Exit Interview 2017: Marco Gonzales

For the sixth straight year, we’re taking a look back at everyone that played for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.  Whether they were a major contributor or a bit player, here all year or for just a little while, we’ll look at their season and talk about what went right and what went wrong.  The stat line listed is just their time in St. Louis, though splits and other numbers in the discussion may be for the entire year.  Imagine this as them stopping by Mike Matheny‘s office for a little review on their way home for the winter.  As always when you see incredible artistry in the blogs, all credit for the header work goes to @cardinalsgifs.

Player: Marco Gonzales

Season stats: 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 1 game, 3.1 IP, 6 H, 2 K, 1.800 WHIP, 13.66 FIP, -0.2 bWAR

Hero/Goat: None

Overall grade: C+

Positives: Returned to the majors after Tommy John surgery….had six wins and a 2.90 ERA at Memphis….had a 3.35 K/BB ratio at AAA….limited lefties to a .159 average in Memphis….AAA batters hit .186 with runners in scoring position….had a 2.33 ERA at AutoZone Park.

Negatives: Allowed three home runs in his one start for the Cards against the Brewers….five of the six hits in that start went for extra bases….had a 4.50 ERA in two post-All Star starts for Memphis.

Overview: Given Tyler O’Neill‘s reputation as a slugging outfielder, the best thing Gonzales might have done this season was to be traded.  Gonzales seemed to have recovered well from his surgery but didn’t show much in the one start he got.  After moving on to Seattle, he made a couple of minor league starts before getting the call to help out the Mariners down the stretch.  He made 10 appearances (seven starts) and had a 5.40 ERA over that span, showing that he still has work to do.  (O’Neill hit .253 with 12 homers after the deal for the Redbirds.)

Outlook: Gonzales got passed up in the ranks in St. Louis due to the strong, power arms that were coming up through the system.  He’s had some success in the big leagues and can again, but he’s going to have to refine his finesse stuff and be effective with his changeup.  Whether he can do that in the American League is an open question, though you’d think that Safeco would be a great place for him to start figuring it out.

Next Post:

Previous Post:

Please share, follow, or like us :)

Subscribe to The Conclave via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 16.3K other subscribers

Archives