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BP Annual Player Comments

Year		Comment
2010		Additional surgery and painstaking rehab allowed Jason Schmidt one final ride, but his shoulder couldn't hold out long enough for him get the per-inning cost of his three-year, $47 million deal down to $1 million. Expect retirement.
2009		"Second surgery" isn't a phrase you want attached to your $47 million investment, but that's what Jason Schmidt underwent last September after a futile attempt to rehab from a 2007 labrum repair. Though his velocity had reached 92 mph before shutdown, scar tissue and arthritic changes in the acromioclavicular joint inhibited his delivery. The latest surgery was a last-resort modified arthroscopic Mumford procedure to try to salvage Schmidt's shoulder as much for throwing to his children as throwing to Russell Martin. The Dodgers may wind up paying more than $1 million per big-league inning over the life of Schmidt’s contract.
2008		Though clearly diminished from his 2003/2004 heyday, Schmidt rebounded strongly enough from a mediocre 2005 for his three-year, $47 million deal with the Dodgers to draw praise in these quarters. Further reassurance came via the green light from incoming director of medical services Stan Conte, who was intimately familiar with Schmidt's shoulder from their days with the Giants. Alas, by mid-April, Schmidt's troubling lack of velocity prompted an MRI and a lengthy stay on the DL. He survived less than two weeks upon returning, and exploratory surgery in late June revealed the Torn Labrum Platter Deluxe with all the trimmings, including an inflamed bursa and a frayed biceps tendon. While the Dodgers expect him to recover, Schmidt may be in for rough sledding until he rebuilds his arm strength, and even that's no guarantee of a return to his established form.
2007		For the first three months of 2007, Schmidt was right there with the best pitchers in baseball, owning a 2.78 ERA after 115 innings. After the All-Star break, his ERA went up nearly two runs to 4.76, driven by an opposition batting average 50 points higher. Yes, he was worked hard in May and June--eight straight starts over 110 pitches, four of them over 120--but he wasn`t pushed radically harder than younger pitchers such as Bronson Arroyo and Carlos Zambrano. Even when going well, he wasn`t getting the strikeouts he did in the past. The Dodgers signed him to a three-year, $47-million contract, which seems more than fair given the expensive environment this off-season; holding the deal to three years was a victory.
2006		Schmidt`s season went wrong in just about every possible way. Hits, walks, and homers were up, strikeouts were down, and he missed playing time with both a groin injury and shoulder weakness. The shoulder problem caused him to lose velocity on his hard four-seamer, and without that usually dominating pitch Schmidt struggled mightily. The team will pick up his $10.5 million option for 2006 less because they think he`ll be all better than because they need him to be all better. That`s not so unreasonable, considering the free agent market for starting pitchers. Safe, strong bets are few and far between, and the Giants have little talent to offer in trade, so the uncertain pitcher in the hand wasn`t any more of a gamble than any number of them out in the bush.
2005		As much flak as Brian Sabean gets for his veteran fetish and bizarre signing tactics, he deserves every bit of the credit—maybe more—for Schmidt. Getting the ace (and John Vander Wal) for Ryan Vogelsong and Armando Rios at the 2001 deadline ranks as one of the biggest heists of the last decade. The four-year, $30 million contract they gave him after the '01 season is also grand larceny, and at this rate Schmidt's $10 million team option in '06 looks like a lock. Injuries remain been a concern, but Schmidt overcame elbow tendon surgery last off-season, exceeded expectations yet again, and keeps getting better as his innings totals mount. Giants fans can only hope he's got the Livan Hernandez-like ability to shoulder the load and avoid injury; Bonds gets hailed as The Franchise, but they'd be lost without Schmidt.
2004		Last year we wrote about Schmidt: "If he can keep his right arm from falling off-always the big 'if with Schmidt-and can tone down the 'Hit this!' machismo a bit away from SF, he could step up to become one of the NL's premiere pitchers this year." Schmidt held up his part of that prediction, cutting his road ERA from 5.02 to 2.44, while keeping his home ERA steady. He also kept intact the chicken wire and duct tape that holds his right arm together, but just barely; Schmidt underwent surgery immediately after the season to repair a torn tendon in his elbow. The Giants expect him to be ready to pitch Opening Day, but the injury still adds a big dose of uncertainty to an already uncertain rotation.
2003		Jason Schmidt looooves pitching in Pac Bell Park. Loves it. Secure with the park’s cavernous outfield dimensions, he’s increasingly challenging hitters to catch up to his high fastball, and the result is usually a lazy fly or a strikeout—Schmidt sported the majors’ fifth-lowest G/F ratio in 2001, and the fifth-best strikeout rate. If he can keep his right arm from falling off—always the big “if” with Schmidt—and can tone down the “Hit this!” machismo a bit away from San Fran, he could step up to become one of the NL’s premiere pitchers this year.
2002		Early in 2002, two BP staffers were talking about the free-agent market, and one made the comment that the Darren Dreifort contract would be the last of its kind, an eight-figure deal for significant years to a pitcher of questionable achievement. That may be so, but the Jason Schmidt contract certainly fits the category. Did anyone have him pegged for a four-year, $32-million contract at the All-Star break? He was traded, had two good months in a great pitchers' park, and presto change-o, he's a rich man. As long as teams pay through the nose for pitchers based on a few months' of health and effectiveness, the market is always going to skew upward. Schmidt's ticking can be heard in wine country.
2001		We told you last year he was a big breakdown risk, and break down he did, pitching poorly before he was sidelined by shoulder surgery. The Pirates piled a ton of innings on Jason Schmidt's arm and never saw the results they (or we) expected of someone with his talent. He’s young, but his arm is in questionable shape, and he’ll probably spend the first half of 2001 finding his mechanics again.
2000		The old question was when Schmidt would become an ace. The new question is whether he'll become an ace before his arm blows out. Schmidt had several bouts with "dead arm" syndrome last year, when his top velocity would be 10 mph or more off its norm, and yet he still managed to throw as many pitches in ’99 as he did in ’98. It’s risky, but he still has a high ceiling.
1999		Took a step forward, then one back, then a half-step forward at the end of the season. Unlike Peters, Schmidt seemed to rattle easily, running off five or six scoreless innings, then completely losing his cool after a tough-luck play.
1998		Pirate fans may cringe at the sight of Denny Neagle’s 20 wins in Atlanta, but Schmidt should soothe their pain over the next few years. Schmidt’s successful season was a major component of the Pirates’ pennant run, as he improved across the board last year while he worked on his consistency. Schmidt’s season comprised stretches where he was unhittable, followed by one or two solid poundings. Similar to Alan Benes’ 1996 season, and we know where that went. Pitchers are unpredictable, but Schmidt looks like a breakout candidate.
1997		The key guy in the Neagle trade, he pitched very well after coming over from the Braves. He pitched especially poorly in Atlanta, possibly due to the irregular schedule he pitched on as the fifth man in the Braves rotation. He came down with a stress fracture in his ribs in midseason, which may also have been part of his problem.
1996		The job of fifth starter is his to lose. His numbers have consistently improved as he has ascended the minor league ladder, and he's only 23. His control is the only thing standing between him and a successful major league career.

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PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

A Collaboration between BrooksBaseball.net and Baseball Prospectus - Pitch classifications provided by Pitch Info LLC

Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2024, Jason Schmidt threw 671 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2007 and 2009, including pitches thrown in . In 2009, he relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (87mph) and Curve (71mph), also mixing in a Change (83mph). He also rarely threw a Slider (79mph).