Q and A - Duo Rotations

Jan Groot asked:

Mack, why is it that Kingsport doesn't have some kind of duo rotation? Let me try to explain that to you. And remember it is all about development. Winning is a nice bonus for the players.

Kingsport plays something like 65 games and the 2012 starters made 11 starts (John Gant and Persio Reyes) and around 50 innings. That is about 4.5 innings per start. My thought is why not let another starter make the other 4.5 innings? So you have 1 pitchers instead of 3 or 4 relievers after the starter. This way you will need 12 pitchers who all get their innings as a starter. After the season you start to evaluate those Kingsport 12 for next years Brooklyn rotation. That will be the first team who will have a 6 man rotation with relievers and a closer.

Mack:

Let me answer this a number of ways...

-first of all, no Mets minor league teams start off their season with a fixed 5-man rotation. Most have 2-3 'piggyback' situation, which is another form of what you are calling for. 

-the only people that care about who starts in the minors are the fans... everything is developmental...

-for example, Savannah never had a 5-man rotation last year... it was always six or more

-and then there are the short season teams (Brooklyn, Kingsport, GCL) that have their own unique problems. First of all, many of their players aren't in the organization yet. They will come from the June draft and could already be pitched out for the season. 

-yes, the current rosters are very crowded with pitching talent, but, trust me, there will be 20 more come draft time.

-lastly, you may see the growing trend of starting college SPs off at the A-level (Savannah) to continue.