At just 23 years of age, Michael Wacha has already made a name for himself in the majors – and has done so without the extended resume you would think. The 2013 NLCS MVP has pitched in some of the biggest stages in the baseball world, but has yet to pitch a full season in the minors.
By looking at the results, his favorite stage to compete on is anytime he toes the rubber against the Washington Nationals.
Michael Wacha: Dominance Against Nationals Continues
By allowing just one run over seven innings, Wacha actually hurt his career ERA against the Nationals but seeing he had a 0.57 mark in his two previous games against Washington anything but perfection would have hurt him.
Wacha scattered five hits and two walks over seven innings, improving to 3-0 on the young season in just three starts.
But maybe more impressive has been his dominance of the Nationals early on in his career. As a rookie, Wacha came within one out of a no-hitter before Ryan Zimmerman broke it up with an infield hit. His second outing he took a loss after allowing three – only one earned – over seven innings.
This time around, Wacha changed the eye location of the Nationals hitters in order to keep them off guard and get out of the few jams he found himself in. With runners on first and second and no outs, Wacha got Yunel Escobar to ground into a double play on the first pitch, putting a runner on third with two outs.
The former Texas A & M standout then alternated between offspeed/breaking pitches and fastballs to keep Jose Lobaton off balance, before getting him to swing and miss on a change up in on the hands.
He also wasn’t afraid to go after hitters, striking out Bryce Harper with runners on the corners and only one out. With the double play a way to get out the inning, Wacha pumped in four straight fastballs ranging from 90-95 mph, getting Harper to foul tip a 94 mph heater into the glove of Tony Cruz. He would get Zimmerman to ground into a force out exclusively using the fastball.
The St. Louis Cardinals has a rotation that looks to have the perfect blend of experience and youthful upside. Wacha may exemplify both better than any in the rotation, or maybe in the NL.
The former first round pick is an interesting player to watch as the season goes on. He has the stuff to be one of the better pitchers in the league, showing so in the NLCS his rookie season but still hasn’t put together a full season in the majors.
If he puts together a full season – and maybe if he lucks out and gets the Nats again when they meet at Busch Stadium August 31-September 2 – there really doesn’t seem to be the ceiling as to where he could end up by the end of the year.
