April Good Month, Bad Month Pitchers
By Marc Lawrence
Major League Baseball trades places with March Madness as the sports flavor of the month in April. And as we usher in America’s favorite pastime, let’s open the season with one of our favorite handicapping angles – good month pitchers.
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 April. On the flip side, we’ve also listed pitchers that struggle in April, 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 April over the last three years. And for your convenience alongside each record we break down each pitcher’s greatest success or greatest failure 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 April list.
GOOD MONTH PITCHERS:
Buchholz, Clay • 10-5 (6-3 H)
Boston decided to maximize Buchholz’s early season value by making him their opening day starter. Long on talent and inconsistency, the BoSox right-hander needs to focus and eliminate distractions, which is something he’s struggled with his whole career, except for mostly in April.
Bumgarner, Madison • 11-5 (6-1 A)
When looking at baseball from the start of the season until Halloween, Clayton Kershaw has somebody who can steal his thunder as the game’s best pitcher. His World Series performance was for the ages and he’s never been too bad the start the season either with his array of fastballs, cutters and changeups.
Gonzalez, Gio • 13-4 (8-1 H)
Throughout his career, Gonzalez has started fast and been able to mix and match pitches effectively. Though his velocity was off a little in the second half of last season, his command improved and walks dropped. He’s now arguably the worst starting pitcher in Washington which tells you about their staff. Gonzalez has been money at home throughout his career.
Greinke, Zack • 11-2 (6-1 H)
To borrow from Dos Equis beer, when on the mound, Zack Greinke might be the most interesting man in the world – or at least baseball. The fact is Greinke is just really good at throwing a baseball, has a creative mind and taught himself variations of arm angles and grip pressure and takes great pride in his hitting. Whatever team he has been on, he’s made it almost impossible to bet against him at home.
Guthrie, Jeremy • 10-4 (5-1 H)
Since becoming a starter in 2007, this durable right-hander has thrown at least 175 innings each season (five of the last six 200 or more). For almost any team in baseball Guthrie is the ideal No.4 or 5 starter and his pitch to contact is a perfect match in Kansas City when the defenders are like vacuum cleaners and clean everything up.
*Hammel, Jason • 13-5 (5-1 H)
Middle of the rotation starter who actually wanted to return and pitch for the Cubs, after starting last season at Wrigley before being traded to Oakland. Hammel is not going to overpower hitters, but if he keeps the ball in the yard, he can be effective. In his major league career the 32-year has been a fast starter.
Hudson, Tim • 10-3 (8-0 H)
Hudson will be 40 years old this season, but still throws strikes and coaxes ground balls to get batters out. It would make sense this juncture of his career he would be more effective early in the season compared to later in the year.
Lincecum, Tim • 10-5 (5-2 H)
Lincecum is back in the starting rotation for San Francisco and will remain there as long as he does his job. He spent the off-season working with his dad, who helped design his unusual throwing style. The spring results were mixed, so let’s see if Tiny Tim can hang on to his slot in the rotation with a strong start.
*Lohse, Kyle • 12-4 (6-2 H)
Lohse is yet another hurler who is at his best when at full strength. Milwaukee’s opening day pitcher successfully made the transition from thrower to pitcher and has complete command of the strike zone with his tight mechanics.
Lynn, Lance • 12-3 (8-2 A)
The 6’5 right-hander last season decided to use less of his spotty off-speed pitches and instead focused on getting more movement on his two or four-seam fastballs and lowered his ERA by more than a run to 2.74. Lynn is part of the reason St. Louis seldom gets off to rocky starts.
Miley, Wade • 9-4 (5-2 A)
Miley pitched for a bad Arizona outfit last year and his focus suffered, with career-highs in ERA, hits allowed and balls over the fence. The lefty has a fresh start in Boston with a renovated squad in search of a division pennant.
Nicasio, Juan • 10-5 (6-2 H)
Will start the season in the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen.
Nova, Ivan • 8-4 (5-1 H)
In the midst of returning from Tommy John surgery, no exact timetable is set for Nova’s return.
Peavy, Jake • 10-5 (6-3 H)
Not the hard thrower he used to be, Peavy has to keep the ball down and change speeds more frequently to get batters out. When he settles in groove, can string together a number of quality starts.
*Shields, James • 11-5 (8-3 A)
As reliable and consistent as they come, Shields is an ideal No. 2 or 3 pitcher. Though his famous changeup was not as good as prior years, he found the cutter to be his out pitch in 2014. Should flourish in San Fran.
Zimmermann, Jordan • 10-5 (6-3 H)
Among the finest starters in the National League, Zimmermann in unyielding to opposing hitters in working the strike zone and seldom helps them out in averaging less than two walks per nine innings.
BAD MONTH PITCHERS:
Bedard, Eric • 3-9 (1-4 H)
The Dodgers non-roster pitcher is expected to miss four to six weeks with a strain of the same back muscle that shelved Clayton Kershaw for five weeks last season.
Cahill, Trevor • 4-9 (2-7 A)
Cahill was traded from Arizona to Atlanta on April 3rd. Though only 27 years old, this former 18-game winner has recently been in the minors and a big league starter and reliever and not having much success doing anything well. His problem is being a sinker ball pitcher and lacking command in the strike zone.
Cain, Matt • 4-10 (2-8 A)
The San Francisco workhorse finally gave in to the pain and had elbow surgery and has been slow to recover this spring, still having some “discomfort”. Cain as his record shows is typically a slow starter anyways and could be in worse shape to begin 2015.
Hamels, Cole • 4-8 (1-5 H)
The Phillies lefthander will not be on their roster the entire season as the Phils are waiting for the perfect deal to trade Hamels. His slow starts are mostly attributable to not having a feel for his complete arsenal of pitches in April and performs better when the weather heats up.
*Jackson, Edwin • 4-12 (2-6 H)
The Cubs are stuck with this veteran righty having given him a dumb contract back in 2013. Just think, how many pitchers would still be in the big leagues after 11 years with a career 84-104 record, an ERA of 4.63 and a WHIP of 1.46?
Volquez, Edinson • 5-11 (1-6 A)
Now with his sixth different team, the 31-year right-hander was 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA with Pittsburgh last year, his best season since 2008 and he signed a two-year free agent deal with Kansas City. His surprising campaign came when Pirates coaches noticed a rushed delivery was elevating his pitches and slowed him down, leading to last season’s results. Will Volquez stay the course or return to old habits?
