Healthy Gausman to make season debut Friday
ATLANTA -- Count Kevin Gausman among the pitchers who have actually received encouraging news while visiting Dr. James Andrews.
With the right shoulder discomfort he carried out of the 2018 season still lingering in January, Gausman visited Andrews, who found nothing more than inflammation and prescribed the few weeks of rest the Braves veteran starter took through the beginning of Spring Training.
“That gave me some peace of mind,” Gausman said. “I think whenever you have something like that going on, you are always a little worried in the back of your mind.”
Gausman will not be bothered by any health-related concerns when he is activated from the injured list to start Friday night’s game against the Marlins at SunTrust Park at 7:20 p.m. ET (available on MLB.TV). His shoulder remained pain free as he spent the past couple weeks regaining strength and confidence while making starts in Minor League and Spring Training games.
“I know that feeling when everything is going good in spring,” Gausman said. “I’ve had that multiple times. I wish I could have started one of the first few games, but I feel really good about where I am.”
Gausman’s ailment ended up costing him just one start this season. The 28-year-old right-hander provided the Braves some encouragement as his four-seam fastball sat around 95 mph during both of his two most recent starts.
Going back to 2016, Gausman ranked seventh among qualified starters with a 95.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity. That number dipped to 94.8 mph in 2017 and 93.6 mph last year. He never complained about shoulder soreness last year, but his velocity was down in April and his four-seamer averaged 92.6 mph during his last regular season start.
Gausman produced a 2.87 ERA over the 10 starts he made after being traded from the Orioles to the Braves before last year’s Trade Deadline. Just 19.2 percent of the 526 four-seamers he threw for Atlanta last year were clocked at 95 mph or above.
A change for Minter
While Arodys Vizcaíno’s arm strength has been impressive during his first two appearances of the year, the durability of his right shoulder remains a concern. Because Vizcaino made his second appearance in three days on Wednesday night, A.J. Minter came off the injured list Thursday afternoon knowing he would handle the closing duties if necessary in the series finale against the Cubs.
Minter began the season on the injured list as he made up for the time he lost when he was shut down because of left shoulder tightness that developed after he was involved in a minor car accident on Feb. 27.
The left-handed reliever's repertoire had previously consisted of a four-seam fastball and a cutter. Recognizing hitters swung at his first pitch 33.2 percent of the time and hit .440 (11-for-25) and slugged .800 when putting his first pitch in play, Minter has further developed the changeup that he began showing more frequently during last season’s final month.
“I feel really confident with it now,” Minter said. “I’m super happy with it. I think it’s going to help me a lot this year. I’m just looking forward to breaking it out.”