by : Jay Recher
@jayRecher
After reading Marc Topkin's article, a hot topic around Tampa Bay today was Chris Archer's "elite" status.
Let me start this by saying that I think Chris Archer is a really good pitcher. He's got a dynamite fastball and a wipeout slider and he ALWAYS gives 100% when he's on the mound. But one thing I'm not 100% on, is that he's "elite".
First off, has an "elite" pitcher ever lost 19 games? OK, let's move past last year. Let's just look at this season. As good as Archer is, it has just felt like this year when he left the game, the Rays were in bad shape. While I respect what other Major Leaguers had to say about the Tampa Bay righthander, after doing a little research, the numbers apparently tell a different story. Have a look for yourself :
Starts with ZERO earned runs – 1 Starts with ONE earned run – 2
Starts with TWO earned runs – 5 Starts with THREE earned runs – 5
Starts with FOUR earned runs – 4 Starts with FIVE earned runs – 1 Starts with SIX earned runs – 1
8 starts with TWO OR LESS earned runs 11 starts with THREE OR MORE earned runs given up
(4/8 vs. Blue Jays, Rays win 3-2 in 11 innings) –
In the 8th inning, Archer gives up RBI single to Josh Donaldson to make it 2-1 Jays and gets taken out after.
(4/24 vs. Orioles, Rays lose 6-3) –
In the 7th inning, Archer gives up a two-run home run to Adam Jones to give the O’s a 5-3 lead.
(4/30 vs. Blue Jays, Rays lose 3-1) –
In the 8th inning, Archer walks the leadoff hitter and comes out and he scores two batters later when Bautista hits an RBI double off of Alex Colome to tie the score at 1.
(5/31 vs. Rangers, Rays win 7-5) –
In his 7th and final inning, Archer gives up a two-out double to Elvis Andrus to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.
(6/6 vs. White Sox, Rays lose 4-2) –
In his 7th and final inning, Archer gives up a leadoff solo homerun to Avisail Garcia to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead.
(6/11 vs. A’s, Rays win 5-4) –
In his 6th and final inning, Archer gives up an RBI single to Khris Davis to give the A’s a 4-3 lead.
(6/17 vs. Tigers, Rays win 3-2) –
In his 6th and final inning, Archer gives up a solo homerun to Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
(7/9 vs. Red Sox, Rays win 5-3) –
In the 7th inning, Archer gives up a two-run homerun to Dustin Pedroia to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.
In 8 of 19 Archer starts this season, he has given up the lead in his final inning of work and
the Rays still WON 5 of those 8 games
Is his slider the best in the AL? Could be
Is he a good dude? Yes
Is he a damn good pitcher? Definitely
But is he elite? No..... not yet