Jorge De La Rosa put up some impressive numbers this winter in the Mexican Pacific League. During the regular season, he pitched 9.1 innings in relief—giving up only four hits and no runs. Opponents hit only .133 against him and he struck out 12. His team won the MPL. During the playoffs, De La Rosa pitched 11.2 innings, won two games, and had a 1.54 ERA.In ten starts with Kansas City last year, his numbers didn’t look nearly as good. He was 3–4 with a 5.18 ERA with a 1.66 WHIP. He walked way too many guys (6.53 per nine innings). Frankly, he didn’t even look like he belonged at the major league level last season. But he’s 25 and he’s spent portions of eight seasons at the minor league level. So, if he’s ever going to shine, now would be a good time.
If you’d like to see how some of the other Royals performed in the winter leagues, here’s a link to an article on the Royals website that will fill you in.
2 comments:
Looking at the numbers De La Rosa has posted from the pen over the winter, perhaps the Royals should be looking at using him there, rather than as a starter.
You won't get any arguments from me about that. De La Rosa has good stuff, but I don't think he's developed it well enough to get guys out several times through the order. Putting him in the pen would give him the chance to develop while maybe even giving him a chance to succeed right away.
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