Portland’s Papelbon adds to arsenal

Jon Papelbon spent some time with Curt Schilling this spring, and that looks to be bad news for Eastern League hitters. Already armed with an outstanding fastball and slider, Papelbon came into the season the top-rated pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization. Now, thanks to Schilling, he has added a splitter to his repertoire.

Papelbon recently unveiled his new pitch against Norwich, and the results were impressive. Starting the season opener for the Red Sox Double-A affiliate, Papelbon went six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits while walking none and striking out seven in earning the win. His stuff was overpowering, including his splitter.

“I learned it from Curt in spring training,” Papelbon said, “and it’s a more natural feel for me than the change. I threw about ten or twelve of them against Norwich, and had success with it. I’ve ditched the change-up for now, and plan to go with the split instead.”

With a fastball that consistently sits between 92-94 mph, with great command, Papelbon has already heard whispers that he could reach Boston by season’s end. His Portland teammate, Jared Sandberg, a veteran of three major league seasons with Tampa Bay, has been impressed.

“He’s a workhorse and a competitor,” Sandberg said. “He keeps a good rhythm out there, and really knows how to put hitters away.”

Sea Dogs skipper Todd Claus, Papelbon’s manager in Sarasota last season, also likes what he sees from the 6-foot-4 righthander.

“He’s as mean as a snake on the mound,” Claus said, “and the guys love to play behind him. What Jon did with the split-finger pitch was add to an already dangerous arsenal. He’s still perfecting it, but he threw some good ones the other night. It will only make him better, and he’s already good.”

All of this news is good. I am looking forward to the day Jon will take the mound for the Sox. If the pitching does not pick up that might be sooner than we think.

This is great news for the long-term future of the Red Sox. In the short run, if Wells, Miller, Schilling and the bullpen can't get into gear the season is shot anyway, and we might as well not waste a season of MLB tenure. Let's cheer Papelbon, but let's not pencil him in until 2006.

Good article, BTW!

I don't really have much to add, except to say what a great article this was. Also if Papelbon pans out and becomes a decent, inexpensive MLB pitcher soon, that really makes the Schilling investment worth so much more. It is pretty well-known that you need more than 2 plus pitches to reach, let alone excel in, the majors as a starter. I'm not a Schilling ballwasher, but I hope that he, Wake, and others continue to work selflessly with the minor leaguers, even when it means less job security for themselves. If one wants to learn the splitter or the knuckler, these are definitely the mentors to have.

I really can't see where Papelbon would come into play for the Sox this year, at least until the 40 man rosters start up. The new Sox theory (or old Bill James' one I believe) was that a pitcher should start his first year in the bullpen, and then go to starting. Depending on how the Sox are doing, I guess we could see Jon go into the pen, or if he continues to impress he'll at very least make good trade fodder. I really hope the whole AA crew can do a good job this year, and advance to AAA as much as a group as possible. The AA squad really holds the majority of our prospects at this point (not counting A guys, whom are hard to call legitimate prospects), and keeping them largely together to learn each other would seem to be a good idea to me.

Now I'm just hoping somebody taught Delcarmen or Lester a new trick as well, though Delcarmen is the one I'm really holding out for, as I'd love to see him make a K-Rod-esque explosion in September for the big club.

I think Scotion said it, but the more and more you see of this guy, the more you think of Clemens. He may not have a career like Clemen's, but he's got a hard fastball, a splitter, and a good slider/slurve that Clemens doesn't have. Add to that his approach on the mound, and it's a pretty good comparison.

I thought it might be interesting to bump this thread/article and look back at Papelbon three seasons ago.

At first when I saw the thread title, I was like "Papelbon added a splitter? YA THINK!" Nice job digging this one up, David. Its always cool to go back in time and see what the scouts, coaches, other players, etc. thought about a prospect vs. how he panned out.

Long overdue: Thanks Curt!

Substantiates the typical "older pitcher who can mentor the rooks" cliche.
The older pitcher here literally gave a young pitcher a devastating extra pitch.

When I view the main board page, under last post info, this is how the thread reads on my screen...

"Papelbon adds splitter to arse..."

Hehe.

Nothing of value to add though.

I totally disagree, hahaha.

I wonder where he learned that scary look he makes while choosing pitches. Did he always do that or just after he became a closer?