Drew Pomeranz Proves Superior To Dan Straily

May 13, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Drew Pomeranz (13) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Billy Beane made some roster changes, sending Dan Straily down to Triple-A, and adding Drew Pomeranz to the rotation. This move proved to be one of the wisest of the season.

In today’s blowout against the Chicago White Sox, Drew Pomeranz led the Athletics to a 6th straight win. He went 5 scoreless innings, with a career high 8 strikeouts. If he was fully stretched out, I believe Pomeranz could have gone another 2 scoreless innings, along with a couple more Strikeouts.

The highlight of his performance was probably early on, when he struck out the side in the 1st inning. Pomeranz would dominate one of the top scoring offensive teams in the league for the rest of the night.

It makes Athletics fans grateful to have had Straily replaced. Instead of having a 5 game win streak snapped and not gaining ground in the division, the Athletics continue the win streak and go for the sweep tomorrow.

But how can we know for sure Straily wouldn’t have done better?

Let’s look at his start in Triple-A. He started tonight against the Salt Lake City Bees, and allowed 6 runs. The Sacramento Rivercats still went on to win the game in part due to a strong offensive performance by Nate Freiman.

So let’s compare the two.

On one side, we have Drew Pomeranz. A pitcher who went 5 scoreless innings against One of the top 3 offenses in all of baseball. He could have gone more, but he has plenty of starts left to do even better.

On the other side, we have Dan Straily. A pitcher who was costing the major league team too many losses. He couldn’t even put up a quality start against a Triple-A team.

The winner here is clear. Drew Pomeranz is of more use and is more effective for the Oakland Athletics. Dan Straily needs to work on his issues and maybe one day he can return to the majors.