Yardbarker: Tom Gorzelanny

Bill James 2010 Projections for Cubs

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:44:58 -0500

Fangraphs is once again going to list the projections on their player pages from a variety of sources, Bill James, CHONE, Marcel....maybe more. Bill James projections are up first and here's how the Cubs ranked by wOBA and their 2009 wOBA (explanation of wOBA here). I'll try and expand when new projections are released. Age is their 2010 playing age. You can click on their names to get their full slash line predictions and more.

Player
Age
2009 wOBA
Bill James 2010 wOBA Projection
Derrek Lee
34 .412 .386 Aramis Ramirez
32
.392
.375
Jake Fox
27 .332 .375
Milton Bradley
32
.345
.365 Geovany Soto
27 .310 .362 Micah Hoffpauir
30
.315 .350 Kosuke Fukudome
33 .346 .349 Jeff Baker
29
.338 346 Alfonso Soriano 34
.314 .346 Mike Fontenot
30
.296 .334 Ryan Theriot
30
.318
.319
Sam Fuld
28
.367 .317 Tyler Colvin
24 .205 .316
Reed Johnson
33
.321 .312
Aaron Miles
33
.212
.300 Koyie Hill
31
.279
.289
Andres Blanco
26
.271 .285

For the pitchers, here's their projected ERA and FIP (explanation of FIP here).

Player
Age 2009 ERA
2009 FIP
2010 James Projected ERA
2010 James Projected FIP
Carlos Zambrano 29 3.77 3.61 3.60 3.90 Ted Lilly
34 3.10
3.65
3.76
4.30
Ryan Dempster
33
3.65
3.87
3.83
3.92
Randy Wells
27
3.05
3.88
4.16
4.10
Sean Marshall
27
4.32
4.19
4.06
4.34
Tom Gorzelanny
27 5.55
3.91
4.11 4.01 Jeff Samardzija
25 7.53
5.90
5.44
5.47
Carlos Marmol
27 3.41
4.06
3.45 4.00
John Grabow
31 3.36 4.20
4.00
4.17
Aaron Heilman
31
4.11
4.37
3.88
4.25
Angel Guzman
28
2.95 4.44 4.03
4.11

Alright, nothing too surprising in any of these numbers, although I can't tell you how much it makes my heart flutter to see the Cubs highest paid position player in the middle of the offensive pack.

Two pitchers stood out to me...Gorzelanny and Guzman. I was a bit down on Gorzelanny but his peripherals were pretty strong last year...9 K/9 rate and a 1.15 HR/9 to go with a 3.26 BB/9 rate. Definitely a legitimate 4th/5th starter candidate with an even higher ceiling considering his age and the very nice 2007 season he had. Guzman on the other hand, had a mere 6.93 K/9 rate last year with a 3.39 BB/9 rate with a miniscule .209 BABIP. A little luckier than I had previously thought, but he does keep the ball in the park and the James projections do expect an increase in his K/9 rate...although no guess on when he'll hit the disabled list.

Anyway, they're merely projections, nothing to take too seriously. They sure didn't nail Soto, Soriano or Fontenot's demise last year, so just consider it some fun off-season fodder.

Be sure you don't miss Arizona Phil's Top 15 prospect list...

2009 Recap: Tom Gorzelanny/Sean Marshall

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:02:42 -0500

In 2009, behind the reliable arm of Ted Lilly was a group of left handed would-be starters of modest ability and some history of success. Both Sean Marshall and Tom Gorzelanny would start games for the Cubs in '09 to middling degrees of success, and while either probably deserve their own independent article in this series we have elected to lump them together as one. First, Sean Marshall. Marshall has been described by Goat Friend Jon Miller as a pitcher without enough stuff t...

Limping Toward the Finish Line - Cubs 3 Diamondbacks 12

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:33:37 -0500

Game One Hundred Fifty-Nine - Cubs 3 Diamondbacks 12 WP - Billy Buckner (4-6) LP - Tom Gorzelanny (7-3) Save - None Since being officially eliminated on Tuesday night from post-season play, Lou Piniella's crew has mailed in their remaining games. After being shutout on Wednesday, scoring just two runs in the nightcap (being blanked before the rains came on Thursday) and scoring a grand total of three runs on Friday, the Cubs have managed five runs in three official games. The Ariz...

Cubs, Gorzelanny Lose Ugly To Diamondbacks, 12-3

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:05:49 -0500

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP "Oh, brother," says Gorz, "I should have asked to start last night." Browse more photos » If you missed the FanShot I posted, the Cubs announced this afternoon the policy for refunds for yesterday's rainout: All paid tickets for the Oct. 1 game are eligible for a refund. Refunds are available by sending the tickets to the Wrigley Field Ticket Offi...

Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Diamondbacks - 10/02/09

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0500

Game One Hundred Sixty: Cubs (82-76) vs. Diamondbacks (68-91) Game Time - 1:20pm C.T. Coverage - TV: WGN TV - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 183 Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago Tom Gorzelanny (7-2, 4.70/1.23) vs. Billy Buckner (3-6, 6.59/1.59) Weather permitting ... the Chicago Cubs will begin their final series of the season this afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks. When these two teams met in Arizona back at the end of April the Cubs were a game over .500 (9-8) and t...

Rolling Toward the End - Cubs 6 Giants 2

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:37:32 -0500

Game One Hundred Fifty-Four - Cubs 6 Giants 2 WP - Tom Gorzelanny (7-2) LP - Barry Zito (10-13) Save - None As the old cliché goes ... too little too late. Lou Piniella's crew waited too long to play the way most expected they would throughout the season. The Cubs have won six of their last seven games, all on the road and Saturday's win guaranteed them a winning road trip. The Cubs are 6-3 since last Friday in St. Louis with all three losses being one-run defeats. Tom Gorzela...

Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Giants - 09/26/09

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:27:19 -0500

Game One Hundred Fifty-Four: Cubs (80-73) vs. Giants (82-72) Game Time - 3:10pm C.T. Coverage - TV: FOX Saturday Baseball - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 189 Location - AT & T Park, San Francisco Tom Gorzelanny (6-2, 5.08/1.18) vs. Barry Zito (10-12, 3.99/1.34) Twenty years ago today (September 26, 1989), The Boys of Zimmer won the National League Eastern Division Crown by defeating the Montreal Expos. Greg Maddux picked up the win with Mitch Williams (The Wild Thing) notching...

Talkin' Cubs Live - Cubs vs. Brewers - 09/21/09

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:32:22 -0500

Game One Hundred Forty-Nine: Cubs (76-72) vs. Brewers (74-75) Game Time - 7:05pm C.T. Coverage - TV: WCIU - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 187 Location - Miller Park, Milwaukee Tom Gorzelanny (5-2, 5.29/1.15) vs. Braden Looper (13-6, 4.89/1.46) The Cubs will make their last trip of the year to Milwaukee after the two teams split a four-game series at Wrigley Field last week. The Cubs have won eight of the first 14 games of the season against the Brewers ... and the next three days ...

More Rocky Mountain Lows than Highs - Cubs 5 Rockies 11

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:45:00 -0500

Game One Hundred-Ten - Cubs 5 Rockies 11 WP - Jorge De La Rosa (10-8) LP - Tom Gorzelanny (4-2) Save - None The Cubs completed the 10-game, three-city trip with a disappointing 4-6 record after losing the wrap around series to the Rockies. Tom Gorzelanny could not follow up his solid debut and left in the second inning with a bruised right foot. Gorzelanny reportedly went to the hospital for x-rays after getting hit on the foot by a combacker off the bat of Dexter Fowler. As good as Go...

Welcome to the North Side, Tom Gorzelanny

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:31:00 -0500

I have some new stuff on Tom Gorzelanny at Out of the Ivy. I cover his pitch breakdowns for his Cubs debut, and compare his stuff (and results) to his dark days with the Bucs.The Cubs Debut of Tom Gorzelanny - Out of the Ivy

For Gorzelanny, This Is Better Than Pittsburgh

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:51:59 -0500

Tom Gorzelanny comments on the soul-sucking mess that is playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates: When he walked off the mound in the eighth, Gorzelanny received an ovation from the pro-Cubs crowd of 17,992."It was great," he said. "It shows how big this team is, having more fans here than the home team. It's definitely a different feeling, coming from where I came from. It was something I'll remember for a while."There were probably more Chicago fans at Gorzelanny'...

Tom Gorzelanny, Not Only Is Your Table Ready, You Can Have The Whole Restaurant; Cubs Beat Reds 6-3

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:48:54 -0500

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP Welcome to the Cubs, Tom. You did good. REAL good! Browse more photos » Roy Halladay? Cliff Lee? Who needs 'em? Over the course of several decades, the Cubs have made midseason acquisitions of starting pitchers in the hopes that hurler would help lead them to the postseason and glory beyond. From Milt Pappas to Dennis Eckersley to Rick Sutcliffe to Rich Harden, these...

Tom Gorzelanny, Where Have You Been My Whole Life?

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:03:46 -0500

A pretty good line for a guy’s debut game with his new team: 7 1/3 innings, 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The guy of course is Tom Gorzelanny, the other lefty in the John Grabow trade. He made his first start as a Cub Tuesday night against the Reds, and as indicated above, [...]

Gorzelanny Great in Debut - Cubs 6 Reds 3

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:51:03 -0500

Game One Hundred-Five - Cubs 6 Reds 3 WP - Tom Gorzelanny (4-1) LP - Johnny Cueto (8-9) Save - None Tom Gorzelanny made his Cubs' debut on Tuesday night against the Reds ... and turned in a gem. In his first big league start since last September, Gorzelanny tossed seven innings of shutout ball and did not allow a run while he was on the mound. Gorzelanny attacked Reds' hitters all night. He allowed only three hits with a walk and a hit batsman. Gorzelanny left in the eighth with t...

The Tom Gorzelanny Era Begins: Cubs vs. Reds, Tuesday 8/4, 6:10 CT

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:10 -0500

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP Write your own caption. Browse more photos » Tom Gorzelanny is a perfect example of a pitcher who could, possibly, return to his former good performance after recovering from injuries. He had a fine year in 2007, winning 14 games for the Pirates. In 2008, he was horrible -- I'm sure you all remember the game on May 16, 2008, where the Cubs hit four homers off him at Wri...