Number of games Beavan had more than 4 Ks, 2011: ZERO
In 2012, prior to demotion? ONE. (a seven K game, woot!)
After recent callup? Two (five and six Ks, the last 2 games)
So yeah, the Beavan of the last two games is finally using his aimable fastball to do more than just get the ball someplace the hitter can comfortably put a bat on it.
But he had one game in his first 28 pro starts with more than 4 Ks. That's a slim margin to achive success. By way of comparison, Erasmo Ramirez has struck out 5 or more in two of his four starts (one of them a 10K performance). Iwakuma did it once in relief earlier this year and once in his 4 starts thus far. Jason Vargas had 5+ Ks in three of his first five starts as a 22 year old for Florida.
Beavan has the attitude, and he doesn't flinch with runners on - but that's mostly meant that so far he hasn't been able to limit damage. Guys hit what they hit against him, he doesn't slow them down in crucial spots or otherwise. The pitch will be in the zone and until recently there was no way anybody would be fooled by his approach.
If he can start attacking hitters instead of relying on them to hit it at somebody, I'll have more faith. Growing up as a pitcher is a hard thing to do. I hope the last couple games are just the first signs that Beavan is doing just that, and is now able to go on the offensive and dictate a bit more.
~G
Q. If Beavan pitched like this, then what?
A. In this one particular game, Beavan was about as close to a mimetic polyalloy as it is possible for one pitcher to get to another. He apparently sampled Ian Kennedy by physical contact and deployed the new chassis to terminate the Royals.
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Q. What do the two have in common?
A. Beavan's defining attributes were:
- Excellent command and exquisite control - after 5 IP he had 47 strikes vs. 12 balls
- 90-93 MPH
- Straight fastball, movement not a factor
- Fastball thrown up in the zone (only pitchers with low GB% need apply. No Saunderses, Cahills or Mastersons need apply)
- One basic decent-to-good offspeed pitch, thrown merely to set up the fastball
- Good poise and pitchability
That is Ian Kennedy right down to the 35% groundball rate. Guys in the Catfish Hunter template here include Kennedy, Bartolo Colon kind of, the rookie Doug Fister, Blake Beavan, and only a few others.
Here's a Kennedy video. Same thing. Beavan July 27 could have been throwing exactly those pitches. 89-92 fastball located, and up, to miss bats. Same 79-81 change slider. Same attack mode, same blizzard of 0-2 counts.
Between Blake Beavan and 21 wins there is a long, long way, but Kennedy is the comp for the game Beavan executed on Friday night.
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Q. Wait, what? Fister?
A. The rookie Fister, 2009 and 2010, had three things: tear-jerking command of an 88-89 fastball, ice water for blood, and a pretty good changeup. Fister's 2009-10 changeup was analogous to Beavan's slider the last two games.
True, Fister had great angles and movement, and some more ground balls because of the plane. He had even an extra level of command, too. But on the other hand, Beavan has 4-5 MPH on him; his fastballs are quite a bit longer. It could be close to a wash, the fastballs of Fister 2010 and Beavan now - similarly difficult to square up, for slightly different reasons.
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Q. ::raises hand:: Oh! Can we quote you. You're saying that Beavan is going to go 21-4, 2.88?
A. Go home, LrKrBoi29. We mean it in a good way.
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Q. Does he get credit for a starter's rhythm?
A. Oh, that reminds us. Thanks for asking. You can check Beavan's velo trend on Friday. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being Charlie Furbush and 10 being Felix Hernandez, our new bandwagon boy rates a good solid 8. Mmmmmm, centerline. Tastes like chicken.
The guy's a starter from the word Go. Comfortable facing lefties... hey, comfortable challenging them, for that matter. Energy-conserving motion. Nice steady head and he gains feel as he goes along. He's not running down the mound. He isn't emotional out there.
I know, I know, easy for me to say now. Hey, we'll be glad to write a similar apology over Brandon League if he wants to get an idea out there, too.
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Comments
If he's back to that pitch-to-contact shtick next time out, I'm wit' choo.
All 90-odd pitches last night looked to me like he was trying to get the ball by the bats into the catcher's mitt - this location chart vs LHH being an example. Not a single pitch, all game, at knee level.
Yeah, we'll all see whether he remains in attack mode.
If Beavan continues to be the aggressor, then I'm much more interested.
If Beavan goes back to serving it up and letting the other guy screw up, not so much. I'm also curious to see what happens when his slider frizzes out for a night. If he can limit damage, work in the curve when the slider's out, that'll be excellent.
I didn't honestly expect this leap from Beavan til next Spring. It's hard to change your mentality mid-season. But the demotion seems to have sparked exactly what you'd have wanted to see.
Now I want to see two more months like this.
~G