Mound Musings: Life, the Universe and Everything

Over the past few years, Life, the Universe, and Everything, has gradually become a semi-regular part of Mound Musings. As we all try to answer the ultimate question, I'll occasionally dedicate this space to elaborating on questions from you, the readers as well as taking the opportunity to make brief comments about current events. To be honest, this might now be my favorite column. If you have a pitching question, fire away, that's what we're here for.

Is it possible to have an effective pitcher pitching for Colorado? We are always looking for more pitching. That veteran is due back from the IL soon, and that highly regarded prospect is getting called up. Can they help? Maybe, but there is also that often ignored source of arms in the Rocky Mountains. Colorado.

How many times have you scanned their roster, wondering if someone there could help? I've lost count. Let's see. A high strikeout rate. That's good. He's an extreme groundball pitcher, a sinkerballer, theoretically meaning fewer balls finding the seats (or gaps in that spacious outfield). How will he hold up under the pressure of pitching in a run factory? Colorado pitchers require stout constitutions. There is a whole checklist of traits that could make that Rockies' pitcher worthy of consideration.

But, alas, the few I have tried over the years have never really panned out. It only takes a walk here or there, and an occasional mistake, to end the dream. Most don't even hold up as streamers for road starts. Eventually they succumb to shellshock. I keep looking, but I feel the risk is too great. I will always avoid them.

The worst of it is the never-ending challenge of identifying an upcoming good day or bad day. It's almost impossible. What did you have for breakfast? Are you feeling extra perky today? All you can do is wait and see. It will balance out over the course of a season.

When your closer isn't always a closer: I'm not going to dwell on this, as it's not really something we can cure. The days of having a genuine closer earmarked for the ninth inning when his team maintains a three-run lead may not be over, but quite a few teams are embracing a more flexible approach. I understand it. If 3-4-5 are scheduled to hit in the eighth inning, bring your best reliever in then, and let a lesser arm deal with 7-8-9 in the ninth inning. It actually makes sense, but that doesn't make it any easier for fantasy owners. It creates a new tier of end-gamers: the anytime closer.

In many cases someone will surface as the primary closer, usually because others pitched themselves out of the role.

I thought I saw home plate over there: I will preface this snippet by admitting I have no idea where control has gone. These days, I routinely see pitchers with very good control totally lose it — sometimes all in a single game. The other day, a pitcher was surgically slicing up the opposing lineup. The first two innings, he retired all six batters with three strikeouts on a total of 26 pitchers. He had no three-ball counts. In the third inning, he struck out the first batter but then walked four straight hitters.

For his next trick, he hit the fourth batter before leaving the game. His replacement served up a batting practice fastball that he threw over the heart of the plate. The hitter, predictably, lashed a double into the gap in right center, clearing the bases and making the score 4-0. What the hell happened??? I don't know. Maybe there is a minor injury, or maybe the pitcher just lost focus. It happens, but it doesn't happen daily, does it?

Let's look in on Greg Maddux. I use him as an example fairly often. He walked more than two hitters in an inning three times — in 22 seasons. He pitched in 759 games, and he did not walk a batter in 236 of those. Yes, he was an exception, but there is nothing I can see to explain normal control just disappearing.

Who is attracting attention for next year: We currently watch college baseball (and the minor leagues) looking for that difference maker to arrive next season. There will no doubt be a couple of guys who will make a positive impact, but we're going to focus on two arms likely to arrive next year.

There has been a noticeable trend in pitchers coming to MLB from Japan and Korea the past few seasons: they have generally higher quality, and they tend to be younger. For example, Roki Sasaki (age 22) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (age 25) arrived this year. Yamamoto is a little more experienced, and is doing better, but you can see Sasaki's potential. Next in line is probably Shunpeita Yamashita of the Orix Buffaloes (age 22, he'll turn 23 later this summer). Technically, he isn't able to be posted until after the 2027 season, but more and more pitchers in Japan are including clauses in their contracts allowing them to leave for MLB at pretty much any time (as a whole, without modification, the rules are very restrictive).

Yamashita is probably a notch below Yamamoto and Sasaki right now, but he's only 22, so there is plenty of time for him to develop. His velocity sits in the mid-to-high 90s, he can touch 100, and he's also building a couple off-speed offerings to keep hitters guessing. His walk rate is fringy, but he generates enough swings and misses to temper those concerns. He's had some back problems, too, which are likely slowing his progress.

On the home front, I'm going to skip over Pittsburgh's Bubba Chandler, because I would be dumbfounded if he's not with the Pirates in the next couple weeks. Instead, I'll mention Noah Schultz. The White Sox are in a pure rebuilding mode and have no reason to start his clock.

Schultz is just 21, but he pitches like he's 28 at times. He has struggled a bit with his command this year, but as I've said, the Sox aren't in any hurry. They've been collecting young guys with a goal of competing in 2027 or 2028.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• Boston's Tanner Houck gets the award for most frustrating outing of the week. He couldn't locate anything, but misplayed balls in the outfield and failure to cover first base all contributed to an outing from hell against Detroit. Nine hits, three walks, 11 runs in two-plus innings, plus a trip to the IL with a right flexor pronator strain.
• I got to watch a classic pitcher's duel the other night with Arizona's Merrill Kelly getting the best of San Francisco's Justin Verlander 2-1 (with a little help from Corbin Carroll, who hit two homers). Kelly was particularly impressive, with great movement on everything. Great pitching is still hard to beat.
• I've been tracking Emerson Hancock since he was in college at Georgia. When he arrived in Seattle in 2023 there were hints of better things ahead, but he just hasn't progressed. He's had his share of bad luck, and he's not a big strikeout guy, so he better step up before the M's rotation gets crowded again.
• Next on the fielding follies list is Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta. An inning should have ended with the bases loaded on a relatively routine flyball to centerfield. But, when Jackson Chourio misplayed the ball, it turned into a bases clearing "double" and earned Peralta a loss. It's errors being called hits that I find so annoying.
• I keep waiting for Kansas City's Kris Bubic to come back to Earth. He ended up with a no decision in his last start, but it sure wasn't his fault. He allowed one run on six hits with one walk in six-plus innings. He even struck out nine. It dropped his ERA to 1.66, and he continues to pitch fairly deep into games.
• It's not panic time yet, but I am getting a bit concerned about Roki Sasaki. The season has progressed far enough that he should be settling in, yet he continues to struggle. He was hitting triple digits in March, but no more. A big drop in velocity and control problems clearly point to possible injury concerns. (Editor's note: Sasaki has since been placed on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement and has been shut down from throwing.)

Endgame Odyssey:

The Diamondbacks appeared to have their closer situation solved as A.J. Puk rose to the occasion. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as he succumbed to yet another injury. He's not expected back until July, and Justin Martinez is also hurt, leaving the job (probably) to Shelby Miller... It's been a committee for the most part in Miami, but lately, Jesus Tinoco has been seeing more chances... In Philadelphia, Jordan Romano may finally be ready to claim the closer's gig. He has struggled at times, but he's the only reliever in their pen who profiles as a true closer... How nice of someone to demonstrate the "lost home plate" comments. The Padres' Robert Suarez hadn't walked a batter in 18 appearances this year, then walked four while recording just one out to log his first blown save of the season... Atlanta's Raisel Iglesias took another blown save, his third, earlier this week, but horrid fielding contributed. I feel like a broken record... In Texas, their closer Luke Jackson took a comebacker off the hand. It's still swollen, but he is aggressively working to avoid a trip to the IL. To make matters worse, Chris Martin is banged up too. Stay tuned... Drew Pomeranz of the Cubs hadn't pitched in MLB since 2021 when he returned in April. Now he has picked up a save. I suppose he could be the left-handed side of a closer by committee, but I don't see it.