He has BP on 5/15 and is expected to be pitching with the Orioles possibly by the beginning of June. He has a minor league rehab stint scheduled for late May.
We will see how he pitches when he is called up by the Orioles. He will be strictly a rental, and the Astros will only have interest if he is pitching well.
Trust Giles less than last year. He's pitching differently than he has previously. A string of a few games without giving up a run doesn't impress me much when peripherals suggest he's getting lucky on contact. I do like that he's walking less guys. Astros keep throwing him out there is the most encouraging thing about Giles. If he can get Ks back and continue to limit walks, he would be a very good reliever.
K rate rising since early season? I agree either they’re trying to change him or he’s not fully healthy... and would favor the former.
Slight uptick. The above graph shows his K rate and fastball usage with rolling 15-game averages. As can be seen, his K rate typically drops when he is throwing his fastball more (Games 65, 111, 134, 247). I suspect he throws his fastball more when he is has trouble with his slider. I would add his mechanics, grip could be off slightly as a reason for the change. Edit: Looks like he typically starts off slow, turns it on in midseason, has a glorious August, and then craters at the end of the year.
A shot at what? Giles has been fine in save situations, should have never been out there to start the 9th
Pretty sure its common practice in Major League Baseball to give a closer some burn in a non-save situation when they haven't played in a while.
When the performance has consistently been subpar in those situations over the last 3 years, they should rethink this practice.
I think you could get Britton dirt cheap. Grab Harrera for A.J.Reed and a low level and still make a run at Brad Hand.sure you gotta send guys down . But you can also add Ken Giles as a piece to be moved and Tony Sipp and just have to make the one call of who to send down. Not saying it'll happen just saying you can see what happens when a Bull Pen falls on there face
Yes at this point Giles is not to come into a tie game. Giles is not to come into a game where the Astros have a big lead. Giles is not to pitch back to back games. Giles is not to pitch more than an inning. Giles is not to come into a inning unless it is the start of an inning. Giles is not to pitch in a playoff game. At this point it is sad, but obviously true that Giles is to pitch only the 9th when the Astros have a narrow lead and not on back to back games. It really isn’t debatable. Hinch uses him under these parameters or risk crooked numbers and soul sucking loses. We can b**** about it but it doesn’t change it. Accept Giles limitations, maximize him and get another back of the pen arm to cover up all his flaws so we hopefully don’t pay the price in October.