Schmidt done after 3 1/3rd
Jason Schmidt's day with one out in the third inning. It was a real mixed bag. He'd struck out four batters (GOOD) but walked three (BAD) and gave up three runs (NOT SO GOOD). He also gave up a couple of extra base hits, an indication that the pitch didn't do what he intended it to do. On the strikeouts though, he looked really sharp.
How was his velocity?
Did he get over 90?
How was his velocity?
Did he get over 90?
90mph is more than enough to get any hitter in MLB out. It's about location, movement and your pitching pattern. Ask John Tudor about it, the guy probably could not break a pane of glass with his best fastball but has a very solid career. Probably never hit above 85MPH in his career. Until he got hurt a couple times he was one of the premier pitchers in MLB at the time.
Schmidt has admitted he needs to pitch a bit differently now. Location, change-ups and another off-speed pitch along with using the fastball to setup other pitches are how he can revive his career. As long as hitters can't figure out what is coming from his deliver and release, he can win with what he has now. But it seems he is going to need a number of rehab starts to get arm strength and a feel for the new approach.
You don't NEED to throw 90 to get anybody out, but it helps.
Especially when you're used to throwing 92-94 your entire career. More than throwing hard or location, he needs to work on throwing more than 50 pitches at a time first.