03/22: YB Community Projection: Kyle Farnsworth
Posted by: James
Kyle Farnsworth - Reliever
Age: 29 (Turns 30 in April).
Three-Year History and splits:
Outlook: It's always a little harder with the new guys since you don't have a Yankee track record to use and you haven't found out whether or not the player can handle the crucible of NY. It doesn't help that Kyle has a reputation as a little bit of a hothead in his career. To date, he hasn't handled pressure all that well (7.36 ERA in 11 innings of postseason work) and he has often lost focus on the mound (as many a Cub fan can attest to). It also doesn't help that Kyle seems to follow a pattern: odd years - good/great seasons, even years - medicocrity. Look at the graphs - it's like a rollercoaster ride! Take that for what you will.
Don't get me wrong though - I liked the signing a lot. Kyle only turns 30 years old in April (a good 7.5 years younger than the man he's replacing) and he strikes people out (9.09 K per 9 for his career), which is always a nice way to get out of a tight spot. He's also working on the mental aspect of his game by putting in some reading time . Hopefully, these practices have helped him grow as a person but I (seflishly, I know) also hope they keep him pitching like he did last year. Improvement in the playoffs would also be a plus but then again, as many people have pointed out, Flash wasn't exactly reliable in the playoffs either so he doesn't have a very high bar to jump over. Finally, while he has been uneven, overall, the general direction of his seasons has been better. In his latest bad season (2004), he gave up a line of .260/.348/.426/.769 which is a far cry from his previous off seasons (2002: .293/.370/.558/.924 and 2000: .291/.392/.476/.864). Farnsworth might have just turned the corner and established a consistent level of performance but it will be an interesting trend to watch.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 29 (Turns 30 in April).
Three-Year History and splits:
| SEASON | G | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | W | L | SV | HD | BlSv | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 77 | 76.1 | 53 | 31 | 28 | 6 | 36 | 92 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 3.30 |
| 2004 | 72 | 67.2 | 67 | 39 | 35 | 10 | 33 | 78 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 4.73 |
| 2005 | 72 | 70.0 | 44 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 27 | 87 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 19 | 2 | 2.19 |
Outlook: It's always a little harder with the new guys since you don't have a Yankee track record to use and you haven't found out whether or not the player can handle the crucible of NY. It doesn't help that Kyle has a reputation as a little bit of a hothead in his career. To date, he hasn't handled pressure all that well (7.36 ERA in 11 innings of postseason work) and he has often lost focus on the mound (as many a Cub fan can attest to). It also doesn't help that Kyle seems to follow a pattern: odd years - good/great seasons, even years - medicocrity. Look at the graphs - it's like a rollercoaster ride! Take that for what you will.
Don't get me wrong though - I liked the signing a lot. Kyle only turns 30 years old in April (a good 7.5 years younger than the man he's replacing) and he strikes people out (9.09 K per 9 for his career), which is always a nice way to get out of a tight spot. He's also working on the mental aspect of his game by putting in some reading time . Hopefully, these practices have helped him grow as a person but I (seflishly, I know) also hope they keep him pitching like he did last year. Improvement in the playoffs would also be a plus but then again, as many people have pointed out, Flash wasn't exactly reliable in the playoffs either so he doesn't have a very high bar to jump over. Finally, while he has been uneven, overall, the general direction of his seasons has been better. In his latest bad season (2004), he gave up a line of .260/.348/.426/.769 which is a far cry from his previous off seasons (2002: .293/.370/.558/.924 and 2000: .291/.392/.476/.864). Farnsworth might have just turned the corner and established a consistent level of performance but it will be an interesting trend to watch.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| G | Innings | W | L | BB | K | HD | SV | BlSv | ERA |
|---|
Kyle wrote:
79 0 83 8 4 30 89 2.88