There might not be any baseball axiom crueler than TINSTAPP, but it stings so much only because it’s so true. It’s been roughly two decades since the acronym was originally coined by one of the founders of Baseball Prospectus—there is no such thing as a pitching prospect—but it feels more real than it ever has. Pitching has never been so good, so rich, so eminently gif-able, and, as part of this package, has never been so tricky to consistently and healthily develop. Baseball has been blessed with an abundance of triple-digit fastballs, wipe-out sliders, and spin-loaded curves; the whole endeavor is literally and figuratively stretching the limits of the human arm.
Nick Burdi's Injury Is a Reminder of the Cruelest Reality in Baseball
