7IP, 4H, 6K, 2BB, 0R last night
We were there last night. My first impression of him as he walked out for his warm ups was, wow, is he a big kid! Not at all fat, but a large frame, very well-built.
I came away impressed as hell with this kid. I know he’s had his struggles with control in the past, but he looked good last night. He came out torching it right out of the gate. His fastball was consistently 98-99, even touching 100 a couple of times in the first. His curve runs 88-90. Fisher Cat players didn’t get a hit till the 3rd. They just didn’t know what to do with him.
He got into a spot of trouble in the 5th. He gave up a lead off single, then that player went to second on a passed ball. A grounder to first moved the runner to third, with one out. He didn’t get rattled at all, promptly striking out the next two batters to end the inning.
He pitched into the 7th. His fast ball was still clocking in at 98, but his control began to slip just a bit. He walked the first batter, then the next batter just barely caught the ball with the bat, but it was enough to get him to first. Then the third batter successfully bunted. Bases loaded, no outs. But he kept his cool for the next batter, inducing a 5-2-3 DP. He then got the next batter to ground out.
Besides his pitching, what struck me most was his poise. First, the start of the game was rain delayed for 1:34. I think some young players may have been a bit rattled at having their before-game routine disrupted, but he came out in top form right from the get go. Secondly, he didn’t get rattled when there were misplays behind him. Remember how a young Strasburg used to get so rattled when there was an error behind him that he’d promptly walk the next couple of batters? Not this kid. He just faced the next batter like nothing happened. Thirdly, he showed good defensive sense on the couple of balls he had to field, throwing accurately to first, or in one case, having the sense to not throw when when it wouldn’t have done any good and risked an overthrow.
All in all, this kid looked like the real deal.
