Ryan Vogelsong

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

In his prospect days, Vogelsong threw a 92-94 mph fastball, along with a slider, curve and change.  He didn’t have one dominant pitch, but all four were considered quality pitches.  By the time he returned from Japan, he was throwing 91-92.  He still throws the four-pitch mix, with the slider possibly being the best pitch.  His ground ball rates have tended to be average to a little low.  In 2011-12, he had moderate platoon splits.  In 2014-15 he struggled against left-handed hitters, allowing them a 282/334/453 line in 2014 and 279/353/553 in 2015.

1998
A-:  6-1-0, 1.77 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 56.0 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 10.6 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 7.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 12.3 K/9

Vogelsong got off to a good start in short season ball.  The Giants moved him up to the California League for four starts.  It was an ambitious promotion, given both that he was skipping a level and going to a hitting-crazy league.

1999
A+:  4-4-0, 2.45 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 69.2 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 11.1 K/9
AA:  0-2-0, 7.31 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 7.3 K/9

Vogelsong returned to the California League and pitched very well through 13 starts.  He moved up to AA for half a dozen starts and struggled there.  He also had some problems with tendonitis during the season.

2000
AA:  6-10-0, 4.23 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 155.1 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 8.5 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

The Giants sent Vogelsong back to AA, where his pitching was only fair.  His main issue was control problems, although he also had some mild gopher ball problems, allowing 15.  The Giants brought him up in September and he made four relief appearances.  Baseball America rated him the Giants’ fifth best prospect after the season.

2001
AAA (SF):  3-3-0, 2.79 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 58.0 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.2 K/9
AAA (Pgh):  2-3-0, 3.98 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 9.4 K/9
MLB (SF):  0-3-0, 5.65 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 5.3 K/9
MLB (Pgh):  0-2-0, 12.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 6.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 10.5 K/9

Vogelsong pitched very well for two months in AAA and then the Giants brought him up.  He pitched in relief in the majors and mostly struggled until the Giants traded him to the Pirates at the end of July.  The Pirates sent him to AAA to get him stretched out as a starter, then brought him up.  Unfortunately, he hurt his elbow in his second start and ultimately had Tommy John surgery.  BA rated him the Pirates’ seventh best prospect.

2002
A+:  1-1-0, 8.04 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 11.5 K/9
AA:  1-5-0, 5.56 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Vogelsong spent the season rehabbing his elbow.  BA still ranked him 13th in the Pirates’ farm system.

2003
AAA:  12-8-0, 4.29 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 149.0 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 8.8 K/9
MLB:  2-2-0, 6.55 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 22.0 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 6.1 K/9

The Pirates sent Vogelsong to AAA, where he spent most of the season.  He made brief appearances in Pittsburgh in June and August, and three more in the second half of September.  He pitched just decently in AAA and struggled in the majors.

2004
MLB:  6-13-0, 6.50 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 133.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 6.2 K/9

Vogelsong spent the season in the majors, mostly in the rotation (he made 26 starts).  He struggled with his command and control, and also had serious gopher ball problems, allowing 22.

2005
MLB:  2-2-0, 4.43 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 81.1 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 5.8 K/9

The Pirates moved Vogelsong to the bullpen, where he spent the season.  He continued to struggle to throw strikes.

2006
AAA:  4-5-0, 2.66 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 67.2 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 5.7 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 6.39 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 38.0 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

Vogelsong returned to the Pirates’ bullpen and continued to struggle.  In late June, the team designated him for assignment and sent him to AAA, where he served as a starter the rest of the season.  He pitched very well there, but the Pirates obviously had run out of patience.  They didn’t return him to the roster and he became a free agent after the season.

2007
JAPAN:  7-6-0, 4.13 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 106.2 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

Vogelsong signed with Hanshin in the Japan Central League.  He pitched better than he had in the majors, but his numbers weren’t outstanding.

2008
JAPAN:  3-4-0, 3.99 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 65.1 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 6.9 K/9

Vogelsong was able to make only a dozen starts for Hanshin, pitching a little better than the year before.

2009
JAPAN:  1-4-0, 4.54 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 12.1 K/9

Vogelsong signed with Orix of the Japan Pacific League.  Pitching almost exclusively in relief, he struck out a lot of batters but otherwise wasn’t exceptionally effective.

2010
AAA (Phi):  2-5-1, 4.91 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 6.1 BB/9, 11.2 K/9
AAA (LAA):  1-3-0, 4.66 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 36.2 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 9.1 K/9

The Phillies signed Vogelsong to a minor league contract and he mostly struggled with their AAA affiliate, with a very high walk rate.  The Phillies released him in early July and he caught on with the Angels, but he didn’t pitch much better than he had with the Phillies.

2011
AAA:  2-0-0, 1.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
MLB:  13-7-0, 2.71 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 179.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 7.0 K/9

Vogelsong signed a minor league contract with the Giants for 2011, but after he made two starts in AAA he got called up due to an injury to Barry Zito.  Vogelsong had an outstanding season for the Giants, helped by an unsustainable .261 BABIP.

2012
AAA:  1-0-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 10.8 K/9
MLB:  14-9-0, 3.37 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 189.2 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 K/9 

After missing the first two weeks due to back spasms, Vogelsong went on to have a season very similar to his 2011 season.

2013
MLB:  4-6-0, 5.73 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 103.2 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 5.8 K/9

Vogelsong missed nearly half the season due to a fractured right hand.  He pitched poorly when he was able to pitch, among other things allowing more than a HR every seven innings.  His velocity was down to 89.  After the season he became a free agent, but he re-signed with the Giants.

2014
MLB:  8-13-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 184.2 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.4 K/9

Vogelsong returned to the Giants’ rotation and had a better record than his ERA.  His peripherals suggest he pitched better than his ERA.  He became a free agent again after the season and again re-signed with the Giants.

2015
MLB:  9-11-0, 4.67 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 135.0 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Vogelsong got off to a bad start, allowing eight HRs in just 19.1 IP in April.  Over the next three months, though, he posted a 2.74 ERA.  His velocity was back to 91, his highest level since 2011.  The Giants nevertheless moved him mostly to the bullpen in July.  He pitched very poorly in relief, allowing a .933 OPS, as opposed to a .753 OPS as a starter.

2016
AA:  1-0-0, 2.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 3.3 K/9
AAA:  0-2-0, 3.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 0.8 BB/9, 3.3 K/9
MLB:  3-7-0, 4.81 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 82.1 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 6.7 K/9

The Pirates signed Vogelsong a few days after trading away Charlie Morton.  The move would have made some sense had the Pirates expected Vogelsong to serve as rotation depth.  Instead, they made it clear that they expected him to be in the rotation.  As it turned out, he lost out on a rotation spot when Juan Nicasio had a big spring.  Vogelsong instead opened in the bullpen, despite his history of struggling in relief.  Except for one spot start, he pitched in long relief until he got a second start on May 23.  He exited that game with an orbital bone injury after getting hit in the face by a pitch.  After a minor league rehab, Vogelsong returned in early August and spent the rest of the season in the Pirates’ rotation.  He pitched well in four of his first five starts, but had a string of bad starts after that.  He had a .7.67 ERA over his final seven starts, but the Pirates exasperatingly stuck with him.  They did so even after the team was clearly out of wild card contention, rather than giving starts to younger pitchers who potentially represent part of the team’s future.  They even started him on the season’s final day, which resulted in him earning $300,000 in bonuses.  On the season, Vogelsong struggled to throw strikes and had some trouble with gopher balls, allowing 11.  Opponents had a 257/348/463 batting line against him.  His 5.21 xFIP suggested that his ERA, if anything, was better than his actual performance.

Everything about Vogelsong’s second go-round with the Pirates was symptomatic of their mishandling of the 2016 season.  From their off-season decision to downgrade from Morton to Vogelsong, to their refusal to remove him from the rotation in favor of younger pitchers, their decisions were obviously bad at the time they were made and produced bad results.  He’ll move on as a free agent.