Ryan Eades - 2014

[Thegrin]

I think Ryan should be on some of the Twins top 50 lists.  He is looking as if he could pitch in Ft Myers now.

[goulik]

I think Ryan should be on some of the Twins top 50 lists. He is looking as if he could pitch in Ft Myers now.

Agreeing on the potential top 50 part of your statement and Having loyally read all the Ryan Eades updates, what do you base the second part of your opinion on or was this tongue in cheek?

[Steven Buhr]

Start No. 21 (08/12/14)

 

Ryan re-entered the starting rotation and picked up the win in the Kernels’ 12-5 victory over the Beloit Snappers. He submitted his third Quality Start in five games and has lowered his ERA nearly a full run over that span.  That said, this was far from a dominating performance.

 

Ryan faced 29 batters during 6 innings of work.  He surrendered 9 hits (including a 2B, 3B, and HR) and 3 walks while striking out 4 batters.  Fortunately, he was able to strand most of the base-runners and allowed only 2 earned runs.  He exited the game leading 12-2.  Some key season stats:

 

5.67 ERA

1.61 WHIP

4.70 FIP

 

Links are to Ryan’s MiLB.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference pages for more granular stats:

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=l118&t=p_pbp&pid=592280

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa549448&position=P

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=eades-001rya

 

Here's my admittedly non-expert observation of Ryan Eades now vs the Ryan Eades we saw most of the first half of the season.

 

He's been prone to giving up too many hits and too many walks all season, so he has work to do in those areas next year.

 

But whereas, earlier in the year, he would get in a jam and then often go on and give up a big inning, more recently, he seems to be bearing down in those jam situations and minimizing the damage - keeping his team in the game.

 

I like the apparent change in mentality. Of course, it would be nice not to get in to jams in the first place, but in the silver lining department, perhaps developing a little bit of a bulldog mentality in those situations will serve him well in the future.

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Start No. 22 (08/17/14)

 

Ryan took the mound against the Peoria Chiefs, with the Kernels trying to chase down the Kane County Cougars for first place in the MWL Western Division second-half race.  Because the Cougars were the first-half champions, they’ve already secured their playoff spot (along with the Burlington Bees).  The Kernels are in good shape for one of the two remaining playoff slots as well as they enjoy an 6-game cushion over the Timber Rattlers and a 8-game cushion over the Chiefs.  Still, it would be nice if the Kernels’ resurgence is rewarded with a half-season division championship. If the playoffs started today, the Kernels would play the Bees in the first round.

 

The good news is that the Kernels rallied from a three-run deficit to win 5-4 when a Chiefs reliever threw two wild pitches in the 9th inning to score Logan Wade from second base.  The bad news is that Ryan’s performance was a step back from the previous five outings.  In this game he faced 28 batters over 6 innings.  Like last start, he allowed a bunch of base runners but was not as successful in limiting the damage.  Ryan surrendered 4 earned runs on 7 hits (including two 2B and a 3B) and two walks.  He also hit 2 batters and struck out only one.  He left the game with the score tied 4-4.  In short, this was a clunker.

 

One thing to keep an eye on is Ryan’s decreasing strike-out rate – 4.4 SO/9 over the last 6 games. Prior to this stretch—which has been mostly successful—Ryan was maintaining a SO/9 over 7.  This could be a sign of full-season fatigue for a player that has taken the ball every turn all season.  Some key season stats:

 

5.68 ERA
1.61 WHIP
0.71 GO/AO

Links are to Ryan’s MiLB.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference pages for more granular stats:

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=l118&t=p_pbp&pid=592280

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa549448&position=P

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=eades-001rya

[Shane Wahl]

I have said all along that he was a very bad draft pick. The K/BB is not good at all. But there were obviously red flags going into the draft.

[jokin]

I have said all along that he was a very bad draft pick. The K/BB is not good at all. But there were obviously red flags going into the draft.

 

Yeah, I groaned over a few of the picks in 2013.  When in doubt, always upside HS arms...! The White Sox got it right in the 2nd round that year, picking @ # 16 (Eades was #4), Tyler Danish. He is 19 years old, and is already looking at Eades in his rearview mirror, dominating in High A ball.  For the 2014 season, including mostly Carolina League stats where Danish is 3.8 years below average age.... ERA of 1.97 in 114 innings, WHIP of 1.14 and K/9 of 7.1.

 

Watch for that name in a couple more years.

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Yeah, I groaned over a few of the picks in 2013.  When in doubt, always upside HS arms...

 

The 2014 draft must have been a treat for you, then.  If the Twins didn't draft Gordon, you could've convinced me they just decided not to scout high schools.  The 2002, Moneyball version of Billy Beane shook his head and said, "Yikes. Terry Ryan is over-doing it on the whole college thing."

 

As for Eades, I had other names in mind for the 43rd pick, too.  But, I was hoping that he'd have a good season and be a quick to the majors inning-eater.  Clearly, that does not look likely right now. Next year will be a make or break season.  Given this year's draft, I imagine Ryan will stay a starter until he figures it out or is pushed out by the players coming up behind him. 

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Start No. 23 (08/22/14)

 

In this game, the Kernels faced the Burlington Bees, their likely first-round playoff opponent.  The Bees are the MWL’s second-worst hitting team (.663 OPS) and have struggled in the second half of the season (26-34 W/L).  But, by virtue of their second place finish in the first half, the Bees already have a playoff spot secured.   The Kernels have all but secured their spot as well enjoying an 8-game cushion with 10 games to play. 

 

There was a lot to like in this game as the Kernels cruised to an 8-2 victory.  Ryan submitted his fourth Quality Start in his last seven games.  He pitched 6 innings, facing 22 batters and surrendering only 5 hits (including 2 2Bs) and one earned run. He did not issue any walks. The only negative was that Ryan struck out only two batters continuing a trend of low strikeout totals.  Over his last seven appearances, Ryan has booked a 3.21 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP but only a 4.24 SO/9.  He has shaved 1.19 off his ERA during that span. Some key season stats:

 

5.48 ERA
1.57 WHIP
0.74 GO/AO
.297 AVG

Links are to Ryan’s MiLB.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference pages for more granular stats:

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=l118&t=p_pbp&pid=592280

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa549448&position=P

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=eades-001rya

[Steven Buhr]

Eades threw a nice game Wednesday night in CR as the Kernels clinched the top 2nd half seed for the MWL playoffs. Thought this would be a good place to post a link to a short video from Eades' 4th inning of work against Kane County.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSTsc-f_KF0&feature=player_detailpage

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Start No. 24 (08/27/14)

 

The Kernels faced the Kane County Cougars in the first game of a three-game series with the Kernels trailing the Cougars by three games in the second-half standings. A sweep by the Kernels would pull them into a tie in the division race with one series to play.  Ryan did his part submitting another Quality Start in the Kernels’ 3-2, 11-inning victory.

 

Ryan’s solid finish to the season continued.  He pitched 6 innings, faced 23 batters and surrendered only 4 hits (including 3 2Bs) and 1 walk.  He also reversed his trend of low strikeout totals by striking out 6 Cougars.  Ryan had a lot of success inducing the Cougars to hit the ball on the ground—2.67 GO/AO—which has been a struggle for him this season.  He was replaced trailing 2-1 but the bullpen held up and the team rallied for an extra-inning victory. Over his last eight appearances, Ryan has booked a 3.11 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and shaved 1.31 off his ERA.  Some key season stats:

 

5.36 ERA
1.53 WHIP
0.77 GO/AO
.292 AVG
4.49 FIP

Links are to Ryan’s MiLB.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference pages for more granular stats:

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=l118&t=p_pbp&pid=592280

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa549448&position=P

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=eades-001rya

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Start No. 25 (09/01/14)

Ryan ended the regular season with one of his best efforts.  Pitching against the Clinton LumberKings in the season finale, Ryan went seven strong innings leading the Kernels to a 3-1 victory. He faced only 24 batters and limited the LumberKings to 3 hits (including a 3B) and 1 walk.  Although he continued his late-season trend of low strike out totals--striking out only 2 batters--he had 2.0 GO/AO ratio.  This is the second game in a row he was very successful at inducing ground balls.  Perhaps this represents a change in approach, perhaps it is just small-sample variance.  Let's hope it is the former and Ryan's late season uptick has a basis for sustainability.

 

I am not a big believer in chopping up a season and looking only at the portion that fits a given narrative but it cannot be denied that Ryan was a different pitcher down the stretch.  While not dominant, he will return to the category of prospect if he can carry over the performance into next season.  Over his last nine appearances, Ryan booked a 2.87 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.  

 

With the playoffs starting with a three-game series against the Burlington Bees, it is uncertain whether Ryan will have another chance to pitch this season. Presumably, if the Kernels advance he'll have at least one more appearance.  Some key season stats:

 

5.14 ERA
1.48 WHIP
0.79 GO/AO
.285 AVG
4.44 FIP

 

Links are to Ryan’s MiLB.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference pages for more granular stats:

http://www.milb.com/..._pbp&pid=592280
http://www.fangraphs...9448&position=P
http://www.baseball-...id=eades-001rya