The void between R.A. Dickey's retirement and Matt Waldron's entry into the Padres' pitching plans was...exhausting. This period of baseball history, a rough 6 years or so, is one of the longest periods without a knuckleball pitcher since the pitch became wildly accessible in this sport. You can go from Eddie Cicotte to R.A. Dickey and span 50 years of baseball history, and along the way see Ted Lyons, Hoyt Wilhelm, Bob Purkey, Jim Bouton, Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti, Tim Wakefield and Steve Sparks, without having many gaps without knuckleballers. After Steven Wright trails off, there's really only a few blips on the radar til now. Eddie Gamboa in 2016. Mickey Jannis for one game in 2021. Nothing substantial.
Which is why I was so excited when Matt Waldron not only got a rotation spot in San Diego, but started pitching really damned well. At last, we finally had a substantial knuckleballer again, and so soon after Wakefield's passing as well!
Matt Waldron came into this season as a long shot for the Padres' rotation, considering that Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, Dylan Cease and one of the donated Brito/Vazquez platoon already staked their claim on it. But a mix of a strong spring training, injuries and pure luck led Matt Waldron to be one of the most consistent starting options the Padres have had this season. He ranks 6th in WAR on this team, has a 3.61 ERA and a 1.184 WHIP. From afar it doesn't look like an overpowering season, but then you factor in just how stupefyingly hard it's been for anyone to hit this man's knuckleball. He's racked up 93 strikeouts already, most of which coming from people chasing him, thinking they know where it's gonna land. They don't.
With Darvish on leave and Musgrove hurt, Waldron, Cease and King have needed to be a tight, reliable threesome for this Padres team, and it's worked for the most part. King and Cease have been striking people out and keeping teams down, even if King has been the more impressive pitcher in recent weeks. You also have Robert Suarez in the ninth making it look easy, and can I say again how warranted his ASG nod is. These guys, even with spottier surroundings in this pitching staff, have been real difference makers for the Padres, and help to explain why they're in second.
Though there's a lot of other factors at play here as well. Jurickson Profar having the best season of his career. Manny Machado finally getting going. Jake Cronenworth's comeback year. Jackson Merrill becoming a Rookie of the Year favorite. Kyle Higashioka's power bat hitting the next level. Luis Arraez continuing to just do his thing no matter where he is. This has become a pretty versatile and intriguing team, and even without Tatis they're capable of a lot. I really wanna see how they look after the ASG break, because they could be a sleeper hit this fall.
Coming Tonight: A lot of people are convinced that Grimace is the reason the Mets came back to life, but more logically it's this guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment