I am leaning heavily toward CV as a starter...

[And That]

In his brief stint with Milwaukee, he threw a cutter 81.1% of the time. He's sort of a cutter specialist to be sure (sort of like a knuckleball guy or a sinker guy), but saying he has only one pitch is 100% not true. I would guess that if he were a starter at the major league level, his pitch type percentages would gravitate closer to those of Doug Davis'.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

The only problem with comparing DeFelice to Doug Davis is that DiFelice is past his prime already so he has nowhere to go but down. How often does Doug Davis throw his cutter? I seem to remember him using his fastball and curveball quite a bit more than DeFelice does.

[TheCrew07]

Cause Davis is in his prime? I like DiFelice even though he scares me some, because I worry about him getting RHB out.

 

Anyone who's watched Pena pitch knows why the organization is hanging on to him, go watch his inning from the AAA all star game last year. The results stunk because he wasn't locating, but my goodness the velocity and movement on his pitches was impressive.

[brewerguy71]

The problem with Villanueva is that his stuff is not good enough to be a starter. He may be good enough to be an average #5, but why use him in that spot if he is more useful as a long (3 inning) reliever?

 

He doesnt have huge variation between his fastball and changeup and his curve ball is only an average pitch. With that kind of stuff he doesnt even bode well as a set up man.

 

He has historically been hammered the 2nd and 3rd time through the lineup because of his lack of stuff so using him as a starter would not be wise. Its the main reason he isnt a starter anymore. And as far as being an 8th inning guy, he just isnt overpowering enough for me to be in that role.

 

He is the best option on this years team as a long reliever, why not use him in that capacity?

[monty57]

In the last two years, Villanueva has had 7.73 and 7.79 K/9, along with WHIP (as a reliever) of 1.05 in 2008 and 1.36 in 2007. How is the "not overpowering enough?" You can't judge a pithcer simply on the speed of his fastball, especially when it's his second or third best pitch.