The 40-man roster move was Shelley Duncan being designated for assignment. … Brian Cashman said Phil Coke has been told to prepare to come to camp to work as a starter.He really loves playing the game and has a lot of fun out there, which made him very easy to root for. Hopefully he catches on somewhere. Good luck Shelley.
I like Phil Coke a lot, but I'm not sure how well his stuff will translate as a starter at the major league level. However, as Peter said on his blog, "At worst, you build up his arm strength."
There's going to be a lot of competition for that fifth starter role, which should make for a very interesting spring.
3 Comments:
Coke was a starter almost all last year until just before being called up. So I don't think it's a question of whether or not he can start, just whether or not he can start well.
That's what I mean.
I know he was a starter in the minors. What I meant to say was as a starter at the major league level.
Yeah I'm with you, Greg. We didn't see a whole lot of Coke to really know his whole bag of tricks, how he'll hold up over 7+ innings, how he'll do the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time through the order, etc.
I liked what I saw from him, most importantly the ability to throw strikes (just two walks in 14.2 innings). To me, that's one of the biggest keys to being a successful pitcher. If you're able to get ahead of hitters, keep your pitch count down, and avoid walks, you can be very successful.
Ultimately I think he ends up in the pen, but I think it's wise to give him a shot at a rotation spot.
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