re: Is Thatcher Hurd really close?

Thatcher’s problem is the same as every pitcher who has electric stuff but has command issues.

When he is confident, trusts his stuff, and just goes out there throws, he can be extremely effective. But, too often he loses that confidence and starts trying to place the fastball in a dot size hole on the outside corner instead of just ripping it.

He also has a lot of trouble working the lower part of the strike zone. He doesn’t hang the breaking ball, so he gets away with it bc of the movement on his fastball and breaking pitch, even when high in the zone. But more often than not that will bite you eventually. Idk about yall, but while I was loving the swings and misses in the first 2 innings, I was just waiting for someone to tee up one of those belt high breaking balls.

All of that above is why the dude can look like a future Big Leaguer for 2 innings, then a low-tier college pitcher just one inning later.

Long story long - Dude just needs to trust his stuff, and get the ball down in the zone. If not, then I don’t see a scenario where you can use him for more than 2-3 innings.