Sample size and adjustment.

You’ve pretty much judged (not just you, most people) Edwar on 21 innings. Not only that, but you have to afford some leniency based on adjusting as well. If any of the big three falters this year, it would not be too surprising; not because they’re of poor quality, but just because a great deal of pitchers struggle for a year or two when they are first brought up. Look at any number of pitchers, like Maddux or Clemens or Randy Johnson.

I’m just a little annoyed that the “common” scouting report has been carved in stone for Edwar—that he’s somehow doomed to have poor command forever based on 21 innings, despite him having decent command in the minors. He has the stuff to succeed, he just needs to put it to use.

You see this all the time, and many times, in even more ridiculous proportions. You see the tides instantly turning based on every spring training start. After Mussina has a good start on Thursday, people aren’t so down on him after all. You can be sure the next time he has a bad start, there will be people demanding his DFA. Never mind the fact that Mussina had a spring training ERA of 7+ in 2006 when he was a top fifteen pitcher.

Following the 2007 draft, the Yankees signed Brackman to a guaranteed $4.5 million deal for four years including a $3.55 million signing bonus spread out over six years.[11] The club also holds options over Brackman for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons which could boost the total value of his contract over $13 million (if he meets his bonus requirements).
The Yankees recommended that Brackman see Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to address his lingering elbow concerns. Later in August 2007, he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Brackman is currently at the Yankee spring training camp and is slated to begin the 2008 season on the 60 day disabled list. Despite this setback, Brackman is still considered a “blue-chip prospect”.
On February 1, 2008, Keith Law of ESPN ranked Brackman in the top 100 baseball prospects of 2008,[13][14] and both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus list him as in the Yankees’ top ten prospects.

They are very long. The way I see it is that people are more than welcome not to read them if that’s not what they enjoy.

I try to have sources or reason’s for most things I write and double space between sentences to make them easier to read as I know there’s a lot in them.

That’s quite an unsubstantiated statement. Comparing Edwar to one of the best young pitchers in the game.

Edwar in no way has superb stuff - he has a superb change up. One pitch, unless its Mariano’s cutter - is not stuff. It’s one pitch. The rest of Edwar’s repertoire is mediocre to poor.

Edwar has a great change up - it’s a 70 on the scouting scale. Clearly one of the best in the majors.

And he put up all those video game numbers in AAA.

But at this point he’s a one trick pony with the change - that’ll work in AAA but won’t and hasn’t in the majors.

The issue with Ramirez isn’t his fast ball velocity - which should be adequate given how good his change is - the issue is his fastball command which is very poor. Dave Eiland said this last year the week before Edwar got called up and Eiland had coached him all year in Scranton.

Edwar consistently misses his spots with his fastball and he can’t afford to do that because when he does the ball gets hammered.

In 21 major league innings last year he walked 14 hitters - that is horrendous. I don’t care if Torre didn’t use him for that three week period - even when he came back up late in the year he had very poor control.

The reason his control is so poor in the majors is because big league hitters quickly learned to lay off his change and force Edwar to throw his fastball. He has to be too fine with the fastball and has poor command of it so he walks guys.

Ohlendorf on the other hand, has a fastball. His slider is okay, but inconsistent. His K rate has never really been very good, and now with his sinker pretty much dissipated, he doesn’t have much to go on.

Sample size is important. Both Ohlendorf and Edwar didn’t pitch very many innings in the majors last year to judge one way or another.