Volstad Death Grip

The Marlins have made a lot of surprise playoff runs over the years, and it seems like all of them involve a rookie pitcher coming up from the minors and providing a great performance. Josh Beckett started the trend, Anibal Sanchez continued it, and now Christopher Volstad is trying to be the new wunderkind.

Since being recalled on July 6th from Double-A Carolina, Volstad has made five starts and showed why his sinker was considered one of the best in the game. His GB-FB rates during those five starts are 15-6, 13-2, 9-5, 10-5, and 9-5. His GB% stands at 56.3%, an outstanding total, and a big part of why he’s been successful so far.

His 2.67 ERA is supported by a 3.36 FIP, so even though his batting average on balls in play is a bit low (and thus driving down the ERA), he’s still pitching well. But the key for Volstad has been the home run prevention – he’s allowed just one long ball in the majors after not giving up a single round tripper in Double-A. When you keep the ball in the park, teams will have a tough time piling up runs, and Volstad has been as good as anyone at limiting the damage.

His 3.7% HR/FB rate isn’t sustainable, of course. That will go up, and Volstad isn’t as good as his results would indicate so far. But that just means that he’s not the best pitcher in baseball, which we already knew – he’s a very good prospect with a dynamite sinker and a solid curve that gives him two good major league pitches. His command isn’t great, but he misses down in the zone, so the problems will result from walks, not long balls.

The Marlins are going to have to have a great final two months to make another playoff run, and if they pull it off, it’s likely that Volstad will be a big part of that.