I’m sorry, but I’ve just had enough of watching Tommy Hunter serve up taters for opposing batters to clobber out of the park!
Last year alone Hunter gave up 32 homeruns in only 133.3 innings pitched. To put that in perspective for you Wei Yin Chen gave up 29 home runs, but pitched 60 more innings than Hunter. This was all in Chen’s first year in the big leagues, and he was criticized for being susceptible to the long ball.
This year, Tommy Hunter has already surrendered 3 homeruns in just 3+ innings of work. One was a walk off homerun by Matt Joyce after the Orioles clawed their way back into the game, and the other two came back to back last night to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead and almost the series win.
I’m not quite sure what Buck sees in Hunter. He may have gained some velocity in his move to the pen, but his fastball has absolutely no movement. It comes in a straight line and it leaves in a straight line. It doesn’t help that Hunter makes his living in the center of home plate. If you haven’t heard the saying, “The harder it comes in, the harder it goes out”, just watch some Tommy Hunter “highlights”.
People will say, “Oh don’t be too harsh”.
Yeah, at times you might see some glimmer of a power right handed reliever, but that never lasts long. Throwing in the upper 90’s doesn’t make you a good pitcher. Without any type of movement, that straight fastball is just waiting to be spanked. Maybe if he had a plus secondary pitch he might be able to get away with it, but his curveball hangs too. I just don’t see any upside – not when he was starter and now, not as a reliever.
Hunter apologists might then say, “But he doesn’t have any options left and he is only 26”.
Good!
Let him hit the waivers, he can be someone else’s problem. Hopefully the Red Sox or Yankees pick him up so he can throw some BP for the O’s to smash.
The Orioles have way too much talent down in Norfolk to wait around for something that is never going to click with Homerun Hunter.
Didn’t we learn from Daniel Cabrera?
Sometimes it just isn’t in the cards, no matter how vast the potential is.
It’s time the Orioles toss this one up as loss and be satisfied with the great consolation prize they received when they traded Koji Uehara to the Rangers for Hunter and Crush Davis.
It’s time to move past Tommy Hunter, bring up one of the million other arms Dan Duquette has stockpiled in Norfolk and lets keep the ball in the park.
Relievers are expendable, and this one in particular has no value.
5 Responses
Get healthy Stevie Johnson, we need you…so we can be rid of Tommy “Home Run” Hunter !
It would be great to get Stevie back! I would hope once he returns we would put Arrieta on the ropes. If he didn’t perform we could a lot him in Tommy’s old spot and Steve can take his spot in the rotation. But right now anyone will better than TH.
Nice piece. Tommy Hunter should be anywhere but on an MLB roster. This guy has nothing to offer the O’s as a reliever. Too bad we cant trade him for a DH….
Thank you sir! Wrote this out of just pure fustration. Hunter needs to be cut. So many other options down in the minors. As for the DH, which I did write about, I hope Reimold and Pearce will come around. Our first priority is what to do at second base
Good Call on this. Look where he is at now.