Kevin Gausman made his much-anticipated (albeit earlier than anticipated) Orioles debut Wednesday night. While Gausman didn’t wow anybody, the loss can’t be placed on his shoulders, as he gave up four runs on seven hits through five innings, and left with his team trailing 4-3.
On the bright side of the stat sheet, Gausman registered five strikeouts, a few of which were quite impressive. However, Gausman’s start looked more impressive to the naked eye than it does looking back at the data. It is clear that the 22-year-old has great stuff, and a la Jake Arrieta, he can overpower some of the game’s best hitters.
Also a la Arrieta, Gausman had trouble finding Wieters’s glove on a consistent basis. Where Arrieta consistently missed outside the zone, however, Gausman let his mistakes drift over the middle of the plate. And he got hit hard as a result (the hardest of which was a two-run bomb surrendered to J.P. Arencibia).
So going forward, what must Gausman do to avoid an up-and-down, and ultimately frustrating, career like Arrieta has had?
Gausman’s issue, like Arrieta’s, is going to be his control. In his start to the year in AA, Gausman worked with a walks per nine innings of 0.97 throughout his 46 innings pitched. In his start Wednesday, he walked two, and they came at rather inconvenient moments.
Gausman’s BABIP for Wednesday’s start was also a high .375. While one might think this means he was just unlucky, without any errors during his stint on the mound and no mental mishaps in the field, this just further demonstrates that Gausman was missing over the middle of the plate. In short, when he missed his spots, he was giving up quality pitches to hit.
While it’s hard to say right now whether or not Gausman will work out, there’s certainly potential there. In his start, he averaged an impressive fastball velocity of 96.8 MPH. That’s power that no other starter in the O’s rotation has.
When he drops his changeup, cutter, and slider, all at an average of 83 MPH, it’s even more impressive. Edwin Encarnacion saw thisWednesday when he got fooled on an 82 MPH changeup for strike three.
What might help Gausman the most is facing a lineup other than the red-hot Blue Jays. With the stuff that Gausman possesses, he should be able to challenge most lineups in the league, but facing the likes of Encarnacion and Jose Bautista in Toronto makes for a difficult debut.
It doesn’t get much easier, however, pitching in the AL East. Gausman will make his next start on Tuesday in Washington though, and the Nationals are quite offensively challenged at the moment. Assuming he continues pitching like he did in his first three innings in Toronto, Gausman should stay up in Baltimore. The youngster who topped out at 98 MPH could be just what the O’s injury-riddled rotation needs until Dylan Bundy is ready.
