STARTERS
With Max Scherzer’s stress fracture, Stephen Strasburg pitching from the stretch, Tanner Roark not pitching at the World Baseball Classic, there were plenty of reasons to worry coming out of Florida.
Our concerns were misplaced.
If you thought Gio Gonzalez would lead the staff in ERA, you are lying. Gonzalez pitched in the Grapefruit League with renewed confidence and that continued once the season started. Instead of nail biting and five-inning starts, he pitches into the seventh, is 3-0 and has an ERA of 1.62.
It is great to see his pitches bite and for him not to labor. The 1.140 WHIP is too.
Strasburg’s decision to throw exclusively from the stretch is wise. Able to hurl his fastball around 97, he mixes his offspeed pitches well and is comfortable letting hitters make contact. The proud papa has a WHIP of 1.000 and still averages 8.0 K/9. His maturation from a thrower to a pitcher works.
In all five starts, Strasburg pitched seven innings.
Scherzer is known for pitching deep, allowing solo bombs and striking out hitters by the metric ton. This season is no exception. His WHIP of 0.980 leads the team, along with 40 strikeouts. Allowing a stingy 6.4 hits-per-nine, he stalks the mound like a tiger preys.
Roark does not have the sizzle of his fellow starters and has not pitched as deep, but he is 3-0 with a WHIP of 1.180. Location of pitches is not as sharp, but he holds his own on the hill.
Joe Ross is a concern.
Starting the year in Syracuse, he has three starts under his belt since his recall. Somehow, he has a win mixed with an ERA of 7.47. A WHIP of 1.532 and the lack of ability to pitch past the fourth inning has stymied Ross. The slider refuses to and his fastballs move too much.
A+: Strasburg, Gonzalez
A: Scherzer
B: Roark
F: Ross
Expelled: Jeremy Guthrie