#justin verlander
Ok, I will keep this short and bitter, much like his starts this year. Justin Masterson has proven nearly completely ineffective and painful to watch this season.
I’m not going to dwell on records, but his velocity has dropped by nearly 4mph (big dip) as has his control. His era is over 5.0, barely ever turns in anything close to a quality start (6 innings pitched, 3 or less earned runs) and he is giving up home runs.
Now, is this an Ace worthy of #1 Starter money? Hardly. Honestly, Trevor Bauer seems to have a higher upside right now.
Is Masterson hurt? Maybe he too needs TJ surgery? That’s at least an honorable excuse for these trashy performances.
But hey, this is a great example of the gamble pitchers in their free agent year take. For Masterson (and sadly the Tribe), it doesn’t look like he is up to the pressure.
Maybe we’ll get to keep him at a discount now. I just wish it wasn’t at the price of winning.
(I am aware that Justin Verlander went through similar struggles last year but let us not forget he had already won an MVP and Cy Young Award and bounced back pretty fast…Masterson is no Verlander.)
Justin Verlander throws his third career no-hitter, walking one and striking out 14 batters. The game was scoreless until Abraham Toro hit a 2-run home run in the 9th inning - September 1, 2019
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