I really dislike leading with a pitcher in back-to-back starts, but Jacob deGrom has given me no choice after going 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks against the Rangers last night. That brings his ERA to a bloated 4.75 mark, WHIP to 1.44, and heartbreaks into the thousands. So what on earth is going on with him? On one hand, he's getting whiffs like a stud, especially on his Four-Seamer, which is sitting at a 16% whiff rate. That's crazy good and makes me think he get over this hump. On the other, he's just not commanding his Slider like he has in the past, while his Changeup and Fastball are getting crushed for longballs often. We're talking 20.0% HR/FB rate across the board here. It looks to me like deGrom just isn't as consistent as we've seen in the past. I've touted him as the Ultra Finesse arm as he pitches like a guy with a 91mph heater but actually throws in the mid 90s, making him a stud. These days he's lost the polish - 37.6% hard contact, 39.2% pull rate up from 32.2% last year - but has the substance. This is without mentioning his 9.6% walk rate that's risen from 5.1% and 6.0% in the past two years, which speaks more to the overall command not on point. Is this due to a hidden injury? It's possible, but considering his velocity is at its highest he's ever been (95.0mph compared to 93.4mph last year), I wouldn't believe that. Do we buy low? Sell? Hold? I think you Buy and Hold. I'd imagine his price won't get much lower than this (okay, maybe if he falters one more time) and I trust him rebounding and dominating more than guys like Justin Verlander, Masahiro Tanaka, and Rick Porcello. deGrom has been a command pitcher for ages and I have faith he can make the adjustment to get back on his feet again while retaining the whiff rates.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
