I really wish I could find a shirt like the one Luinder Avila is wearing in the photo I’ve attached to this piece in my size. If y’all see anything like that somewhere in a 4XL or 5XL and could let me know, I’d super duper appreciate it.
Oh yeah, we’re here to talk about baseball. The Royals are playing the Orioles in Baltimore tonight. Luinder Avila is going to start for KC. To say that his results have been mixed since he joined the rotation following a variety of pitching injuries would not be an
overstatement. He has a 5.04 ERA, thanks in no small part to his wimpy 6.2% K-BB%. He needs to strike more guys out and walk fewer while starting. The curveball that was his bread and butter coming up through the system is now his fourth-most-used pitch out of five. His sinker and slider have been the only pitches he’s been able to throw with much effectiveness, but he still struggles to get them – or any – of his pitches in the strike zone. When a hitter chases a lot, he’s going to be streaky (see: Salvador Perez). When a pitcher struggles to throw strikes, even with stuff as good as Avila’s, he will also be streaky, and that’s what we’re seeing here. He’s going to need to improve if he wants to have a career as long as teammates Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, and the easiest way for that to happen is probably to move him to the bullpen, where he can simplify things. But the Royals are already relying on Randy Dobnak as a bulk reliever, so he’s stuck in the rotation for now.
The Orioles will use Brandon Young and I’ve got to be honest, I’d never heard of the guy before today. Young and Avila are remarkably similar in many respects, though Young’s stuff isn’t quite as good. Young throws a splitter instead of a changeup, and he’s been slightly better at getting it in the strike zone, so he’s generated a fair bit more chase when he leaves the zone. Young leans a lot heavier on his four-seam fastball than Avila. Despite its lower velocity and spin rate, it gets drastically more movement, which has allowed him to keep hitters from squaring it up as well. Oddly enough, they share an identical xwOBA, so Young has probably been on the luckier side. But he walks significantly fewer batters, so that helps too.
Lineups
As you likely saw earlier today, Vinnie Pasquantino has rejoined the Royals less than a month after suffering a hamate bone injury. That usually keeps guys out for longer, but he’s Vinnie, so he’s back. Inexplicably, he’s not in tonight’s starting lineup. Why is he back if he’s not playing? Salvador Perez is starting at first, and he is a downgrade both defensively and offensively. Nick Loftin is DHing and while he’s been hitting better the past few days, he’s not exactly you would usually see a manager feel like he has to get into the lineup. All in all, this makes pretty much no sense to me. Baseball!
