Email a copy of 'Free Agent Faceoff: Yovani Gallardo vs. Ian Kennedy' to a friend
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By Jeff Todd | at
Email a copy of 'Free Agent Faceoff: Yovani Gallardo vs. Ian Kennedy' to a friend
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Brixton
Not to be disrespectful, but I don’t even see how its close. I’d take Gallardo in a heart beat.
Kennedy was mediocre in the biggest pitchers park in baseball, while Gallardo was successful in a pennant race in a hitters friendly AL park.
SFgiantsUK
Agreed Gallardo by miles
beauvandertulip
You want Gallardo until you watch him pitch every 5 days, it was the most stressful pitcher to watch in my life. He doesn’t throw strikes. I mean he literally doesn’t throw them. It’s a tragedy on the mound.
No Soup For Yu!
THIS. In my time as a Rangers fan, I have never seen a more consistently frustrating pitcher. Sure every pitcher has a day where they can’t throw strikes, but that day was every day for Gallardo. Over his last 17 starts, he never once pitched past the 6th inning. Watching him pitch made me want to pull my hair out.
seamaholic 2
Strongly disagree. Kennedy is the better pitcher and Gallardo is trending very much the wrong way.
1738hotlinebling
The White Sox should sign both
Phillies2017
Ian Kennedy has never impressed me. Since day one of this offseason, I have thought that if anyone takes a pillow contract, it’s him. Gallardo’s at least a true #2-#3 whereas I’d consider Kennedy a #3-#4
start_wearing_purple
Interesting thing to me is Gallardo’s strikeout numbers are dropping while all his other numbers are staying about even. So the guy is adapting to not being a pure power pitcher. In my opinion that speaks to his potential longevity.
Sky14
His K/9 has dropped each the of the last 4 years but his H/9 has risen each of the past four years. Gallardo is ticking time bomb.
seamaholic 2
This. And he’s a bullpen-burner in the worst way. Kennedy just needs to get his HR rate under control and he’s a rock solid #3, even in a good rotation.
YourDaddy
Not much of a contest. Kennedy has been below average the past 5 seasons. Gallardo has been above average every season other than 2012. Last season Kennedy has put up an ERA 0.82 higher than Gallardo and a FIP a half point higher. This is a no-brainer. .
seamaholic 2
It is a no-brainer, but in the opposite direction. Not very many people have seen Kennedy pitch because it’s been in AZ and SD, whereas Gallardo pitched last year in Texas. Dive an inch below the surface and you see a declining guy (Gallardo) hanging on by his fingernails with stuff that produces a lot of contact, versus a guy whose K/BB numbers and velocity have all ticked UP, and only needs a little more luck with fly balls.
hiflyer000
Kennedy’s fastball velocity has gone up, but his fastball has lost a lot of movement and his secondary pitches have gotten drastically worse. He’s a declining #4 right now who will probably end up in the pen in 2 years, if not sooner.
MUCHRIS64
I pretty much will always take the higher strikeout pitcher when comparing different pitchers because sometimes you just need a strikeout. So I’ll go with Kennedy. Also, even though he played in a pitcher’s park, the San Diego defense was atrocious. Put him here in KC with superior defense and I think he flourishes
bravesfan88
I’m not a huge fan of Kennedy, but you have to take into consideration San Diego’s defense, because they did not help him whatsoever. Although, even with that being said, there is no defense for giving up a Home Run…
I’d prefer Gollardo, but I definitely think Kennedy could successfully rebuild his value on a team with a good defense. Heck, even a decent defense would have improved his stats. I mean let’s face it, the Padres defense last year, to put it nicely, was simply putrid.
I’m not sure how metrics graded out San Diego’s defense, but after watching them, from my perspective, it was clear they were by far the worst collectively fielded defense in all of Major League baseball…
hiflyer000
I looked at a few different sources and they seem to be ranked a tad below average, but not terrible by any means., In fact Texas rated far worse defensively in every ranking I found.
brandonmarin
Love to see yovani some how fall to AZ. I know it’s not the largest sample size, but he has a low 2 ERA in 7 starts at chase stadium. Ground ball pitcher with a solid defense behind me could create a great situation for gallardo to thrive.
James7430
You’re right. Small sample size. Also, you have to consider the fact he was pitching against Arizona, which isn’t indicative of future successes against anyone else. Arizona had a good offense last year, but they had some futility before that you have to take into account. Either way I still agree with you he’d be a nice fit there IMO.
pro4pro32goathletics
I’d take Kennedy. Gallardo has never actually been that good, his whip always is high, in 2015 it was 1.42. I know Kennedy has pitched in a more pitcher friendly stadium, but it didn’t have a giant influence, his best years were with Arizona, a hitter friendly park. And his best years were way better than Gallardo’s best years, he has proved more. They are both good a good addition to the rotation and good innings eaters, but I’d rather have Kennedy. Maybe if Gallardo goes to a team with a pitching friendly stadium and a good pitching coach he will do better, but others had success in Texas or Milwaukee, so I wouldn’t expect a big change.
R.D.
Kennedy is definitely the more talented of the two, at this point in their careers. I think a good pitching coach could really hone his skills. His 1.7 HR/9 is considerably higher than his 1.1 career mark and terrible defense behind him couldn’t have helped either.
Still, I’d probably take Kennedy unless I was a team with a bandbox home stadium.
Gallardo could be a solid fit in Colorado or Baltimore actually but I avoid pitchers with high h./9 rates as a rule.
seamaholic 2
Interestingly, Kennedy has been one of the best visiting pitchers in Coors Field history. Better than Kershaw and Bumgarner and a bunch of others. He oddly seems to pitch better in hitter friendly parks.
FrozenRopes
Gallardo. Better numbers in a hitters ball park.
Skeels
They are both solid middle rotation starters if healthy ofcourse.
pullhitter445
If the white sox were serious about contending this year and next, they would not only sign gallardo but cespedes as well. Necessary outfield upgrade check, righty upgrade to starting staff check. Of course if Danks and largo he were off the books i think cespedes would be a white sox already. Just another glass half full white sox season. Just sell the team already Jerry. This half a** approach by Williams and Hahn is brutal. Thanks for the 05 World Series I’ll never forget that feeling of joy. However we are rarely a threat to make the playoffs in a winnable division year after year.
pullhitter445
Laroche*** not largo, damn iPhone autocorrect
wil1447
Largo sounds better than laroche anyways. It reminds me just how terrible he was last year
bk awesome
Galliard of course
PhilliesFan012
I honestly think Chen is very over rated I mean don’t get me wrong he has put up solid numbers the past two years but he’s not very over powering and gives up a good amount of home runs, I don’t think he should cost 100m, IMO he’s a 55-65m Type player. He eats innings but also gives up a ton of hits I just think gallardos a better choice
PhilliesFan012
And as for Kennedy, I think he would be best for Pittsburgh, they could turn him into a really solid starter because that’s just what Pittsburgh pitching coaches do, if they can take Vance worely or Edinson Volquez and turn them around (even if Worley wa a only half a year) imagine what they could do with Kennedy
misterb71
So what happens to Kennedy’s numbers if he leaves a pitcher’s park in Petco where he gave up the worth HR/9 ratio in the game last year? Heaven forbid this guy finds himself in the AL or east of the Mississippi for half his games. That could get real ugly real fast.
No Soup For Yu!
A lot of those homeruns came during the first half. He had a 2.1 HR/9 in the first half vs. a 1.2 HR/9 in the second half. While 1.2 HR/9 isn’t good, it’s in line with his career norms. Plus, he pitched in Arizona for most of his career too, so he’s had success in hitter friendly ballparks.
seamaholic 2
He’s actually pitched better in HR-friendly parks. He’s one of the best visiting pitchers in Coors Field history, and his best seasons were with Arizona.
HibbardsHustler
Jays should sign both
DoolittleDoolate
C. None of the above.
seamaholic 2
There isn’t a team in baseball other than the Mets and maybe the Indians who wouldn’t be a better team after signing Ian Kennedy.
No Soup For Yu!
As a Rangers fan, Gallardo was absolutely frustrating to watch during the second half. He’d limp his way through 5-ish innings, get in trouble in the 6th and get pulled. That caused the Rangers to force their bullpen to work harder and leave several of our best relievers unavailable for the next day. He made it to the 6th inning just twice in his last 14 starts, never pitched past it, and had an ERA OF 4.69 and an FIP of 4.63. Not somebody I’d want to pay $50 million over 4 years.
Kennedy on the other hand, greatly improved after the All-Star Break. His second half numbers (84 IP; 3.64 ERA; 1.2 HR/9; 2.8 BB/9; 10.5 K; 3.50 FIP) are a massive improvement over his first half numbers (84.1 IP; 4.91 ERA; 2.1 HR/9; 2.8 BB/9; 8.1 K/9; 5.51 FIP). Poor luck likely to contributed to such an exorbitant HR/9 for Kennedy in the first half, and the sharp increase in strikeouts without sacrificing control is a good sign as well.
Kennedy is my pick.
FOmeOLS
Hate to sidestep the question, but neither is worth giving up a draft pick.
Any team looking at either player would be far better suited to taking a one year flyer on Fister, Latos or Lee.
Here’s hoping Dan Duquette has learned from his stupid Jimenez contract.
PutMeinCoach88
tbh – the Royals were looking to add another arm perhaps to the rotation…I’m wondering why they never went out to sign Gallardo or Kennedy? I mean they have a big ball park for both men to pitch in, AND they can afford a draft pick for both…since they won the world series so who wants the last remaining pick anyhow? lol it just makes sense to me for one of those guys to go to KC should they not reunite with Gordon.
However, that’s only if they sign them for a good deal because neither of them are worth more then 60 million IMO