Litsch Makes his Case
On Monday afternoon, Jesse Litsch stepped in to face the Yankees in the place of A.J. Burnett (whose start was pushed back one day as he deals with a family issue). After the Jays pitching staff had allowed 9 walks two nights in a row, he came out throwing strikes and did not issue a free pass over 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the powerful New York lineup. It was both his longest start, and the most groundballs Litsch has induced (17) since his debut masterpiece against the Orioles. Although four of the Yankees’ six hits were doubles, Litsch was never in much trouble and threw only 99 pitches.
This has truly been an amazing season for the 22-year old. After struggling last season following a mid-season promotion to AA (5.06 ERA over 12 games), he was encouraged to throw his changeup more often this year and responded with a phenomenal start to the season (1.19 ERA in April and a 0.60 in May). Then on May 15 he was unknown fill-in for Roy Halladay, and had the best debut for a Blue Jay ever, one of the highlights of an otherwise disappointing Blue Jays season.
Of course the fairytale beginning was a little too good to be true, and Jesse would struggle for his next three starts until being demoted upon Halladay’s return (following a game against the Yankees where he did not get out of the first inning). But after spending June in the minors, he returned to the big leagues and been strong ever since. Since being called back up to fill in for A.J. Burnett, and eventually replacing Josh Towers, Litsch has posted a 3.4 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP over 15 starts.
Especially for a fifth starter, those are extremely impressive numbers- but optimism about the young sinkerballer and his role next season remains muted. J.P. Ricciardi has mentioned that the Jays might look for a free agent pitcher this offseason, and there are still thoughts of converting Casey Janssen into a starter. The reason? First, Jesse Litsch doesn’t have the most impressive ’stuff’ - his fastball normally sits around 88, and his breaking pitches come and go.
Due to his lack of velocity and good command he is often compared to Josh Towers, although they are very different pitchers. Still, there is the worry that the league will figure him out after seeing him a few times, and he does not currently have an out pitch or a good fastball to fall back on. Earlier in the season, his ERA was artificially low despite a high WHIP, which lead to suggestions that he was getting lucky. That’s not so much the case now, as his numbers are much more in line. Hitters are batting .275 against him, but his walk numbers are impressive- just 1 every 3.3 innings.
In the past, Litsch has been criticized for relying too heavily on his cutter, and in his recent slump, he had trouble with his changeup to the point that he pretty much abandoned it. At 22 and with such little experience even in the minor leagues, he is very inconsistent and unpolished. However, the Jays need 6 or 7 starters every year, and if they do decide to keep him in AAA to next season for some seasoning, it’s nice to know that they will have the starting depth they thought they had coming into the year; a young hurler who knows what it’s like to pitch in Yankee stadium and is still improving rather than coming back from an injury.
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4 Responses to “Litsch Makes his Case”
September 25th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Litsch is an interesting case; lights out when he’s on because can work both sides of the plate with the sinker, and has an odd tailing movement on his cutter that is hard to catch up with even at 88mph. When he’s not, very hittable, with an inconsistent changeup, and a curve ball that can only be called that with a grain of salt.
I think with Litsch, we’re going to see similar action as we did with Janssen the last couple of years, bouncing between AAA and the major leagues, trying to get get him as many starts as possible to see what they can develop. I think his potential is a lot higher than, say, Towers. His composure is already a lot better, and in high pressure situations, he doesn’t get rattled the way you’d expect out of a rookie pitcher. I’d say that’s a big part of his success, is even with a couple people on, he doesn’t rush to an out pitch. He consistently works the zone and tries to get contact.
What Litsch needs is consistancy on his change-up, and someone to teach him how to put some bite on his curve. I’d mostly junk the slider, since his sinker is so much better and you can almost use them interchangably. With a sharp breaking ball and a consistent changeup, Litsch is eactly the kind of 4-5 starter we need; works fast, eats innings, keeps his head in the game.
September 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
[…] All in all, a nice way to end the year for the 22 year old - not just because he shut down the best offensive team in the majors, but because he did it with a return to consistency and a slightly streamlined approach that could help him continue that going into next season, wherever he ends up. […]
September 25th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Interesting that you would mention that about his slider…that’s exactly what he did against the Yankees, junk the slider and just throw his cutter/sinker/whatever that now moves like one. I would take a curve that he could throw for strikes as a show me pitch, I doubt he’s ever going to have a particularly good one.
September 25th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
The five pitch starter is a little overrated. It’s great to have that kind of flexibility, but there’s no point throwing a marginal pitch just because you can throw it. And nothing becomes a homerun faster than a hanging slider.
The cutter and the sinker, combined with a solid offspeed pitch would make Litsch a legitimate MLB starter. His changeup isn’t bad, but he’s throwing it with way too much movement on it. That’s why he can’t control it.
He’s actually got the mechanics of a good curve in that delivery, but not the feel for it yet. That’s one where you ask Pat Hentgen in the off season to teach him his curveball. Same motion and arm slot as him, and Hentgen’s curve had a nasty late break that traded speed for an extra two inches of movement.
Get those two offspeed pitches working and Litsch becomes a very nasty presence on the mound for the Jays.
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