Ryan Tucker Called Up, Named Sunday's Starter

[Junior]

The Marlins have called up Ryan Tucker from Double A Carolina. The starting pitcher is scheduled to make his major league debut opposite Harang in Sunday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

The move comes after Sunday’s original scheduled starter, Burke Badenhop, was called on to pitch 1 1/3 innings of relief in Saturday’s 8-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Tucker was the 34th overall pick of the 2005 Draft. The 6’2’’ right-hander is rated the third best pitching prospect in the Marlins organization by Baseball America. His repertoire includes a low to mid 90s fastball, a developing slider and a below average change-up.

In 12 starts in Carolina, Tucker is 4-2 with a 1.41 ERA and an impressive 1.09 WHIP. In 70 innings of work he has posted 62 strikeouts against 27 walks.

Catcher Paul Hoover was designated for assignment in order to make room on the 25-Man Roster.

-Teal and Black


There ya go.

[Ralph]

<-----Excited

[Ramp]

Hoover optioned

now if some team would only sign Hoover, this would be the perfect move

[!NICK!]

Good to see Burke didn't get sent down.

[Sashimi]

Originally Posted by !NICK! Good to see Burke didn't get sent down.

Burke is one of the least of our problems right now. He's done a good job out of the pen so far. He's got good enough stuff; it's a matter of commanding it sufficiently.

Man, I'm excited about the Tucker start, too! It will be interesting to see what kind of poise he shows. The key for him will be to maintain the much improved control he has shown this year in all but a couple starts.

[Bucklin12]

Yeah, I don't think there's anyway to predict how Tuck will perform tomorrow. He could go 7 IP allowing 0 R, striking out 10 and I would not be surprised. He could also go 2.2 IP with 5 BB and 6 ER and I would not be surprised.

[Hugg]

It was at a Denny's in April 2005 when Volquez and his agents went out to eat with a high school pitcher named Ryan Tucker. Sitting in the booth, Volquez demonstrated to Tucker how he grips his changeup. Tucker, who two months later was picked 35th overall in the draft by the Marlins, started using the same grip and is now among the Double-A Southern League leaders with a 0.97 ERA.

ESPN - Volquez earning 'Little Pedro' nickname on the mound - MLB

Heh

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by Hugg ESPN - Volquez earning 'Little Pedro' nickname on the mound - MLB Heh

Awsome!

[wanks1212]

This is one of the few times I'm glad I work from home.

Watching Ryan Tucker's debut while performing my employment obligations? Fuck and yes.

That said, his command issues still worry me.

[Nny]

looking foward to it but unfortunately I don't have high expectations.

His H/9 is absurdley low considering his K/9 and he also has been lucky in regards to HRs, and his BB/9 isn't exactly impressive. Considering he only has on plus pitch, and it's a fastball, ...

but don't worry baby pie you can do it

[BeefWillingham]

I was listening to Mike Hill talk on 790 yesterday and when he was asked about when we might see Tucker, he said.... sooner than you might think. I THINK THIS IS WHAT HE MEANT!

Oh, and Tucker's profile picture is the best Ive ever seen.

[Sashimi]

Originally Posted by Nny looking foward to it but unfortunately I don't have high expectations. His H/9 is absurdley low considering his K/9 and he also has been lucky in regards to HRs, and his BB/9 isn't exactly impressive. Considering he only has on plus pitch, and it's a fastball, ... but don't worry baby pie you can do it

I haven't seen him pitch, but given the incredible improvement he has shown as far as his numbers go, I have to imagine that he has significantly improved at least one of his secondary pitches. I would also hope that the reason Tucker was tabbed today was that the FO feels good enough about his stuff that they feel he has a chance of succeeding at this level right now.

[Sashimi]

Baseball Prospectus had this to say about Tucker prior to today's start.

Prospectus: Today's slate of games involves a lot rookie starters, including Tucker's major league debut in Miami. Though not considered one of the top prospects in the game thanks to a sub-par outing at High-A in 2007, Tucker was rated as the seventh-best prospect in the Marlins organization by Kevin Goldstein. Before the season started, his 97-98 mph fastball was his sole worthwhile offering, with his secondary stuff a step behind it. As Goldstein noted, this year figured to be a big challenge for Tucker, as it would determine whether he had a career in the bullpen ahead of him, or if he would be allowed to remain a starter after developing some solid off-speed offerings. Thanks to a brilliant first two months at Double-A, where he raised his strikeout rate by a full K per nine, dropped his already minuscule home run rate further, and allowed 21 fewer hits than innings pitched, Tucker's skipped Triple-A to come straight to the majors. Tucker is just 21 years old, so between that and his uninspiring performance at High-A, PECOTA was not too optimistic of his chances in the majors in 2008. His weighted mean forecast of 140 1/3 innings with a 6.04 ERA are far from what the Fish are looking for out of him; his 90th percentile forecast (4.55 ERA, 148 1/3 IP) would be a step in the right direction, but even that projection forecasts his striking out just five batters per nine. If he can adjust to the majors quick enough to keep punching hitters out at a respectable rate, you can expect him to perform more adequately than PECOTA suggested. That's not a given though, considering his relatively recent struggles in the lower minors and the fact that he has just 70 innings in the high minors, with none of those coming at Triple-A.

And The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Homepage described Tucker's repertoire as follows:

Tucker, who features a low- to mid-90s fastball, a sharp curveball and a developing changeup.

Didn't get to see much of that sharp curve today apparently.