Marshall Should Get Consideration as 4th Starter

marshal much more consistent than williams . . i would go with marshal and guzman combo instead of williams

My only concern is that we haven't really seen Marshall pitch in trouble. Williams's stuff has never really impressed me that much: he has a pretty good sinker, decent change and four seem, and two rather mediochre breaking balls (both slider and curve). However, he does show a tremendous amount of poise on the mound, meaning he doesn't get too rattled in bases loaded situations. Since Marshall has not pitched with many men on base (barely out of the stretch), and we have also yet to see how he copes with giving up a run or two, I almost wish we could see him get into trouble during his next start to see his makeup (although I have read in scouting reports that he does show considerable poise.)

Marshall's upside:
1. **Excellent** sinker (he reminds me of Mark Mulder when he is most effective)
2. both his sweeping curve and straight change are also plus pitches. 3. Most of all, excellent control. Although he walked four against the As, they were all on full counts (that I can remember) and I felt the zone was rather tight. He was around the zone all game long.
4. He also has a decent cutter, which of course will help him tremendously against righties.

Marshall's (possible) downside:
1. He has had several injury problems in the past (including a recurring problem on his finger). I don't believe he's ever thrown more than 120 innings in a season.
2. As sharp as he looks, I still believe he is not completely developed. From what I've read, he's been tinkering with a slider, and also used to throw a plus splitter (which I think has been hampered by his finger injury). Now, I've never played pro ball, so I obviously don't know how much development players receive once they reach the show, but I'm sure Marshall would benefit from a little more time in the minors to work on these things. With his curve, I'm not certain a slider is necessary, but a good splitter would sure help him a lot against righties.
3. With his 6'7'' frame, he should be able to put another 10-15 pounds of muscle, which I think would improve his four seamer.

All that being said, I still believe that, at this point, Marshall does look like a better alternative than Williams. I'm just really not that impressed with Williams's stuff, and I believe he will someday be, at best, a good 4 or 5 starter, but he isn't there yet. I'm concerned that Dusty, just based on the way he operates, will show favoritism toward Williams, because he knows him from San Fran, and won't give the team the best chance to win by giving Marshall a shot.