Justin Masterson to make his debut 4/24/08

[Nerf MVP]

This normally wouldn't matter to me that much except that my parents have been gushing about this kid since before he was Red Sox property. He pitched for the Wareham Gatemen ( I grew up about 10 min from Wareham. My parents are active Wareham Gatemen fans. They're on the board of something or other. According to them and everyone else associated with the team, Masterson is pretty much the greatest person who ever lived) of the Cape Cod league and that's where he asserted himself on a national level as a top prospect. It's unclear whether he'll be a starter or reliever at this point, but as for tomorrow he will start.

Good luck........

[Celtic]

Nice, I've hear a lot of good stuff about him. He's lucky there's no Celtics game tomorrow night, cause no one would be watching the Sox.

[Redz]

Cool.  Thanks for the heads up.  I live in Harwich and work in Chatham, so I'm well aware of the "Cape Cod League" worshippers! (I enjoy the games, but tend to need to get away from the crowds by the time the games start).  Evan Longoria being the latest Chatham A to make it to the bigs, has been a big hit here.

[lon3lytoaster]

That's cool. Interested in seeing if this kid was worth keeping when we could have traded him for Santana.

We'll see. Haven't seen/heard anything but good things so hopefully he'll show something good.

[MBz]

Great, I really want to see how this kid really is.  I did think Hansen pitched solid tonight, he went out there and threw strikes, gave up a solo shot, but it happens. 

[yall hate]

Masterson is pretty solid.  I dont know if he really has much of a shot at being a starter here, but he is young, supposedly a very hard worker, and a good kid.

scouting reports say he is very much like a derek Lowe

His arsenal includes a sinker, a slider, and a change-up.  Of those pitches, his best is a phenomenal plus-sinker with an excellent heavy drop -- he can vary its speed from 84-94 mph, catching many hitters off balance.  Also mixes in a very good slider that sits in the low 80s, and an improving 77-81 mph four-seam circle change.  Uses his sinker predominantly as his out-pitch, but also can make use of his secondary pitches to get out of jams.  His mix of pitches results in a high groundball-to-flyball ratio, getting a lot of double plays.  Very good command of the zone.  Prepares well for every game and pitches with confidence on the mound.   Strong character, Masterson is one of the most likable persons and teammates going.

if he can keep the sinker down, should be good

[GreenSun]

The Sox continue to dip into an increasingly deep farm system.  Thanx Theo, for understanding that you can't buy or trade for a decent team every year.  Even the Yanks are beginning to see that now.  When I was younger, we could only dream of having a good farm system like we have now.

It's great to be a Boston sports fan right now, isn't it ??   

[Donoghus]

Pretty excited to see him pitch today.  I've been reading about him for some years now and was also aware of his exploits in the Cape Cod League (Go Bourne Braves!!).  Hopefully, he can go out there and give the Sox 5-6 quality innings and get 'em back on track.

[yall hate]

Pretty great job by Masterson.

Through 6 innings (and likely all he will go), 1 ER (on a monster homerun), 2 hits, 4 k's, and 4 walks.

The Homerun was a bomb, clearing the bullpens, but the wind was blowing out that way with about 18 mph gusts, so it was likely wind aided.  the walks are frustrating (he was ahead of the count on a few of them).

overall, to only give up 2 hits in against a pretty potent team in the Angels is pretty darn good.  Hopefully they put him at AAA, let him challenge himself and then be in the big league bullpen by the end of the year.

[Redz]

Double bonus:  I drafted him as a long term keeper on my roto team

Awesome debut.

[Donoghus]

Solid outing for the kid.  Can't ask for much more in his first start.  Ate up 6 innings which helps things out for the pen.

[RondoIsAPimp]

Great Job, too bad Lopez has come in and might cost the kid his first W

[Redz]

Great Job, too bad Lopez has come in and might cost the kid his first W

Well, that's a shame

[yall hate]

too bad no one in the bullpen can throw a [dang] strike.  at this rate, this is going to be a 10 run inning.  what a waste.

[Cman]

really unfortunate that the bullpen cost Masterson a W.  Still, nice first outing for him and looking forward to seeing more.