Since the Diamondbacks have called up Trevor Bauer from AAA, he has had somewhat of a rough go. In his two starts, he has pitched in 7.1 innings, struck out seven batters and, oh yeah, he's sporting an ERA of 9.82. His WHIP currently lies at an atrocious 2.45.
But it's difficult to pinpoint exactly why he is struggling. Is he just too young and inexperienced? Are his nerves getting to him? Have the circumstances just been poor? His catcher, Miguel Montero seems to have the answer.
Montero is a very talented catcher, whether he is behind the plate or at it with a bat in his hands. So when he notices something that seems to be awkward in regards to one of his pitchers, it would behoove them to listen.
After Bauer's most recent start against the Padres, Miggy noted that he just seemed to lose control. Via AZ Snake Pit:
"He couldn't get his secondary stuff over the plate, so he fell behind. When he fell behind, he had to throw his fastball at some point and he got hit."
Montero also had this to say to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert:
"Unfortunately it's been too many pitches early in the game, so it kind of gets him a little tired, a little fatigued early in the game, and his secondary stuff isn't the same."
He went on to talk about Bauer's inability to pitch to contact. Instead, he tends to rely too much on his strikeout abilities, which gets his pitch count up too fast. Part of that may be because he thinks he can pitch 250 times in one outing and be just fine to go again five days later.
Instead of letting Montero do his job and help guide him, Bauer opts to shake off all of Miggy's calls and pitch how he sees fit. That is what gets him into trouble. That is why he finds himself in a tough place so soon in his career.
Bauer didn't seem to think he pitched all that poorly, but that he just needs time to adjust to the big leagues. "I think I threw the ball very well, just adjusting to a new level. It's the same game, you execute your pitches and you'll be all right. It's just they have better eyes up here and they work counts better, so yeah, they're better hitters. It's the big leagues."
If Bauer wants to stay up in the big leagues for the rest of the year, it would do him good to listen to his catcher. He seems to know what he's doing.
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