After five seasons of mediocrity, Pittsburgh Pirates‘ pitcher Chase De Jong found the perfect role, as a multi-inning reliever.
Ever since he made his MLB debut in 2017, De Jong was deployed as a starter, with poor results.
The Pirates understood that he was best suited as a reliever, but was good enough to cover multiple innings at a time.
The change is paying off.
“#Pirates lowest batting average allowed in August: .109 – Babe Adams, 1909 .118 – Elroy Face, 1968 .125 – Chase De Jong, 2022 (min. 50 AB, since 1901, via @StatsBySTATS),” Joe Block, a member of the Pirates’ broadcasting team, tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
#Pirates lowest batting average allowed in August
.109 – Babe Adams, 1909
.118 – Elroy Face, 1968
.125 – Chase De Jong, 2022(min. 50 AB, since 1901, via @StatsBySTATS)
— Joe Block (@joe_block) August 31, 2022
He is holding batters to a meager .125 batting average in August, and is already flirting with some of the best marks in the history of the franchise.
De Jong Is Having The Best Season Of His Career
Overall, De Jong is 4-1 with an excellent 1.95 ERA in 30 games and 55.1 innings: that’s where you can spot the usage that the team has been giving him.
He has allowed just 33 hits over those 55.1 frames, and hitters boast a poor .174 average against him.
With 46 strikeouts and a solid 0.96 WHIP, De Jong has been one of the best pitchers on the Pirates’ staff.
There might be several issues with the Pirates, starting from their ownership, player development, front office, coaching, manager, and players.
But there is no denying that they are doing a great job with De Jong, and the pitcher deserves even more credit for turning his career around.
He has a 4.87 career ERA, so watching him post a sub-2.00 mark in 2022 has been nothing short of impressive.
Hopefully, he can serve as a blueprint for the organization to develop more pitchers like him in the future.
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