Jose Ceda

[Scartissue]

The Cubs knew this year was going to be a push at best for Ceda but the organization feels they have enough relief arms coming up that they can wait and develop the young Ceda into a starting pitcher. Ceda is slowly building up arm strength while developing a constant delivery motion from the windup. On top of that Jose is putting some serious effort into establishing and developing his changeup which is in it's infantile stage yet shows great contrast to his high octane fastball. With Ceda's age the club feels they can take their time and turn him into a workhorse in the rotation, a lot of it will depend on Ceda's work ethic and time in the gym something he has not done in the past.

Very interesting. Thanks Bob.

[Bob Sacamento]

This year, Cubs are trying Ceda out as a starter. In 10 starts, he's had a feast or famine kind of season--he's either very good or very bad. 6 of his outings were very good (lasting 5.3 innings on average), his ERA is 1.97, with a WHIP of .91 in those outings. In 4 of his very bad outings (lasting an average of 2.5 innings), his ERA is 13.50 with a WHIP of 3.00. Interestingly, his strikeout rate is slightly higher in his bad outings (1 per inning) than his good outings (.78 per inning). What really stands out though is his control issues. In his bad outings, he's walking 1.4 batters per inning, versus .38 per inning in his good outings.

Bob--Do you know what's Ceda working on down there in terms of new pitches. When his results are this erratic, I wonder if he's going through some sort of change in his game.

The Cubs knew this year was going to be a push at best for Ceda but the organization feels they have enough relief arms coming up that they can wait and develop the young Ceda into a starting pitcher. Ceda is slowly building up arm strength while developing a constant delivery motion from the windup. On top of that Jose is putting some serious effort into establishing and developing his changeup which is in it's infantile stage yet shows great contrast to his high octane fastball. With Ceda's age the club feels they can take their time and turn him into a workhorse in the rotation, a lot of it will depend on Ceda's work ethic and time in the gym something he has not done in the past.

[Ubiquitous]

Well, when you face more batters you are likely to strike someone out, plus when you only pitch 2 innings or so it is much easier to have a nicer ratio.

[Scartissue]

This year, Cubs are trying Ceda out as a starter. In 10 starts, he's had a feast or famine kind of season--he's either very good or very bad. 6 of his outings were very good (lasting 5.3 innings on average), his ERA is 1.97, with a WHIP of .91 in those outings. In 4 of his very bad outings (lasting an average of 2.5 innings), his ERA is 13.50 with a WHIP of 3.00. Interestingly, his strikeout rate is slightly higher in his bad outings (1 per inning) than his good outings (.78 per inning). What really stands out though is his control issues. In his bad outings, he's walking 1.4 batters per inning, versus .38 per inning in his good outings.

Bob--Do you know what's Ceda working on down there in terms of new pitches. When his results are this erratic, I wonder if he's going through some sort of change in his game.