San Diego Padres pitcher Garrett Richards impressed in his first start since Tommy John surgery. How key will he be for the 2020 rotation?
Garrett Richards was the ace of the Los Angeles Angels until arm injuries crept up on him, ultimately leading to his release but also leading to another opportunity with the San Diego Padres.
San Diego signed him to a 2-year, $15.5 million for him to essentially pitch in 2020, as 2019 would be his rehab year so he would be ready to lead a young rotation next season.
But Padres fans should be really pleased that Richards made such a fast recovery from a surgery like Tommy John.
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In his first inning of work, Richards was back to that ace form from a couple of years back. He retired all three with just 15 pitches, and 12 of them weren’t even swung at.
The most impressive strikeout he had on the night was in the fourth to Lorenzo Cain. The final strike was a 86 mph slider that started at the knees and fell right off the table for a lazy swing and a miss.
There were some bad pitches made as well including when he left an 88 mph slider in the middle of the plate for Cory Spangenberg to smack over Wil Myers’ head to score two runs.
He ended his 61 pitch night with 3 2/3 innings pitched with 3 earned runs allowed and 5 strikeouts.
If Richards can perform as he did at times in the Angels organization, he will be in the running for a Cy Young award. In his last five seasons, he has a 3.15 ERA, which was third-lowest in the American League in that timespan.
The Padres will be looking for him to eat innings next season, but that shouldn’t be a problem for him, as he logged over 200 innings in 2015.
“We’re looking for him to be in the middle of everything we do, ” Andy Green said about Richards being in the rotation.
He will be joined by young phenom Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, and most likely either Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer.
If Garrett Richards can get back to his 2015 form he might just be the saving grace of the San Diego Padres young rotation next season–the start of their window of contention.