All the same потрясное the invention – блог. It would Seem a usual site, but have altered submission of the different information, have transferred a site in hands толькоодного the person and one more new side of dialogue with all world has opened”.

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