Hutchison consistently inconsistent
The Blue Jays keep saying Drew Hutchison will get better.
He is only 24. In specific games, and in certain intervals, he has outperformed his youth and inexperience. In those times, he has been a dominating pitcher.
“We’ve all seen him be really, really good,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “There’s no doubt he’s struggled at times, but it’s not like he’s never had success up here.”
In the bigger picture, however, Hutchison continues to be what he always has been — an average to below-average pitcher who occasionally steps out of character and into a blaze of brilliance.
Those shining moments inspire Gibbons to lead Hutchison’s cheering section. Between those bursts of hope, the manager, in silent conversations with himself, must wonder which version of Hutchison he can count on long term.
Hutchison was Toronto’s opening-day starter. This season, largely because his offence averages 6.9 runs when he starts, his record is 8-2. In three of his no-decisions, he has allowed six, seven and eight runs but escaped a blemish on his record because the Jays offence scored 11, 10 and 13 runs. The team is 11-6 when he pitches.
So when reporters raise questions about Hutchison, Gibbons has a quick retort: “He wins.” However: Hutchison’s ERA is 5.23. Only six other regular starters in baseball have higher ERAs.
Hutchison’s 1.47 WHIP — walks plus hits per innings pitched — is the fifth highest among big-league starters.
His line-drive rate of 25.3 per cent is also fifth highest.
Opponents are hitting .350 against him when they put his pitches in play. Only one other pitcher — Nathan Eovaldi of the Yankees — has posted a higher figure.
At home, his ERA is 2.12. On the road, it’s 9.00 — 42 earned runs in 42 innings.
Oddly, the right-handed Hutchison is at his worst against righthanded batters, who are batting .330 with an .892 OPS. Lefties? .258 and .684. Last year, he pitched significantly better against righties than lefties.
“It’s been very frustrating to try to figure it out,” says pitching coach Pete Walker.
In his latest start Friday, Hutchison lasted 4⅔ innings against the Tigers, allowing seven runs, five earned. It marked the 11th time in 17 starts that he failed to complete six innings and the sixth time he did not finish five innings.
His inability to go deep into games is magnified because of the overall pitching malaise that has plagued the team throughout the season.
Fair or not, there seemed to be an assumption that Hutchison would turn a corner this year, that he would step up and drop his ERA to 4.00 or better, and perhaps win 15 games.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos fuelled that theory in spring training, asserting that Hutchison “underachieved” last season when he went 11-13 with a 4.48 ERA.“He’s only going to continue to get better,” Anthopoulos said then.
But after a strong September last year, Hutchison has regressed.
No one knows Hutchison better than Walker. He was asked whether it’s possible that Hutchison has reached his potential.
“Definitely not, and I know he doesn’t feel that way,” he replied.
Walker said his teammates “know he’s capable of more.”
How often he is capable of more remains a nagging question.