Edinson Volquez vs Josh Hamilton

[kepdawg]

Volquez struck out 10 in a win over the Cubs today.

Volquez is now 5-1 with a 1.06 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 7 starts.

Hamilton is batting .299 with 7 home runs and 36 runs batted in for the Rangers.

[crzyjournalist03]

Five years from now, neither team is going to wish that they could take the trade back.

[g$$]

Sounds like win-win for both teams.

Who else was involved in that trade between Reds & Rangers?

[eagles_victory]

How often do you see a trade of two players when neither is really established yet and then one leads the NL in ERA and the other leads the majors in RBI's? It was a great deal for both teams because I dont think either guy achieves this level of success if the trade isnt made. As a Rangers fan Im very happy to have Hamilton a guy who is looking like a front line power hitter for years to come.

[g$$]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
How often do you see a trade of two players when neither is really established yet and then one leads the NL in ERA and the other leads the majors in RBI's? It was a great deal for both teams because I dont think either guy achieves this level of success if the trade isnt made. As a Rangers fan Im very happy to have Hamilton a guy who is looking like a front line power hitter for years to come.

Agreed, but let's not give either guy the ERA or RBI crown in early May. LONG way to go, but good story. And, I think both guys will continue to do well too. Volquez can be nasty & Hamilton is a 5-tool guy.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

If edinson Volquez was with the Rangers still, he would have been 0-5 with 8 ERA. How many times a struggling Ranger pitcher leave or gets traded and turns the corner with the other team.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by g$$
Agreed, but let's not give either guy the ERA or RBI crown in early May. LONG way to go, but good story. And, I think both guys will continue to do well too. Volquez can be nasty & Hamilton is a 5-tool guy. Oh Im not giving it to them yet I honestly dont see Volquez winning the ERA crown in the National League. I mean he still doesnt have a whole lot of innings under his belt so one bad outing can make it go up pretty good.

His strikeout numbers have been pretty impressive as well from what I have saw just by glancing at his numbers in a few of his starts. That just shows he has been dominating. However, it will be interesting to see how he pitches against teams when he faces them for the second time and they have a better idea of what he is going to be throwing. Today when he played the Cubs was the second time around though and it didnt help them much.

People might say typical Rangers they never have any pitching and when they get a good one they trade him away. But, the Rangers offense without Hamilton would be plain bad this year. They only have 5 other guys in double digit RBI's 34 games into the season and only 1 over 20 with David Murphy having 21. You take Hamilton off this team and you are losing rougly one-fourth of your runs batted in.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Five years from now, neither team is going to wish that they could take the trade back.

Exactly. This is what a trade is supposed to be like--both teams get what they want; both teams extremely happy with their deal as time goes on.

[g$$]

Originally posted by g$$
[B Who else was involved in that trade between Reds & Rangers? [/B]

Anybody know?

[kepdawg]

Originally posted by g$$
Anybody know?

Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez and Daniel Herrera

[SintonFan_inAustin]

Barajas?

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by SintonFan_inAustin
Barajas?

Barajas left as a free agent prior to last year

[Adidas410s]

You can't blame the Rangers for trading away Volquez. Here are his career stats with the Rangers:

20 games (17 starts)
3-11 record
80 IP
7.20 ERA
1.91 WHIP
55 K's
42 BB's
.317 BAA

Not exactly the stats of a pitcher that I'd want to keep on my squad. You can't fault JD for trading him away. They'd given him 3 years to excel in the majors and he never did. When he went back to Frisco or OKC then he pitched like we're seeing him pitch with the Reds.

[g$$]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
You can't blame the Rangers for trading away Volquez. Here are his career stats with the Rangers:

20 games (17 starts)
3-11 record
80 IP
7.20 ERA
1.91 WHIP
55 K's
42 BB's
.317 BAA

Not exactly the stats of a pitcher that I'd want to keep on my squad. You can't fault JD for trading him away. They'd given him 3 years to excel in the majors and he never did. When he went back to Frisco or OKC then he pitched like we're seeing him pitch with the Reds.

So why? Change of scenery, coaching, finally clicked, what? NL is MLB just like AL w/o DH.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by g$$
So why? Change of scenery, coaching, finally clicked, what? NL is MLB just like AL w/o DH.

He actually figured it out last year after being sent down all the way to class A to rework his mechanics. The Rangers fully intended on having Volquez in their rotation this year, but when they didn't land either of the CFs on the free agent market that they were interested in and the Reds were looking to make a deal, the Rangers decided it was worth it considering that although Volquez had pitched well the last month and a half of the season, he didn't have a strong enough track record to be untouchable...rumors are out there that the Reds actually wanted Eric Hurley, but the Rangers felt Hurley had a far higher ceiling than Volquez, so that was the team's compromise.

[Texasfootball2]

For pitchers I think you have to wait until Volquez starts back through the league for the second time. Pitchers often have early success when switching leagues and then once teams have a book on Volquez it's much harder to maintain the same type of success.

For a power hitter like Hamilton it's similiar but not to the same extent. Hamilton is not your usual power hitter. He will use the whole field and doesn't just try a pull the ball all the time. He has a great approach to batting and has as much power as anybody in baseball. I too think that both teams are going to be happy with this trade. I think Hamilton has a better chance of having consistant great numbers than Volquez over the next three or four years.

The last two weeks have been very enjoyable for Ranger fans. They continue to get good starting pitching and have cut down on the defensive errors and mental mistakes. I really like the young players they have plug into the lineup like Boggs, Duran, and Salty. I know they historically disappoint their fans but for know this team looks like a team that can actually play some consistant baseball for a while as long as the starting pitch holds up. Their schedule for the next couple of weeks isn't that bad either and if they continue to play well they could be above .500 by June 1. That would be heaven for Ranger fans.

[g$$]

Originally posted by Texasfootball2
For pitchers I think you have to wait until Volquez starts back through the league for the second time. Pitchers often have early success when switching leagues and then once teams have a book on Volquez it's much harder to maintain the same type of success.

For a power hitter like Hamilton it's similiar but not to the same extent. Hamilton is not your usual power hitter. He will use the whole field and doesn't just try a pull the ball all the time. He has a great approach to batting and has as much power as anybody in baseball. I too think that both teams are going to be happy with this trade. I think Hamilton has a better chance of having consistant great numbers than Volquez over the next three or four years.

The last two weeks have been very enjoyable for Ranger fans. They continue to get good starting pitching and have cut down on the defensive errors and mental mistakes. I really like the young players they have plug into the lineup like Boggs, Duran, and Salty. I know they historically disappoint their fans but for know this team looks like a team that can actually play some consistant baseball for a while as long as the starting pitch holds up. Their schedule for the next couple of weeks isn't that bad either and if they continue to play well they could be above .500 by June 1. That would be heaven for Ranger fans.

Agreed, the ability to make adjustments after the league has seen you always tells the tale, for pitchers & hitters. Constant battle daily because they will find your weaknesses & zero in on any patterns. Advance scouts & individual reports from each team form the "book" on a player. Hunter Pence is going thru this right now, struggling to lay off breaking ball (mainly slider) off plate away.

Rangers are looking better, as are Astros. Both have holes & it's gonna take time.