40 Man Roster Review: Scott Feldman

Prior to the 2014 season, Scott Feldman signed a 3 year, $30 million contract with the Houston Astros. I recall that, at the time of the signing, I was disappointed. Injuries cost him much of the 2015 season. Overall, in two seasons with the club, Feldman has worked to a 13-17 record including a respected 3.80 earned run average.

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Entering the 2016 season, Feldman might be the odd man out of a rotation that includes Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers, and Doug Fister.

Overall, Feldman is an 11-year MLB veteran. He has compiled a 4.42 career ERA in just under 1200 innings (1198.0).

The majority of his work came from his time with the Texas Rangers. I am optimistic that Feldman learned how to pitch in the major leagues after struggling to find himself at the end of the 2000's. In 8 years with the Rangers, Feldman posted a 4.81 ERA in 727 2/3 innings pitched.

In the time spent outside of Rangers employment, Scott has yielded much better results. Only in 90 2/3 innings in the American League East has Feldman posted an ERA north of 4 since the 2012 season. Without much analysis, I reject the argument that 2013-present is a small sample size, as 470 1/3 innings is nearly 40% of his time in the major leagues.

For the most part, Feldman has a three pitch offering. Brooks Baseball credits his brief 2015 work including an upper 80s cut-fastball and sinker with a typical 75 mph curve ball.

Feldman's ability to stick in the rotation depends on his ability to keep the ball on the ground as well as in the ballpark. During his tenure with the Rangers, he was consistently in the 50-60% range for ground balls. While that figure dipped for a few years, there is evidence to suggest he can recover a 50% mark. Between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, albeit a 72 inning discrepancy, Feldman increased his ground ball rate by 2%.

Feldman is a respected MLB veteran. While the Astros certainly have a youth movement in progress, I believe that retaining Feldman and his $8 million 2016 contract is a key to winning a World Series this October.

40 Man Roster Review: Introduction, Kevin Chapman

I intend on publishing a player profile nearly every day for the next 47 days. That is, on February 16, there are 47 days until the Astros embark on their 2016 season. A 12:05 first pitch is scheduled in New York against the Yankees.

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First up is relief pitcher Kevin Chapman. Born and raised in Florida, he has played all of his pre-professional baseball in his home state. He was drafted twice prior to the Kansas City Royals drafting and signing him as a 4th round selection of the 2010 Amateur Draft. 

The Astros acquired him in a swap of insurance policies. Humberto Quintero and Jason Bourgeois went to the Royals, while the Astros received D'Andre Toney (appears to be retired) and Chapman.

Chapman has little work in the major leagues and is certain to begin the season with the Fresno Grizzlies. He is definitely a nice insurance policy for the Astros, as he has posted a 3.24 ERA albeit only 47 innings at the MLB level. 

The bulk of his work in the minor leagues suggests that he is limited to relief work in the major leagues. Chapman holds a career 3.59 ERA in a body of 285 2/3 innings pitched across 6 seasons. 

Kevin is a left-handed pitcher who works with a three-pitch mix, offering just a slider, sinker, and change up. These offerings have little variance with his sinker topping out at 93 while his change up sits around 85 miles per hour. 

Entering the 2016 season, Chapman owns 128 days of service time.

Anthony Simonsen Crowned at USBC Masters 2016

Thirty-seven years a record stood for one of bowling's most prized tournaments. In 1979, at age 19 and 83 days, Mike Aulby won the Masters Tournament.

The United States Bowling Congress Masters, or USBC Masters for short, is one of four major events on the Professional Bowling Association's tour.

On Sunday, February 14, 2016, Anthony Simonsen took the prize at age 19 and 39 days. Simonsen, who defeated amateur Dan MacLleand 245-207 in the title match, received a $50,000 check for his winning week.

Simonsen is no stranger to the spotlight. In October 2015, he and Connor Pickford lead qualifying in the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship. They would go on to win the event and split a $22,000 check.

The USBC Masters has 15 games of qualifying, separated into three blocks of 5 games apiece. Two of their qualifying sets are on a fresh pattern, while one block is contested on the "burn." After qualifying, the top 63 + the defending champion are seeded into a 64-man bracket.

Simonsen qualified fifth overall with a 223.71 average (3341 total pinfall), and cruised through the winners bracket, going 6-0.