Rookie Davis arguably had bigger problems on Wednesday than fastball velocity.
His breaking and offspeed pitches weren’t fooling anyone, and the Cincinnati Reds right-hander lamented being unable to tantalizingly place them at the edges of the zone. He struggled to place himself in good counts, falling behind to 10 of 14 hitters.
Shaky command and a continuing quest for a reliable out pitch make breaking into the majors feel like uphill sledding even when you’ve got some velocity on your fastball. The first two months of the season – before a demotion to Triple-A – Davis had that.