What current ML pitchers could become full time hitters?

scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

So I was daydreaming about baseball this morning and thought of that question. Essentially if any pitcher in baseball was to never pitch again and only focus on hitting, which pitcher do you think could make a big league club as a hitter? (Let's assume their defensive ability has no bearing on whether they make the team, just their bat) Explain why you think so. The answer could be 'none', but I would find it hard to believe with how athletic the pitchers are in today's game that none would be able to become a full time hitter.

I don't really get to watch the NL often so I have no clue which pitchers are capable with the bat. I know when I used to watch Sportcenter they always showed Zambrano clubbing' one over the fence (does he play anymore?) and I think I've read on here before that Matt Cain was decent at the plate. That's all I know.

And if anyone has any cards of ML pitchers pictured as a hitter in the batters box or w/e, feel free to show those. That would be neat to see.

Hendersonfan · Jan 25, 2014

I haven't seen enough to make a firm choice, but Kershaw has some pop.

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scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

Hendersonfan said:
I haven't seen enough to make a firm choice, but Kershaw has some pop.

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Yeah now that you mention it I think I did see him get a hit in the playoffs. I wasn't sure if he was known as a good hitting pitcher or not. I suppose he has a good hitter build because of his strong legs. Do you think if he gave up pitching

?) he could make the Dodgers lineup in a year or two after spending time in AA/AAA working with a hitting coach?

dbacksfan4life · Jan 25, 2014

Micah Owings was a pitcher for the Dbacks, now he is in the process of becoming an OF. Watch the highlights from a game he played in against the Braves, he had 2 HR (I think) and a double.

tpeichel · Jan 25, 2014

Zambrano could always hit.

Austin · Jan 25, 2014

Zach Greinke hit .328 with a .409 on base percentage last season.
He led all MLB pitchers in batting average, hits, OBP, and stolen bases.
He was the first Dodgers pitxher since 1919 to have an on base percentage over .400.

scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

Austin said:
Zach Greinke hit .328 with a .409 on base percentage.
He led all MLB pitchers in batting average, hits, OBP, and stolen bases.
He was the first Dodgers pitxher since 1919 to have an on base percentage over .400.

I just saw that when I was looking at some blogs. Incredible for a pitcher to have that high of an OBP, even though it's a small sample size. Based on that, I'd think he would be a good candidate to be a full-time hitter. Some pitchers can hit OK but most can not lay off the pitches out of the zone, but I'd say [based on stats] Grienke has the patience needed to be a full-timer.

tpeichel said:
Zambrano could always hit.

Love that card! Zambrano is one pitcher I did know was a good hitter. Just checked his stats and saw he is still pitching in the bigs, although not as effectively as he used to. With his career winding down as a pitcher do you think he might try to make the switch to hitting to lengthen his career?

dbacksfan4life said:
Micah Owings was a pitcher for the Dbacks, now he is in the process of becoming an OF. Watch the highlights from a game he played in against the Braves, he had 2 HR (I think) and a double.

Very cool, I'm now interested in seeing if he can fully make the transition and become productive over a full season of ABs. EDIT: Just checked his career stats and if you put those #'s over a full season he has the potential to hit 20 HRs and hit 30 2Bs. Wow. Best of luck to him!

Hendersonfan · Jan 25, 2014

Like I said, haven't seen much. Just said he had some pop. I remember hitting the homer.

hive17 · Jan 25, 2014

Gallardo is one of the most consistent hitting pitchers in the NL. Batting average aside, most NL pitchers know he's not the easiest to pitch around.

I know Sabathia loved to hit, and I think if he gave up on pitching (as was your original question), he could be a decent bench bat with some power (maybe Matt Stairs-esque).

madbull34 · Jan 25, 2014

Andrew Cashner was a pretty good hitter for the Pads last year. He even pinch hit a few times when he wasn't starting.

In terms of cards depicting pitchers hitting this is the only one I found in my PC.

CatdaddysCards · Jan 25, 2014

dbacksfan4life said:
Micah Owings was a pitcher for the Dbacks, now he is in the process of becoming an OF. Watch the highlights from a game he played in against the Braves, he had 2 HR (I think) and a double.

Owings was a power hitting 1b, with a high average, in college. Should've stayed on the offensive side of the ball in the majors.

scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

CatdaddysCards said:
Owings was a power hitting 1b, with a high average, in college. Should've stayed on the offensive side of the ball in the majors.

I was wondering that, because he only pitched in the minors. That makes sense. If he had never pitched he might be a real decent everyday player, who knows. Interesting to think about.

madbull34 said:
Andrew Cashner was a pretty good hitter for the Pads last year. He even pinch hit a few times when he wasn't starting.

In terms of cards depicting pitchers hitting this is the only one I found in my PC.

Awesome card! I see Cashner had 2 SBs last year, always neat to see pitchers steal a base. (I'm sure fans of NL teams cringe when a star pitcher attempts a steal, lol!)

hive17 said:
Gallardo is one of the most consistent hitting pitchers in the NL. Batting average aside, most NL pitchers know he's not the easiest to pitch around.

I know Sabathia loved to hit, and I think if he gave up on pitching (as was your original question), he could be a decent bench bat with some power (maybe Matt Stairs-esque).

I could see Sabathia being a good hitter but he might now have the power he used to because he has lost a lot of weight over the past could years. Just checked Gallardo's stats and seems like he is definitely comfortable being in the batter' box. Is he the pitcher who occasionally batted 8th in the lineup? I read somewhere that there was a pitcher who sometimes would bat 8th and his stats might suggest he is the one.

marterburn · Jan 25, 2014

The batting 8th thing was more strategic that a statement on the hitting ability of the pitcher.

I think the Cardinals did it a bunch a few years ago then it was sporadically copied more recently.

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vwnut13 · Jan 25, 2014

Adam Loewen has spent the last several years in the Minors as an outfielder.

Hit .270 with 15 HR for New Hampshire last year.

scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

marterburn said:
The batting 8th thing was more strategic that a statement on the hitting ability of the pitcher.

I think the Cardinals did it a bunch a few years ago then it was sporadically copied more recently.

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Good to see you around, Max. I'm curious (and pardon my ignorance, I watch the AL) what is the strategy behind batting a pitcher 8th? I know the #8 guys will get pitched around in order to get to a pitcher, but if a pitcher is 8th then the 7th guy gets pitched around. That doesn't seem beneficial to do so. Say the pitcher is the last out of the inning then next inning the #9 guy is leadoff instead of the #1 guy. I might be missing something obvious, but I do know there is a lot of strategy going on in an NL game with the double switches, etc....

marterburn · Jan 25, 2014

scotty216brs said:
Good to see you around, Max. I'm curious (and pardon my ignorance, I watch the AL) what is the strategy behind batting a pitcher 8th? I know the #8 guys will get pitched around in order to get to a pitcher, but if a pitcher is 8th then the 7th guy gets pitched around. That doesn't seem beneficial to do so. Say the pitcher is the last out of the inning then next inning the #9 guy is leadoff instead of the #1 guy. I might be missing something obvious, but I do know there is a lot of strategy going on in an NL game with the double switches, etc....

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-larussa-right-to-bat-his-pitcher-in-the-eight-slot/

Article from 2007. Basically the theory is that its so the 9 hitter has a better chance of being on base for the 2-4 hitters.

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scotty216brs · Jan 25, 2014

marterburn said:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-larussa-right-to-bat-his-pitcher-in-the-eight-slot/

Article from 2007. Basically the theory is that its so the 9 hitter has a better chance of being on base for the 2-4 hitters.

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Thanks for the link, I skimmed through it but will read the whole article later on.

That definitely makes sense seeing that. Not only does he have a better chance of getting on base for the top of the order, but if he gets on he will be able to run the bases more efficiently than the pitcher would. Not a bad idea at all. Maybe teams could take it to another level and bat the #9 guy 7th, pitcher 8th, and the #7 guy 9th because the guy batting 7th will be pitched around regardless for the most part. I might be over thinking it now, lol...

dbacksfan4life · Jan 25, 2014

CatdaddysCards said:
Owings was a power hitting 1b, with a high average, in college. Should've stayed on the offensive side of the ball in the majors.

Yeah although he was a decent pitcher for us.

hive17 · Jan 25, 2014

Remember how good Mike Hampton was?

Super Mario · Jan 26, 2014

Jim Abbott.

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