Also, what’s with David Peterson missing so many bats lately?
• 1 min read
I’ll admit MacKenzie Gore and Tarik Skubal are kind of freaking me out.
I’ve been there for a while with Gore. The reason he lost so much ground as a prospect last year (only to reemerge as a Rookie of the Year favorite early this year) is because his mechanics got out of whack. His velocity dipped, his control suffered, and he spent most of the year trying to iron things out in extended spring training.
So what’s gone wrong in his past four starts? Well, his velocity has dipped (down more than 1 mph in each), and his control has suffered (15 walks vs. 11 strikeouts during that stretch). Here’s how things shook out in his latest start Sunday, which was far from the worst of the four:
Isn’t it possible he’s lost a feel for his mechanics again, what with the high leg kick and all? And if so, how long will it take him to find it this time?
Skubal has had a rough time of late, too. His latest start Sunday brings him to a 9.00 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in his past five.
The walks and home runs have been elevated for the entire five-start stretch, but the new development Sunday is that his velocity was down more than a mile per hour on everything. Could he be out of sorts mechanically, too? Is it possible he’s concealing an injury?
For players as unproven as Gore and Skubal, these sorts of stretches are especially difficult to ride out. For all we know, their earlier successes were a total aberration. In the shallowest of leagues, there may even be an argument for dropping them.
Then again, in the shallowest leagues, most anybody who isn’t a surefire early-round pick is dispensable, so it’s important to put these things in perspective. I think the concerns for Gore and Skubal are legitimate, but so are the pedigree and upside. Neither would be worth dropping for any of these eight potential pickups — not yet, anyway.
Possible waiver wire pickups
