Whatever Happened To Jo-Jo?

Truth be told, I am a little disappointed in myself right now. I got so horny about the Yunel Escobar half of the recent blockbuster deal that I neglected to talk about the other guy coming to your Toronto Blue Jays. I just had so much to say about the Cuban shortstop and didn't really have space or time to give Jo-Jo his due.

Well that is just completely unacceptable to me. And today I had an opportunity to think about and research "the other guy" in the Escobar trade.

Analysis:

LHP Jo-Jo Reyes was selected in the 2nd round, 43rd overall, of the 2003 Amateur Draft out of high school in California. He was given an $800,000 signing bonus to skip school and play baseball full time.

Currently the 6'2, 230lbs southpaw has accumulated 1.132 years of MLB service time and is scheduled for arbitration from 2012-2014. I am not sure how many, if any, option years he has left.

The big lefty features the following pitches in his repertoire:

• a 4 seam fastball that sits at about 91mph which he uses over 50% of the time
• a slider that hits the gun at about 83mph and he throws it about every five pitches
• a 2 seam fastball that comes in at about 89mph
• a change up between 83-85mph
• a slow curveball at about 76mph

It is safe to say he is pretty much a fastball, slider kinda guy. The other 3 pitches only get mixed in less than 10% of the time. From what I have read his best pitch is either the change up or the curveball depending on who you ask. Makes you wonder why he doesn't throw them a little more?

Jo-Jo made his debut as a 22 year old in the show in 2007, which also happens to be the year he was listed as the Braves 7th best prospect. He had breezed through their system in a very short time and pretty much struck out a batter an inning everywhere he made a stop, except the big leagues.

Year	Age*	Lg	Tm	G	GS	SH	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	G/F	W	L	S	ERA	WHIP
2004	19	A	Rom	15	14	0	74.3	84	44	10	25	71	-	2	4	0	5.33	1.466
2007	22	AA	MIS	15	13	0	73.3	63	29	5	35	71	-	8	1	0	3.56	1.336
2007	22	AAA	RIC	6	6	0	36.0	25	4	2	12	39	-	4	0	0	1.00	1.028
2007	22	MAJ	ATL	14	10	0	50.7	55	35	9	30	27	1.24	2	2	0	6.22	1.678
2008	23	AAA	RIC	8	8	0	39.0	31	10	2	16	38	-	1	1	0	2.31	1.205
2008	23	MAJ	ATL	25	22	0	113.0	134	73	18	52	78	1.53	3	11	0	5.81	1.646
2009	24	AAA	GWI	15	14	0	66.0	68	21	6	24	32	-	4	2	0	2.86	1.394
2009	24	MAJ	ATL	6	5	0	27.0	27	21	4	13	21	2.16	0	2	0	7.00	1.481
2010	25	AAA	Gwi	12	10	0	47.1	57	30	8	15	50	-	1	5	0	5.70	1.529
2010	25	MAJ	ATL	1	0	0	3.3	10	9	2	3	2	0.86	0	0	0	24.30	3.900
3Yr Avg		MAJ		15	12	0	63.6	72	43	10	31	42	-	1	5	0	6.09	1.621
Career		MAJ		45	37	0	190.7	216	129	31	95	126	-	5	15	0	6.09	1.631

As you can see, Jo-Jo has been used almost exclusively as a starting pitcher up till this year. He had some success in the minors but struggled considerably when pitching to MLB hitters.

I was able to find out why that is courtesy of the Atlanta Braves Examiner:

In 2009 Reyes held opposing batters to a .220 average through his first 50 pitches, but after that point they hit .318 off of him. The first time through a lineup he held the opposing offense to an average of .189, the second time .216 and the third time the batters caught up to him and hit a robust .417 off the lefty.

I think a look at his splits will help answer the riddle as well. I will try to sum up his MLB career for you:

In 698 plate appearances right handed hitters are hitting him at a .320 clip. He also has served up 27 of his 33 homers to them. Angry Little Girl.

On the other hand, in 186 plate appearances lefties have only managed to hit .215 against him. Happy Cat.

Alright. Seriously. Is any of this sounding even the slightest bit familiar?

Can you say David Purcey redux?

Conclusion:

Disclaimer: Normally I am completely against converting starters into relievers unless they are old or injury prone *cough* Dustin McGowan *cough*

HOWEVER

The brain trust needs to tell this young man to simply pick two or three of his best pitches and drop the rest. Then they need to send him to the bullpen full time to dominate in a situational role. I'll bet the Braves had just figured that out this year and most likely ran out of the patience needed to see the transformation through.

I doubt we make the same mistake.