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P2Daily: The Big Ask of Young Pitchers

Too much is asked of young pitchers. Last year, Quinn Priester made eight starts in the majors. He didn’t pitch fewer than four innings in any of those starts, and I don’t think a four inning maximum was ever in place. We expect a former first round pick like Priester to be a starting pitcher in the majors. The ideal implementation of that role includes throwing 6+ innings per start, 32 times per season, for around 200 innings of work. The hope is 5+ innings for 30 starts, giving around 150 innings. But when a rookie first enters the majors, it’s a massive assumption to project him instantly to have success across 5-6 innings every night.