June Recap:
Iwakuma has made strides since he showed up in spring training and alarmed coaches and team executives alike with a lack of velocity, poor command and a very slow recovery time after he pitched.
May Recap:
After watching Hisashi Iwakuma up close this spring, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik knew there was no way he could turn him loose on a major league mound when it mattered. Not as a starting pitcher, anyway.
Iwakuma kept giving up multiple baserunners in his Cactus League outings and more often than not, they came back to haunt him. But it wasn't just that. If you watched the opposing hitters step into the box against him, their comfort level seemed uncanny. They would plant their feet, crowd the plate and just dare Iwakuma to throw something they wouldn't like.
More often that not, he simply served up the dish of their choice. His pitches were flat as pancakes and the odd time he did get any decent movement on them, they sailed harmlessly out of the zone. When he'd fall behind in counts, Iwakuma would try to come back in with a strike and his velocity -- at times precariously lower than anyone expected -- enabled hitters to easily catch up. Even when he'd get ahead on hitters, sometimes with two strikes, he'd try to throw one of his breaking balls and have them stay flat, fat and hittable. He'd get lucky on a handful of occasions and have balls hit right at people to minimize the damage. But he did not look like a major league starting pitcher.
It didn't take long for Zduriencik, Eric Wedge and anyone who's worked with pitchers to notice this. Heck, even media members who don't work with pitchers were scratching their heads wondering how the Mariners could spend seven figures on Iwakuma.
Iwakuma was BAD in Spring Training. He's absolutely crisp now. That article is a GREAT rundown of how Iwakuma looked and how Jack made the decision not to get him BBQed in the rotation but to work on his arm strength and mechanics on the side while leaving him as the last man in the pen. He did use the pen spot to gently rehab Iwakuma, actually, but that wasn't the intent. The intent was not to have a starter spontaneously combust on the mound.
Sadly, we still had Noesi to fill that role. Now that Iwakuma's fully recovered though...man, has he looked good. I want that guy. Can somebody guarantee me that guy?
~G