If you think the Belmont Stakes is a long race
for horses on the Triple Crown trail, wait until you get a load of MLB hurlers
during the month of June. It's where many either hit a wall and fold-up or find
a second-gear and become crucial to their team's hopes of being in a pennant
chase during the dogs days of summer.
Listed below are hurlers that have enjoyed a
two-to-one or better success ratio in team-starts over the course of the last
three seasons during the month of June. On the flip side, we've also listed
pitchers that struggle in June, winning 33% percent or less of their team-start
efforts. To qualify pitchers must have made a minimum of 10 starts, with at
least one start each June over the last three years. And for your convenience
alongside each record, we break down each pitcher's greatest success or
greatest failure rate either home (H) or away (A) within his good or bad month.
Note: * designates a categorical repeat
appearance by this pitcher, maintaining status quo from last season's June
list.
GOOD MONTH PITCHERS:
Carrasco, Carlos • 10-5 (5-1H)
The Indians right-hander has not been his usual
self in 2019 with an ERA 0.75 higher than his career norm. However, Carrasco is
well known for hitting a hot stretch during the season and with the weather
likely to finally heat up, so might Cleveland's veteran starter.
Davies, Zach • 8-3 (3-1 A)
Davies might not be big (6'0) or imposing (155
pounds), but the Milwaukee hurler can certainly pitch. He starts this month
with a 2.19 ERA and opposing batters have just a .311 OBP against him. With
runners on base, the OBP drops to .252. He's a gamer.
Fiers, Mike • 10-5 (5-2 A)
Aside from the no-hitter, this Oakland starter
has not pitched well, with an ERA almost a run higher than his career number of
4.10. However, it has been coming down and if he can keep the ball in the yard
(11 homers allowed), he should continue to improve in June.
Foltynewicz, Mike • 9-2 (7-0 H)
With no spring training due to injury,
Foltynewicz has struggled to get in a rhythm. Pitch placement has been the
Braves righty downfall, allowing a homer every 10 outs this season to date. If
the strikeouts return to normal, this could be a springboard month for him.
Godley, Zack • 8-2 (5-1 A)
With an ERA of 7.36, Godley has been sent to the
bullpen to figure out how to miss more bats. (.295 batting average allowed in
2019)
Greinke, Zack • 14-3 (9-1 A)
If you are too young to have seen Hall of Famer
Greg Maddox pitch for the Cubs or Braves, this is the closest you will get in
the big leagues today. When Maddox lost MPH on the fastball, he figured out how
to change speeds better, create more spin and movement on his pitches and keep
hitters guessing. That is exactly what Greinke is doing at 35 and he's having a
masterful season.
*Kershaw, Clayton • (11-2 (6-1 A)
In his 11th season in the majors, Kershaw no
longer blows hitters away and a straight change is still a work in progress but
betting against the best pitcher of this generation is still fool-hardy,
especially with the offense the Dodgers own.
Kluber, Corey • 11-5 (7-3 H)
Suffered a fractured forearm on his pitching arm
on May 1st. Recently had the first cast removed and reports on proper healing
are on schedule, but no time is given on possible return.
*Lester, Jon • 15-2 (9-1 A)
After a fantastic start to the season, the
latter stages of May were rough on Lester. In June, he's been nearly unbeatable
in recent years and will look to return to dominance again.
Sale, Chris • 11-5 (6-1 H)
The velocity is coming back for the Boston
left-hander, but command of the fastball and slider remains a conundrum from
start to start. Like many hurlers in the East and Midwest, some warm
temperatures might get Sale back on schedule.
*Sanchez, Aaron • 7-3 (4-0 H)
Pitching for a much weaker Toronto club,
Sanchez's ERA is up. This is attributable to walking more batters, which are up
13 percent over previous averages. Could be hard to match good numbers this
month.
Tanaka, Masahiro • 9-4 (5-2 A)
With Yankees having an incredible season, no
reason for Tanaka to not to continue to benefit from superior run support.
Tanaka's basic stats are similar to the past, but like a lot of pitchers,
homers are up.
BAD MONTH PITCHERS:
Archer, Chris • 4-8 (1-3 A)
We have long since given up on the idea that
Archer will ever be a top line pitcher that he looked like five years ago. His
WHIP is up from 1.25 to 1.55 and he's averaging a walk just over every four outs
he induces.
Gausman, Kevin • 4-11 (1-6 A)
Another pitcher who was supposed to be a stud,
but does not have that third quality pitch. Gausman has actually given up fewer
hits with a .228 batting average surrendered (.264 lifetime), but Atlanta has
the right-hander is throwing 13 fewer pitches a start, which is probably
helping him. Strictly a No. 4 starter today.
Gray, Sonny • 4-8 (2-4 H)
Not everyone can pitch in New York with the
expectations and media coverage and Gray might have been one of those guys. He
doesn't have the same velocity of a few seasons ago, but he's more comfortable
in Cincinnati and his ERA is drifting downward. Will this trend continue? Stay
tuned.
Harvey, Matt • 4-9 (2-6 A)
A supposed injury has Harvey on the IL in Anaheim,
but with a 7.50 ERA, his results on the season is likely to miss a couple of
starts or more and possibly end up as a long reliever going forward.
Hellickson, Jeremy • 2-10 (1-5 H)
Soft-tosser with an ERA over 6.00 and a WHIP
over 1.70 proves he's always in trouble and mostly unable to work out of it.
Hellickson is not fooling hitters anymore and not us, either.
*Liriano, Francisco • 4-8 (2-4 H)
Working exclusively out of the bullpen this
season for Pittsburgh.
For more on Marc Lawrence click here.