2009 Projection: Gary Majewski
Age: 29
2008: 40 IP / 1-0 / 6.53 ERA / 15 BB / 27 K / 0 SV / 1 BS / 1.90 WHIP
Summary: It wasn’t a good season for Majewski, who was recovering from arm injuries with his share of problems. He reached 40 innings for the first time since 2006, but he let up 61 hits despite a ground-ball rate of more than 50 percent. He also allowed six home runs in his 40 innings. He walked 3.38 per nine innings and struck out 6.08 per nine. Both lefties and righties hit him equally as well, with lefties having more trouble slugging the ball (.455 compared to righties at .608).
Career Level: Prime (Year 1)
Green Flags: Majewski is supposedly totally healthy now. … He remains a average strikeout pitcher, and his 6.08 per nine rate in 2008 was his best professional rate. … The 50 percent ground-ball rate is an encouraging sign.
Red Flags: In his breakout 2005 season he threw 76.6 percent of his pitches for fastballs; in 2008 that percentage fell to 67.7 percent, while he threw many more sliders (30.4 to 18.3 in 2005). That indicates he’s lost some velocity on the fastball, making it much more hittable. … The walk rates were very poor in 2008, but they’re usually not great. … He purely got hit around a lot.
Prognostication: One has to think Majewski will improve on his poor 2008, especially if used in a more controlled role with the Phillies. In lower-pressure situations he could flourish, but that remains to be seen. He did look like an OK strikeout pitcher in the spring (along with averages), so expect something better than 2008, but nothing outstanding at all.
2009 Projection: 26.2 IP / 1-1 / 4.72 ERA / 10 BB / 16 K / 0 SV / 1 BS / 1.46 WHIP
