He's older than he was in 2015. His fastball no longer is a pitch he can get strikes on in the zone without it being a guessing game. His cutter is no longer a pitch he can throw in the zone and not get smacked around. His curveball is more a chase pitch that depends on something in the zone. Right now, every pitch type of his is being lit up like there is a sign above the batter's eye telling the batter what the next pitch is. Dropping out his slider won't likely help as it is still producing less bad results than the fastball and curve even though he's throwing fastball and curve much less. He needs something he can throw in the zone for strikes. Alternating the slider with a fastball seems his best chance of getting strikes in the zone. Looking at Brooksbaseball, his difference in vertical release of fastball and slider has gone from about 2 inches to about 5 inches. He either needs to get his slider arm slot back up, drop down his fastball arm slot, or learn to throw a two-seam fastball out of the slider arm slot. If it isn't the arm slot, it is likely something else that is tipping his pitches. He went from dominant to doormat overnight.
If he can't correct the arm slot on the slider, then yeah he needs to ditch it for now and go back to the fastball/curve combo that worked so well. He's completely non playable right now, his outings aren't even competitive. He can come back to the slider later, but he needs to stop the bleeding right now.
Batters are hitting McHugh's fastball and curveball like every batter is better than peak Barry Bonds. His fastball has lost 2 ticks since his fastball/curve combo worked. His slider is still his best pitch by far(not counting the change that he rarely throws). I'm not sure dumping his best pitch will stop the bleeding.
Taillon is currently injured and the type of pitcher that if he is traded, it won’t be until the week of the deadline. If McHugh has another 2-3 bad starts, I’d like them to call up Corbin Martin, option Josh James, and send McHugh back to the bullpen. Then Martin can show what he can do in the majors; if he thrives, he can either be the headliner for Taillon or kept once the rotation instead of making a trade.
Would like to know what his arm slot was out of the pen last year. This is either mechanical on his end, or there’s now enough of a scouting report on him that batters know what to look for (even more so 2nd or 3rd time facing him). Curveball, presuming a similar spin rate that he had before, should still be his best pitch. It’s all falling apart fast and he’s one more bad start away from being unpitchable (and hence benched).
Iirc, he dropped down on his slider but not to the level he's been doing this year. You drop your arm too far and it prevents you from getting the proper wrist snap on the slider and it just spins flat without any bite.
Not so sure they option James based on how he has been pitching as of late. His velocity is back at 99-101 and he blowing through guys right now. It is obviously a very small sample size but his last three outings have been 4 innings 7K 1 hit and 0 runs.
James should be fine. His raw stuff is electric enough to where adjustments can (and likely already have) be made. I think they're going to have to get him consistent work at some point to keep his mechanics in check.
In my mind McHugh and Peacock are competing with each other to see who gets demoted to the pen once a trade or call up is made. Peacock was a damn surgeon last night, so the pressure is on McHugh big time to perform.
Is it wrong that I like him [EDIT: him = Josh James] more as like a 6 out bullpen arm and fireman (a la Josh Hader or what used to be Andrew Miller) than as a potential starter? I feel like his stuff plays up better when he can just grip it and rip it for 30 or so pitches. I love the idea of James eventually supplanting the Rondon/Harris combo in Pre-Pressly situations.
Brad Peacock has ice water in his veins, in Game 7 in the World Series he was so calm and confident in himself and the team. He did a great job coming out of the bullpen to rescue Lance McCullers atrocity of a start, looking scared and wild.
It looks like he's trying to maximize his horizontal run at the expense of bite to make his slider movement differ more from his curve.
If James is going to be someone similar to Miller or Hader, then no I don't think it is wrong at all. The ability to role out James/Pressly/Osuna in the playoffs can turn it into 5 inning games. The margin for error is smaller, as James needs to be really good.... but having a guy like that, who can go 2 innings effectively is quite valuable. The thought has crossed my mind, but I hope the Astros don't. I don't think his velocity would translate as well and James has had to deal with a lot the last 18 months. He has jumped multiple levels, has made mechanical changes, has lived various places and now is in the big leagues trying to get some success. I think moving him into the rotation would be a mistake at this point.
My opinion is that starters arms are stronger in the playoffs than relievers as their arms are stretched out. I'd rather a starter drop down to 2-inning stints in playoffs than having a reliever try to pitch 2 (unless team makes concerted effort to get reliever 2-3 inning outings regularly). As such, if James can continue to pitch well, I'd be for him in the rotation during the regular season with the expectation that he's a 2,3 inning reliever in the playoffs.
My concern is overwhelming James because his path has not been a typical one. He has moved up very quickly. I also question his velocity as a starter. I'll trust whatever the Astros decide. I don't personally know James and maybe with his mentality it will not be an issue. I will just state than earlier in the season he was nibbling too much and did not trust his own stuff.
would love to see him start to get stretched out, if he could be decent as a starter, McHugh could help the pen tremensously
I think his issues were because of his offseason. He had a child born in November. It probably impacted his offseason routine. Then he comes to spring training and gets injured almost right away. His first month of the season was his spring training. Now he's got the velocity back up and hopefully he can step up like a lot of us thought he would.
