good luck in SF
Smyly, 30, missed all of 2017 and 2018 after having Tommy John surgery. He returned last season with Texas, but was 1-5 with an 8.42 ERA in nine starts before the Rangers released him. Milwaukee signed him, but also let him go after he made three starts in the minors.
He landed with the pitching-starved Phillies, and it was there that Smyly began to figure out some things. He was 3-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia, cutting his walks per nine innings from six in Texas to three.
Smyly is trying to get back to being the pitcher he was before injuries. In his first four seasons, with the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays, he was 24-15 with a 3.24 ERA. Since 2016, his ERA is 5.41.
Now, he says he’s able to focus on pitching again.
“My body feels way better, my arm feels stronger,” Smyly said. “Last year I was healthy, but I hadn’t pitched in two years, so there were a lot of cobwebs to shake off.
“It took me a long time to get my command back. I feel way stronger, looser, my arm action feels better. So it’s more about getting that consistency with my off-speed pitches versus trying to build my arm strength.”
His manager with the Phillies, Gabe Kapler, is now in that role with the Giants.
“Drew came out of the game with a lot of confidence,” Kapler said. “I was able to see him make a lot of starts. He had some ups and downs but his last start of the season he faced the Nationals. He was able to buzz through that lineup (10 strikeouts and no walks).