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...the good RRS was throwing 90...not 88.
Second of all...the good RRS also had a much sharper curveball instead of one that just rolled, and he had his change-up back to an 8-10 mph differential instead of 4-5.
Yes, the added velo does matter but only in the context of what your secondary pitches are and how effective they'll be. If French threw 92 and still had that 78-80 mph hammer slider, he'd be a TOR starter. But don't kid yourself into think the velo jump is what single-handedly fix RRS...he needed his other pitches back to full zoom too and he plays the fastball off of those other pitches.