Too much is asked of young pitchers. Last year, Quinn Priester made eight starts in the majors. He didn’t pitch fewer than four innings in any of those starts, and I don’t think a four inning maximum was ever in place. We expect a former first round pick like Priester to be a starting pitcher in the majors. The ideal implementation of that role includes throwing 6+ innings per start, 32 times per season, for around 200 innings of work. The hope is 5+ innings for 30 starts, giving around 150 innings. But when a rookie first enters the majors, it’s a massive assumption to project him instantly to have success across 5-6 innings every night.
P2Daily: The Big Ask of Young Pitchers
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