Brandon McCarthy was once a promising young pitcher – enough so that he was traded for John Danks. The A’s picked him up for this year despite a career ERA of 4.56 and a 1.8 K/BB ratio, and McCarthy has certainly rewarded them. With his eight excellent innings against the Rays (in a game in which the A’s stole 7 bases, saw David DeJesus go deep twice, and won 8-0, by the way) yesterday – 5 H, 0 R, 0 B, 5 K – McCarthy has dropped his 2011 ERA to 3.31.
Never much of a strike-out pitcher, that has continued into this season, as McCarthy is K’ing just 6.1 batters per nine (same as his career mark). Other aspects of his game are far different though. Vastly improved control (1.3 BB/9, 3.0 career) and a lot more groundballs (47% of balls in play, 39% career) reducing his home runs allowed (0.4 HR/9, 1.1 career) have allowed him to lower his FIP from around 4.75 (and usually higher) to just 2.69. After missing much of 2010 due to injury (and not even making an appearance in the majors), McCarthy has come back a different pitcher.
McCarthy’s fastball sinks like a half-foot more than it used to, when it was more the high riding variety (which explains his flyball tendencies). The breaking-ball has more two-plane break instead of just dropping. Now batters have to worry about McCrathy’s pitches cutting or tailing too, whereas previously the vertical element was far more prominent. The discrepancies are big enough that it might not be that fair to compare him to his former self.
At just 28 years old, McCarthy still has plenty of time to make a nice career for himself. Especially if he can stay healthy, which has sometimes been an issue (and he did miss a bit of time this year already).
Also last night: Jacoby Ellsbury homered to help the Red Sox beat the Yankees for the first time in their last nine games; Cole Hamels won the pitchers’ duel in San Francisco, with the complete game; Nathan Eovaldi picked up the win in his major league debut for the Dodgers; and much more.
What to watch tonight: The 9-10 Trevor Cahill takes on the 9-10 David Price; Felix Hernandez faces off against Ervin Santana in LA; and Roy Oswalt makes his return for the Phillies, pulling an easier match-up for himself (the Giants) but a tougher one for his teammates (Tim Lincecum). Full schedule with probable pitchers here.
