Morrow vs. Lincecum

There is much debate between Mariner fans about whether they missed a huge opportunity by passing on Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft, instead selecting Brandon Morrow.

Here are the numbers:
Morrow 3-2, 2.91 ERA, 46.1 IP, 15 ER, 41 BB, 53 SO, 1.62 WHIP
Lincecum 6-3, 3.88 ERA, 111.1 IP, 48 ER, 51 BB, 121 SO, 1.23 WHIP

Looking at these numbers so far through the season, you can see that Morrow’s WHIP is way too high. He has walked 1 batter for every 1.12 innings pitched. Compare that to Lincecum’s 2.18 and you see a significant difference.

Lincecum is a starting pitcher while Morrow’s role has gone from 8th inning setup man to middle relief. The Mariners need a 5th starter because Ho-Ram is not getting the job done. Clearly Lincecum would be a major upgrade over Ramirez. Morrow has been solid for most of the season out of the bullpen, but needs to develop another pitch to become an effective starter.

You have to weigh what is more important for the Mariners:

Starting pitching OR
Right-handed bullpen help

Sean Green can fill the role of right-handed setup man just fine. If Mark Lowe can buildup his arm strength the Mariners have another guy that can easily fill that role who already has experience doing it last year.

This argument is fueled even more by that fact that the M’s are 1 starter away from having a solid starting 5. Batista has pitched valiantly and Weaver has turned it around 180 degrees since going on the DL. Washburn has been consistent all year. Felix is the pitcher that needs to step up. I realize that he is only 21 years old, but he is the staff ace and needs to start pitching like it.

I didn’t buy and still don’t buy the argument that Lincecum’s arm angle and size will cost him as a major league pitcher. He is from the University of Washington and would have been a local product that would have brought fans to the park. I still think that Morrow will be a quality pitcher for the Mariners, but I think management dropped the ball by passing on Lincecum.