Footer (via Twitter):
Wandy to DL with fluid in elbow. Jordan Lyles called up and will pitch Tues in Chicago.
Am I correct in my assessment of the pros and cons of calling up a pitching prospect before he's ready:
CONS:
-stunts his development by forcing the young pitcher to rely only on the skills he first mastered and feels comfortable with (i.e. that one pitch that befuddled guys in the low minors)
-can lead to bad habits if the young pitcher has to overcompensate to hide his deficiencies and/or to deal with situations he might not be ready for (pitching with runners on, late into games, etc.)
-can expose the young pitcher to arm injuries by bringing him up before he's mastered his mechanics, and he might be prone to 'overpitch' in order to secure his spot in the majors, and/or not report minor arm trouble in an effort to keep his spot
-can kill the confidence of a young pitcher if he struggles too much and gets sent down
PROS:
-the pitcher has the opportunity to learn against top competition, especially if he has the right make-up to deal with the inevitable ups and downs
-the pitcher is exposed to mlb coaching, which, in theory, is better than what he gets in the minors
-the pitcher can receive valuable 'side coaching' from veteran teammates
-the notion argued by some that modern prospects are too babied in the minors, and so a talented player (especially a pitcher) should have the opportunity to take the training wheels off and really compete before these modern player development systems can finish sewing on his vagina
