Houston +101 over L.A. ANGELS
Andrew Heaney makes his season debut at this level here. Heaney went 0-3 with 5.83 ERA in 29 innings for Miami last season in his first taste of the majors. This promising prospect was rushed to Miami after 100 innings at Double/Triple-A. His groundball % declined with his ascent, and he was victimized by gopheritis in his initial MLB exposure. Command pitcher may need some time, but his skills remain optimistic. Heaney was ranked the Miami Marlins #1 prospect after the 2013 season.
Marlins scouting director Stan Meek, a former player and assistant coach at Oklahoma, has strong ties to the Sooner State and has tapped into those ties in the draft. He hit early with 2002 fourth-rounder Josh Johnson and has gone to the well more frequently of late, missing with 2009 first-rounder Chad James but hitting on catcher J.T. Realmuto (third round, 2010) and Heaney, the ninth overall pick in 2012. Ranked among the best left-handed college starters entering the 2012 draft, Heaney earned the same distinction in the minors heading into the 2014 season. A last-hour sign for $2.6 million, Heaney opened his third pro season in 2014 at Double-A Jacksonville. He made an 83-inning layover at Triple-A New Orleans, where he continued performing well, before the Marlins summoned him. He made his major league debut on June 19 with enormous expectations, but Marlins fans looking for a left-handed complement to ace Jose Fernandez didn't get him in Heaney, who lost each of his first three big league starts. Miami optioned him back to Triple-A, and he didn't start again in the big leagues until Miami's 160th game. Traded twice during the Winter Meetings, Heaney first went from the Marlins to Dodgers as part of the package for Dan Haren and Dee Gordon, then he moved from the Dodgers to Angels in a straight-up swap for Howie Kendrick. At his best, Heaney's fastball sits in the low 90s and he complements it with a plus slider in the low 80s and a plus changeup with armside sink. He tired in the second half of what was actually his first full season, as a lat strain in 2013 limited him to 95 innings that season. When he tired, he lost some arm speed and didn't maintain his release point, causing his stuff to flatten out, so strength gains are an obvious area for improvement. Heaney's fastball generally misses down when it misses, and while he was homer-prone in the majors, he hasn't been in the minors, allowing just 0.5 per nine innings. He's still developing a feel for his changeup, which he throws too hard at times. Heaney has a clean delivery and easy arm action, but he can be susceptible to the running game, often timed at 1.3 seconds or more to the plate, when 1.2 is considered average. He needs to focus on maintaining a quicker delivery and shortened stride length. When he's going well, Heaney also pitches with an excellent, aggressive tempo. He has above-average control and threw nearly two-thirds of his pitches in the minors for strikes. That figure dipped slightly to 63.7 percent while in the majors, but he threw first-pitch strikes at a better than 60% rate.
Andrew Heaney did everything asked of him at hitter-friendly Salt Lake City in his first 43 innings, giving up just one HR while posting a 3.12 ERA and 43/12 K/BB. However, over his last 30 innings, his ERA has shot up to 4.40 with a K/BB split of 29/12. This call-up is the direct result of Jeff Weaver landing on the DL and/or Matt Shoemaker’s struggles. Either way, it’s difficult to recommend a pitcher that was called up because of necessity and not because he was thriving in the minors. Furthermore, the team he faces in his debut is none other than the speedy Astros, who can run wild on a pitcher that is slow to the plate like Heaney is.
Despite having just 29 innings above High-A ball and seven MLB starts, these are the types of performances that get our attention. McCullers has outstanding numbers both beneath the surface and above it with a BB/K split of 13/46 in 40 innings to go along with a groundball/line-drive/fly-ball split of 49%/18%/33%. His swinging strike rate has increased from 11% in his first two starts, to 14% over his last five starts. He also comes in with a great ERA/xERA split of 2.45/3.00. Lastly, the Astros are 4-0 in their last four starts against lefties while outscoring the opposition 29-12 over that span. Newcomer Heaney is a southpaw.
2 unit play.
Andrew Heaney makes his season debut at this level here. Heaney went 0-3 with 5.83 ERA in 29 innings for Miami last season in his first taste of the majors. This promising prospect was rushed to Miami after 100 innings at Double/Triple-A. His groundball % declined with his ascent, and he was victimized by gopheritis in his initial MLB exposure. Command pitcher may need some time, but his skills remain optimistic. Heaney was ranked the Miami Marlins #1 prospect after the 2013 season.
Marlins scouting director Stan Meek, a former player and assistant coach at Oklahoma, has strong ties to the Sooner State and has tapped into those ties in the draft. He hit early with 2002 fourth-rounder Josh Johnson and has gone to the well more frequently of late, missing with 2009 first-rounder Chad James but hitting on catcher J.T. Realmuto (third round, 2010) and Heaney, the ninth overall pick in 2012. Ranked among the best left-handed college starters entering the 2012 draft, Heaney earned the same distinction in the minors heading into the 2014 season. A last-hour sign for $2.6 million, Heaney opened his third pro season in 2014 at Double-A Jacksonville. He made an 83-inning layover at Triple-A New Orleans, where he continued performing well, before the Marlins summoned him. He made his major league debut on June 19 with enormous expectations, but Marlins fans looking for a left-handed complement to ace Jose Fernandez didn't get him in Heaney, who lost each of his first three big league starts. Miami optioned him back to Triple-A, and he didn't start again in the big leagues until Miami's 160th game. Traded twice during the Winter Meetings, Heaney first went from the Marlins to Dodgers as part of the package for Dan Haren and Dee Gordon, then he moved from the Dodgers to Angels in a straight-up swap for Howie Kendrick. At his best, Heaney's fastball sits in the low 90s and he complements it with a plus slider in the low 80s and a plus changeup with armside sink. He tired in the second half of what was actually his first full season, as a lat strain in 2013 limited him to 95 innings that season. When he tired, he lost some arm speed and didn't maintain his release point, causing his stuff to flatten out, so strength gains are an obvious area for improvement. Heaney's fastball generally misses down when it misses, and while he was homer-prone in the majors, he hasn't been in the minors, allowing just 0.5 per nine innings. He's still developing a feel for his changeup, which he throws too hard at times. Heaney has a clean delivery and easy arm action, but he can be susceptible to the running game, often timed at 1.3 seconds or more to the plate, when 1.2 is considered average. He needs to focus on maintaining a quicker delivery and shortened stride length. When he's going well, Heaney also pitches with an excellent, aggressive tempo. He has above-average control and threw nearly two-thirds of his pitches in the minors for strikes. That figure dipped slightly to 63.7 percent while in the majors, but he threw first-pitch strikes at a better than 60% rate.
Andrew Heaney did everything asked of him at hitter-friendly Salt Lake City in his first 43 innings, giving up just one HR while posting a 3.12 ERA and 43/12 K/BB. However, over his last 30 innings, his ERA has shot up to 4.40 with a K/BB split of 29/12. This call-up is the direct result of Jeff Weaver landing on the DL and/or Matt Shoemaker’s struggles. Either way, it’s difficult to recommend a pitcher that was called up because of necessity and not because he was thriving in the minors. Furthermore, the team he faces in his debut is none other than the speedy Astros, who can run wild on a pitcher that is slow to the plate like Heaney is.
Despite having just 29 innings above High-A ball and seven MLB starts, these are the types of performances that get our attention. McCullers has outstanding numbers both beneath the surface and above it with a BB/K split of 13/46 in 40 innings to go along with a groundball/line-drive/fly-ball split of 49%/18%/33%. His swinging strike rate has increased from 11% in his first two starts, to 14% over his last five starts. He also comes in with a great ERA/xERA split of 2.45/3.00. Lastly, the Astros are 4-0 in their last four starts against lefties while outscoring the opposition 29-12 over that span. Newcomer Heaney is a southpaw.
2 unit play.
