The Guardians announced on Thursday that they have chosen the struggling right-hander Zach Plesac to Triple-A Columbus. This is the first time he has been selected for the youth team since the 2020 season.
So far, Plesac’s 2023 campaign has been a disaster. While he walks fewer pedestrians than ever before (4.8%), he also has the lowest hit rate of his career at 13.3%. Competitors posted a staggering .374/.404/.576 against Plesac, and while an average of 0.410 for balls in play certainly points to at least some randomness Small samples can even occur over the course of a season, he struggles can’t just be blamed on bad luck. Plesac achieved an average exit velocity of 91.7 mph, and 43% of the balls put into the game against him hit the target at 95 mph or higher. His fast ball speed hits a career-lowest average of 91.4 mph and this season’s turn rate of 9.6%, his lowest since coming out. eyes in 2019.
Now 28, Plesac made his strong debut in the 2019-20 season, launching 171 innings with a 3.32 ERA ball with a 21.3% hit rate and 6.8% walk rate. That performance earned him a spot on the long-term rotation team, but it’s been on a steady downward trajectory since. That early success was in no small part due to a small average of 0.246 on balls in play and a high 81.5% stranding rate. Those numbers fall back to the league average for 2021-22, and doing so along with strike velocity and rate both take a step back. The result was 274 1/3 plays of 4.49 ERA – a passable but uninteresting set of results that seemed more commensurate with a fourth or fifth starter than what Plesac could have present in his first two seasons.
Now, with Plesac out, the Guardians are likely to go with a mostly young and inexperienced group in rotation for the foreseeable future. Shane Bieber still entrenched on top of the starting staff, and right Cal Quantrill is holding a position despite some struggles of its own. Behind that pairing, the Guardians now have a trio of rookies: Tanner Bibee, Allen brand And Battlefield Peyton. Bibee and Allen are both on American Baseball’s Top 100 Promising Players list and have made excellent debut efforts. Battenfield has impressed with strong Triple-A numbers to get attention in the big leagues rotation and while his results are mixed, he will be under consideration for a longer time to come. arrange everything.
It’s at least possible that Plesac’s entry into the minors changed his trajectory to free agency, although that would need to be in Triple-A long-term for that to happen. The right-handed player enters the 2023 season with three years and 86 days of Major League service, meaning he needs another 86 days to reach four years of service and continue to the open market after the five-year campaign. 2025. He’s picked up 35 of those 86 days, so as long as he goes back at least 51 days, he’ll hit the four-year mark. If Plesac is relegated to Triple-A for much longer than that, it could be a moot point anyway, as if he can’t make his way back into the major leagues, he’s going to be a contender. members are not bidding this winter.
