Zach Plesac could be more than just a fifth starter

Of the rookie pitchers from 2019, Zach Plesac’s fastball velocity set him apart from his classmates. Others had better sequencing, better stuff, but at 94-or-so MPH, it rated as above average velocity, and probably helped him paper over whatever shortcomings he might have had elsewhere. The strikeout rate (18.4%) certainly wasn’t great, and walking 8.4% of hitters isn’t a long-term good enough sort of thing ever. By Baseball Savant’s xERA, he massively over achieved with a 3.81 ERA vs. a 5.34 xERA. That needs fixing if he wants to stick around, but as he showed on Saturday, there’s something good to be seen from Plesac.