Is Zach Eflin Breaking Out?

Zach Eflin’s body didn’t come with a warranty. When late summer 2016 rolled around and both of his knees’ patellar tendons needed restorative surgery - finally too much to pitch through after years of discomfort - he couldn’t simply swap them out for new ones. Nor could he upgrade his pitching elbow and shoulder to new models after both hampered him throughout 2017. Bodies are tricky that way.

Burdened by injury and discomfort, Eflin found little success in the Majors in 2016 and 2017. Across the two seasons and 22 starts, he posted a 5.85 ERA in 127.2 innings, striking out just 66 of 552 batters faced (12 percent) and surrendering 28 home runs. It’s hard to imagine a pitcher being his most…