Matt NevarezHow did he get here?: Traded, with Jose Vallejo for Pudge Rodriguez (August 2009)
Stats: 6'4", 220 lbs, Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 23
2009 Overview
| IP | ERA/WHIP | K:BB | BAA | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 43.1 | 2.28/0.92 | 63:15 | .177 | 13.1 | 3.1 |
Career (2005-06, 2008-09)
| IP | ERA/WHIP | K:BB | HR/9 | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 115.2 | 2.96/1.34 | 139:71 | 0.5 | 10.8 | 5.5 |
What happened?
Nevarez came over in the Pudge trade, and I kind of wonder what the Rangers were thinking (alright, they were thinking "Playoffs"). Nevarez has had an up-and-down career, as this was really his first full season (42 appearances in 2009, 27 appearances previously), thanks to injuries.
But he dominated this year, posting his lowest ERA since throwing a 1.61 for the Rangers' Rookie-League team in Arizona in 2005. 2009 also saw his highest K/9 rate, K:BB ratio, lowest BB/9 rate, Hits/9 rate, and WHIP.
It has been speculated that he could skip Lancaster and go to Corpus, given his age (he'll turn 23 on the 26th).
What went right?
Cutting down on walks. Nevarez struck out 50 in 2008, and walked 43. Compare that to 2009, in which Nevarez walked 15 all year long, and none in his eight appearances in Lexington.
What went wrong?
I'd like to see more groundball outs. In eight games at Lexington (and we can't get his stats in Hickory), Nevarez got flyball outs at a rate of 3:1 to groundball outs. That's scary, and a good reason to let him skip Lancaster. Still, at only 0.3 HR/9 in 2009, he doesn't seem to get lit up.
