mlb
Ups, downs for young pitchers
The Royals’ Brady Singer took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Thursday. Then, a night later, Casey Mize began a game with five hitless frames for the Tigers.
For fans of the teams, it was a welcome glimpse of what the future could hold.
Singer and Mize were both drafted in the first round in 2018 — Mize was the top pick overall — and each has had a chance to pitch during this pandemic-shortened season. Neither has particularly good numbers overall, but this last week was a step in the right direction.
Singer is 2-4 with a 4.66 ERA in nine starts. His eight-inning effort Thursday was the first time he’d lasted at least six. Mize hasn’t gone six innings yet, but he went 5
These two aren’t alone with their growing pains.
The Blue Jays’ Nate Pearson (0-0, 6.61 ERA) made four starts but has had elbow issues recently, the Padres’ Luis Patino (0-0, 5.52) has pitched only out of the bullpen, and the Phillies’ Spencer Howard (1-2, 5.92) has lasted five innings in only one of his six starts. The Tigers’ Tarik Skubal is 1-2 with a 7.27 ERA.
There are success stories among the game’s current group of pitching prospects. Sixto Sanchez (3-1, 1.69) pitched a seven-inning complete game Sunday for the Marlins.
Ian Anderson (3-0, 1.64) has been impressive through four starts for the Braves, while Dane Dunning of the White Sox (1-0, 2.70) and Deivi Garcia (1-1, 3.06) of the Yankees also are off to nice starts.