It was the fourth inning of the Rays-Orioles matchup last Saturday, and Ryan Mountcastle was facing the right-hander Michael Wacha, one of the league’s better control pitchers, with a 4.5% walk rate last season ranking in the top seven percent of MLB pitchers. Mountcastle quickly went down 0-2, swinging through a curveball and a changeup, then laid off two balls, including a 96-mph fastball that missed upstairs. The rookie then fouled off three pitches in a row, took a second curveball in the dirt for ball three, fouled off 95 inside, fouled off an 88-mph changeup, then took a cutter low-and-away, the first cutter Wacha had thrown him, for ball four.
Remember when Ryan Mountcastle couldn’t take walks?
