(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
Since 2005, Billy Beane and his Oakland Athletics have been auctioning off their best pitchers each season in an attemp to stay young, competitive, and fiscally responsible while playing in the monstrosity that is McAfee Coliseum.
So, with the new season and the Athletics’ starting rotation a bigger question mark than ever, I figured I’d take a look and see what they’re working with now.
At 21, he has already been compared to Brandon Webb. Cahill deals the same type of plus-sinker as Webb--an upper-80s pitch that produces tons of groundball outs.
He also uses a 90-mph four-seamer that he tries to spot early in counts to get ahead. After the fastballs, which he’ll throw the majority of the time, Cahill deals a very soft changeup and two different breaking balls.
His slider has some sweeping action while the curve looks like a plus-pitch, getting good drop at just a few miles per hour slower than the slider.
Unfortunately, Cahill has struggled mightily with his command at the big league level, issuing 15 walks in 20 innings so far. The A’s like to use the excuse that his stuff moves so much, he’s prone to bouts of wildness.
However, all this crazy movement hasn’t produced many missed bats, as he’s notched only seven strikeouts.
Cahill’s knuckle-curve—described as an out pitch by A’s director of player personnel Billy Owens—has been non-existent. I’ve see him use the pitch only a handful of times, and he didn’t throw any breaking balls in his last outing on April 24.
If he can improve his command and mix his pitches better, Cahill could still reach the level expected of him.
Cahill: *sinker (84-89), four-seamer (89-92), changeup (75-78), slider (82-84), curve (77-80)*
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