Has Vince Velasquez actually become a reliable starting pitcher?
Yesterday, I listed and discussed the Triple-A starting pitchers atop the strikeout rate leaderboard. Now lets flip to the NL. Bailey Falter recorded two innings in relief in late April, but was optioned back to Triple-A after that outing and has remained there since. Historically, his strikeout rates have hovered in the high teens to low-20% range, while his SwStk% has been anywhere from the mid-to-high single digits to around 10%. Both the strikeout rates and SwStk% marks were unimpressive. But this year, his strikeout rate has skyrocketed and its backed by a spike in SwStk%. His velocity has increased, while Eric Longenhagen calls Falter pretty funky and deceptive, which might play up even more with the increased velocity. Eric even thought there was a breakout opportunityback on March 1. Now we see the skills surge and it looks like his crystal ball was on point. As I type this, word on the street is Falter is expected to be recalled for tonights (yesterdays) game and hell be deployed as a follower. So when you read this, well have some more MLB metrics in the bag to evaluate.