D-Train Returns

After five disastrous appearances earlier in the season, the Tigers optioned Dontrelle Willis to the minors to overhaul his delivery and try to regain his form as a major league pitcher. Last night, he returned to the majors – let’s take a look at the start of his comeback.

Willis managed to get through 5 innings of work, giving up only two hits and three runs, but walked five and struck out four. Command was still a huge problem, as he threw almost as many balls (42) as strikes (47). Unbelievably, however, his five walks (out of 22 batters faced, or 22%) was a significant improvement over his early season performances, where he walked 21 of the 58 batters he faced (36%). You know you’re having a bad year when you can point to a 9.00 BB/9 and say “hey, it’s improvement”.

At this point, it’s pretty clear that his issues are more than just physical. He managed to limit his walk rate to just 10% in the minors, so he’s physically capable of throwing the ball over the plate. However, he’s been unable to find that rhythm against major league hitters, and the history of other pitchers who have had mental struggles with their command isn’t exactly pretty.

The Tigers owe Willis another $20 million to cover the 2009 and 2010 seasons, so it’s likely that they’ll continue working with D-Train to try to get him back on track and throwing strikes. But, once it becomes a mental issue instead of a physical one, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether it will ever get fixed.

They should be somewhat encouraged that he was able to get through 5 innings against a good Texas line-up, but he’s got throw strikes far more often if he’s going to get major league hitters out with any consistency. Getting back on the big league mound was just the first step – the big test will be figuring out if he can ever find his command in the majors again.