So...Dallas Keuchel spent the first month and a half of the season in waiting because he didn't like any of the deals being presented to him. At the time, this felt like a failure of the free agency system, as well as indictment not only on Keuchel's demeanor, but on his overall abilities. So much of his lack of a deal was overanalyzed, overthought and over broadcast.
...to the point where once he eventually signed with someone, and started doing really well, nobody said anything.
And again, I don't know if that says more about the system or Keuchel. Keuchel's numbers, while inconsistent, have been largely strong, and he's definite had more dominant seasons than disappointing ones. His year in Atlanta is no different, with an 8-5 record with a 3.35 ERA over 16 starts. This does mean he'll have a career low strikeouts with less than 100 so far, compared to his previous low of 123 strikeouts in 2013. It's still strong, and his numbers have been right up there with Teheran, Soroka, Fried and...for the most part Folty.
Now, would Keuchel's season gone any better had he gone the entire season? Let's say he joins the team in March and makes as many starts as Julio Teheran, which is 30 as of now. Using high-school-level math, this means he'd have 15 wins and 151 strikeouts in a full season, which is still not bad. It'd also mean he'd have an ASG gig and more Cy Young votes. But, because he held out, his season is seen in a different light, and even if he has some nice postseason starts, which is very likely, the writers will take that into consideration.
At least Craig Kimbrel made it easy by sucking balls this season.
Anyway, Keuchel has made the Braves stronger, and they're a better postseason team with him, but I wish he would have signed in February so that we could have seen more numbers from him in Atlanta.
Coming Tonight: He was hitting a ton of home runs before the rest of his team made it cool.
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