Matt Wisler Continues to Improve
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Wisler has always been one of the best pitchers he has played against.
The amazing thing about baseball is how nearly every player in the majors was at one point the best player on their team. In their town, probably even their state!
So when Wisler, who has been tearing up the minor leagues for awhile now with the Padres, allowed 21 runs in 13+ innings in May, he was pretty baffled by it.
“I was kind of playing head games with myself, over-thinking everything and wondering what I was doing wrong.”
(h/t, Bill Center, Friarwire.com)
However, like all great throwers who progress into pitchers do, he adjusted. Mike Cather, the pitching coach for Triple-A El Paso said that soon enough “He found out making pitches is a lot more important than trying to out-stuff somebody.”
This is good news for Padres, as he grows a larger list of pitching prospects being major league ready sooner than later. The second half of the season could be a pivotal time for 2014. Ian Kennedy might be gone, but that will allow guys like Matt Wisler and Casey Kelly to show their stuff and learn a few points at the major league level. Already, Jesse Hahn is improving after his call-up from Double-A and Monday night Odrisamer Despaigne was downright dazzling in his MLB debut. Wisler could join that list of up-and-comers sooner than later, and possibly even challenge for a rotation spot in 2015 out of spring training.
This past Sunday Wisler pitched 5 innings, allowed 1 run, and striking out six.