Throwing 100 MPH Doesn't Keep the Lights On

 

Well, midway through the year and it looks as though we are reaching the limits of the 'throw 100 miles per hour all the time' strategy. Justin Martinez is injured, Ben Joyce is injured, Mason Miller is struggling. It's the kind of thing where only the professionals should throw that hard. Mere mortals are gonna have wear and tear. Aroldis Chapman and Paul Skenes can keep at it consistently, but they're built differently.

I guess Mason Miller has more success with throwing that hard than most, he did make an all-star team last year and does currently have 19 saves and 57 Ks. But the thing about throwing that hard is you need to still have some level of craftsmanship so people aren't predicting where you're gonna go. Cause Miller is throwing that hard and still blowing saves. He's got a 4.00 ERA. It's a neat trick but if it's not leading to success it's just that. Chapman can throw that hard and still be consistently good at his job. Miller is making some easy mistakes out there, and it's costing the A's some wins that they might have if Miller was a little more on target. It's a very good thing he's still healthy, but there's always the chance of a strain coming on or some injury still happening. It's happened the last two seasons. 

Ultimately I do want good things to happen to Mason Miller. He's a good kid, he's from West Virginia, and some family friends are from his area and are rooting for him to stay great. He's been given a valuable gift of velocity, and he's been lucky to come up at a time where overthrowing and overgassing is the hip trend. But I worry that, when we look at this period in about 20 years, we won't be able to separate him from the trend. I think about the Japanese players from the late 90s and early 00s who weren't Ichiro or Nomo, and how they've faded into the background, or the two-way guys from the late 2010s who weren't Ohtani. Being trendy is nice but being great lasts forever. Mason Miller is flirting with greatness but is more trendy than anything. It is telling, however, that the A's are relatively opposed to trading him this week. Means they see a future with him.

The A's, for the record, will still have a pretty cool team even if they do deal people. I don't even know who they'd be alright parting with. I guess Rooker would get inquiries but he's got a lot of money left there. Somebody like Springs or Sears could go I guess? The thing is that so much is working, and controllable, that trading people would just come off as excessive. This is now the era of Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson, the team that Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom can rep. I see those pieces lasting til Vegas. I really want Rooker to last til Vegas, the fanbase needs a guy like that to stick around. 

Intriguing, however, is the addition of former Mets prospect Carlos Cortes, who's already had some nice contact moments. I have a Heritage Minors auto of Cortes that I pulled a while back, and just assumed it'd continue to be worthless. Imagine if he suddenly becomes somebody. That'd be pretty cool.

Coming Tonight [?]: Former #1 overall pick. The team that drafted him is now a first place team. He is playing for a last place one.