MLB: 5 young pitchers poised for breakouts in 2023
By Scott Henry
Young MLB pitchers often hit some bumps in the road before becoming the aces that everyone expects them to be. It is very rare that a young prospect hits the ground running on the bump and becomes a consistent, reliable arm. Often times, they have the arm talent, but learning to get outs at the major league level takes time.
In the minors, they are typically pitching to younger, up and coming players. A strategy that works down in Double-A may not work against Joey Votto in his 15th season who has seen just about everything. Pitching can be relatable to a game of chess, and learning different pitch combinations that help overtake the king can take quite a bit of time.
Last year Framber Valdez, Triston McKenzie, and Alek Manoah took a big step towards becoming aces for their respective teams. McKenzie, in fact, went from a 4.95 ERA and 4.70 FIP in 2021, to 2.96 and 3.59 respectively in 2022. He even had his bumps in the road early on in the season, but finished with a 2.70 ERA after the all-star break.
This isn’t to say that pitchers always need the adjustment period before becoming aces. Spencer Strider and Walker Buehler hit the ground running in their first full seasons and became elite pitchers.