 Losing 2 out of 3 to Baltimore… (vomiting uncontrollably). Ok, time to rebound against the defending American League Champs, The Tampa Bay Rays (35-33). Tonight, our boys we’ll be going up against (RHP) Andy Sonnastine (5-6 6.65 ERA). Here’s the skinny on Sonnanstine…
Full Name: Â Andrew Sonnanstine
Born:  March 18,1983  in Barberton, Ohio
Height:  6-3  Weight:  185  Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right
High School: Â Wadsworth (Wadsworth, Ohio)Â Â “Grizzlies”
College: Â Kent State University
Drafted: Â Selected by Tampa Bay Rays in 13th Round (375th overall) of 2004 amateur entry draft (June-Reg)
Per MLB.com,
“Sonnanstine did a nice job staying in command against the Nationals on Saturday, not letting some early mishaps get him too rattled. He pitched into the eighth inning for just the second time this season, and actually retired 15 batters in a row between the third and seventh innings. He’s still struggling with the long ball and he hasn’t had back-to-back strong starts since early May. He’ll try to break that streak against the Mets.”
His last 3 outtings –
(Tue. Jun 9, 2009) At Yankee Stadium, Sonnanstine gave up four dingers for the first time in the majors and dropped to 1-6 away from Tampa. The Rays lost 5-3.
(Wed. Jun 3, 2009) Sonnanstine pitched 6 2-3 innings and allowed 2 runs against the KC Royals. The Rays won 6-2.
(Thu. May 28, 2009) Sonnanstine stunk it up against the Indians, allowing eight runs in three innings. The Rays lost 12-7.
From Wikipedia,
“On May 17, 2009, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, Sonnanstine was included in the starting lineup due to a mistake when Rays manager Joe Maddon entered the wrong lineup card, which had both Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist playing third base, omitting the DH spot. The last time a pitcher was in the initial batting order in a game between two AL teams was September 23, 1976, when the White Sox batted Ken Brett eighth against the Twins. Sonnanstine went 1 for 3 with an RBI double and ended up winning the game despite the lineup error and giving up five runs.”
According to fangraphs (2009), Sonnanstine utilizes 5 pitches -Â
Cutter/41.4%/88.4 MPH
Curveball/22.0%/75.6 MPH
Slider/20.7%/80.5 MPH
Fastball/11.6%/86.8 MPH
Changeup/3.3%/82.1 MPH
Courtesy of thebaseballcube,
| Scouting Report | |
| Control: | 100 |
| K-Rating: | 72 |
| Efficiency: | 98 |
 Control: Walks compared to batters faced.
k-Rating: Strikeouts compared to batters faced.
Efficiency:Similar to WHIP, a higher rating for pitchers allowing less baserunners per inning pitched.
“The ratings are based on formulas that sum a player’s entire career based on available statistics in our database, including minor league and college data. These scouting scores are to be used as indicatorsof a player’s strength. A career minor leaguer might have a speed rating of 100 though this does not insinuate that he is a better runner than a major leaguer with a speed rating of 90. Though it does indicate that a player was an excellent base-stealer in the minors, we do not know how he would have fared in the majors.”
Awards – thebaseballcube
2004 – Mid-American Conference All-Star SP
2006 – Southern League All-Star RHP
Salary – thebaseballcube
| Year | Salary |  Rank  | Lg Avg |   Centile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | *395,800 | Â Â | Â | Â | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Â | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career: | Â Â $395,800 | Â Â estimate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 comments
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/19/2009-2:21pm at 2:21 pm (UTC -4)
LET’S GO METS!!! LGM LGM LGM LGM LGM!!
QnsNative718
6/19/2009-2:24pm at 2:24 pm (UTC -4)
Love your optimism DND. On paper, we should be able to hit this guy up. Well… I said that yesterday too. Give me faith, boys!
There's Always '09
6/19/2009-2:43pm at 2:43 pm (UTC -4)
This guy pitches to a 6.65 ERA in the AL Beast. He’ll be an All Star tonight.
QnsNative718
6/19/2009-2:54pm at 2:54 pm (UTC -4)
lol, good point. Had a pretty good 2008, hoping to prove he’s not a fluke. He’ll try to prove that tonight.
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/19/2009-3:12pm at 3:12 pm (UTC -4)
Mets will crush him!! But then Rays might crush Nieve too.
QnsNative718
6/19/2009-3:20pm at 3:20 pm (UTC -4)
Nieve’s first outing, I dont buy. Tonight, we’ll see if he’s legit after the Rays studied up on him a little.
There's Always '09
6/19/2009-3:12pm at 3:12 pm (UTC -4)
Exactly the kind of SP we should try to trade for. He had a good year. Won’t cost much right now. Will benefit greatly from going to the offensive-heavy AL East to a pitcher’s haven.
QnsNative718
6/19/2009-3:22pm at 3:22 pm (UTC -4)
I agree with that, but with that said, you know what our primary needs are. Plus, the Rays are far from sellers. They have a lot of confidence especially after last yr. We’ll see by the time the deadline comes in late July.