Charlie's profile on FutureSox.com

 

In a move that I don't understand, after splitting 2010 between AA B-Ham and brief stint in AAA Charlotte, Charlie has been demoted to High A Winston-Salem. Not sure if he's going to continue as a starter, or if they are re-training him as a reliever. We'll see.

 

In a move that I don't understand, after splitting 2010 between AA B-Ham and brief stint in AAA Charlotte, Charlie has been demoted to High A Winston-Salem. Not sure if he's going to continue as a starter, or if they are re-training him as a reliever. We'll see.

Generally relievers move up a level if they go to the pen.

Generally relievers move up a level if they go to the pen.

Yeah, I think this is a bad sign for him. I still don't know the nature of his injuries last year, and its sort of baffling for a guy with his velocity and control to have so few K's in the past season or two.

 

Charlie was demoted to start the season, and put int he bullpen for W-S. His first couple outings were abysmal - 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. He has improved a bit since then though. His numbers in his next 5 appearances: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

 

The fact that he was moved to relief wasn't a huge surprise, given that his K numbers had been trending down as he was promoted up through the system, and he seemed to tire as season went on. But being demoted was not a good sign. He'll need to be lights-out in relief and find his was back to AA soon if he's to be considered a significant prospect again, even in this relatively weak system.

 

Update on Charlie... he's been getting a lot better in the relief role. He was promoted from High A Winston-Salem to AA B-Ham after improving, and so far at B-Ham his numbers as a long+middle reliever and spot starter in are:

 

22 IP

22 H

6 ER

4 BB

16 K

 

2.45 ERA

1.18 WHIP

.256 AvgA

2.00 GO/AO

6.55 K/9

1.64 BB/9

 

Its encouraging to see him continue to induce ground balls, but also lower his walk rate by about half and increase his K rate by about 40%. That's what we wanted to see from him to begin with.

 

Charlie is basically a sinker-baller with good velocity and decent control, but his pitch repetoire is limited and didn't seem to have the stamina to start over a full season. This new role seems to suit him better. He's pretty much dropped off the significant prospect radar, but I wouldn't fully count him out just yet.

 

After doing better in relief, Shirek was moved back to the rotation again, which is a bit of a puzzler given the factors I mentioned above. Instead of showing his full season stats at B-Ham, here are his stats split as reliever, and starter...

 

RELIEVER: 35.0 IP, 29 H, 12 ER, 0 HR, 13 BB, 29 K... 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .223 AvgA, 1.67 GO/AO, 7.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9

STARTER: 53.1 IP, 65 H, 26 ER, 6 HR, 15 BB, 28 K... 4.39 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .302 AvgA, 1.31 GO/AO, 4.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9

 

Pretty much across the board, he was a substantially better reliever than starter. I am pretty sure you will see Charlie in the Charlotte bullpen in 2012, for his age 26 season. He also has 5 years in the minors, so after 2012, I am pretty sure he is a minor league FA. He's behind a bunch of other RH relievers at this point (I'd say Reed, Jones, Infante and Remenowsky definitely, and possibly Kloess and Cofield), though a couple of those might make the big club and clear a path. He's got a tough road ahead of him right now, but he still has a shot. He needs to put numbers up in AAA similar to, or better than, his numbers as a reliever in B-Ham.

 

 

Well, I was wrong. Charlie is back to being a starter - in fact he is Charlotte's Opening Day starter. We'll see how he does in the rotation in AAA.

 

Shirek making the most of his opportunity with Charlotte. Named IL pitcher of the week. His stats so far in 4 starts: 24 IP, 20 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 19 K. 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP.

 

 

 

Monthly update on Shirek...

 

Predictably, Charlie's numbers have started to fade as he piles on the innings. K rate is decliing, hits against him are increasing. The guy has reliever written all over him. Here is an interesting look at some of his peripherals in April vs May:

 

APRIL: .252 AvgA, 1.3 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

MAY: .296 AvgA, 1.4 BB/9, 3.9 K/9

 

Still has good control, but he's become much more hittable. It is a mystery to me why he's not been converted to a reliever.

 

Overall so far in 11 games, 66 IP: 4.23 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, .278 AvgA, 1.4 BB/9, 5.6 K/9

 

Monthly update...

 

So, Charlie was one of the surprises of the minor league rosters, getting the OD start for Charlotte. He did OK in April, but just as he had in previous years, he then started to see his numbers tail off in May: K/9 Rate went from 7.8 to 3.9, BAA went from .252 to .296, and his walks went up a bit (but those were still fine). Seemed like, yet again, he was showing that he really needs to be a reliever.

 

Then June happened. His ERA went from the 4's to 2.43, BAA dropped to .243, walk rate stayed the same, but his K/9 rate went back up to 7.5. I'm not sure what happened, but, maybe he got the right coaching and made a positive adjustment.

 

Shirek is a guy who can hit 95, has a good sinker, throws strikes and induces a lot of ground balls. His road to AAA has been rocky, and he's 26, but if he keeps up his June numbers, he may surprise a lot of people and be in the hunt for a big league job in 2013.

 

Charlie continues to pleasantly surprise in Charlotte. So far on the season, starting for the Knights:

 

22 G

133.1 IP, 142 H, 52 ER, 10 HR, 19 BB, 96 K

3.51 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .269 BAA, 6.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9

 

Core numbers look good, control looks very good. K rate isn't spectacular, but its better than he's done in previous years, and its not a number that's declining quickly like in previous years. It sure looks like they "fixed" something for Charlie.

 

He still doesn't miss a ton of bats, and the BAA is a little high, but he may be in the picture for a bullpen spot in 2013. He needs to be on the 40-man next season or the Sox risk losing him, and given his AAA performance, I think there is a fair chance someone would claim him off waivers if they outright him.

 

2012 End of Season...

 

Charlie had probably the best year of his minor league career in 2012. After seemingly dropping off the prospect radar bouncing between A+ and AA for three seasons and finally hitting AAA at age 26, he posted some very respectable numbers in 170.1 innings (by far the most of his career): 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 6.2 K/9, .260 BAA. His K rate did start to drop off a bit in August/September, but given he only pitched 103.2 innings the year before, that is to be expected. Charlie put himself back on the radar.

 

Shirek completed his 6th minor league season (if his very brief 2007 appearance counts), and that makes him a minor league Free Agent. That being the case, if the Sox want him back for 2013, they will have to compete with 29 other teams to sign him to a new minor league (or major league) deal. Given the depth of starting pitching talent for the Sox, Charlie is behind a few people, so he may elect to go elsewhere to get a better shot at the bigs. But wherever he goes, he certainly helped his stock in 2012.

 

Thanks to his strong showing in 2012 (and despite being 27), the Sox added Shirek to the 40-man roster to protect him from the upcoming Rule V Draft. This gives some indication that the Sox org, and/or other teams, see some major league potential in him. Good sign for Charlie.

 

Depending on how things fall out this offseason, especially in the trade realm, it is possible that Shirek could compete for a reliever spot in Spring Training.

 

 

Rumor posted that Charlie is headed to Korea for professional baseball in 2013. Working to get confirmation from the Knights.

 

Confirmed by Sox. Shirek given unconditional release, headed to Korea. Closing thread, sending to archives.