Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint Troy
He's like a baby Maddux, when his control is on he is damn tough to hit. Man Scott Rolen makes third base look easy, exceptional fielder.
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It is kind of unfair to comp him to Maddux, especially at this stage in his career, but if you judge someone by their best performances - Marcum is the guy you want. He has probably taken more 1 hitters or 2 hitters into the 4th/5th innings more than any other member of the Jays staff, but he has shown exceptional ability to keep hitters at bay for stretches - something which is rare among pitchers. No other pitcher save Burnett/Halladay really have that ability and none have done it with the frequency that Marcum has.
The thing is, he doesn't rely on "stuff" - his only 'plus' pitch is his changeup (which is exceptional, one of the best in the AL right now).
I'm not sure if there are any pitchers in Recent memory who are decent comps to Marcum. Maddux had an amazing 2-seamer and tons of movement on his pitches. While he didn't throw hard, they danced around the zone with exceptional command. Maddux worked off his fastball.
He is a softer tossing righty with above average control/command. But the "cerebral" aspect of the game, that is something you can compare him with Maddux on. He knows how to pitch and is really wrecking the hitters with pitch selection.