Johnny Cueto Picked Off A Runner Without Even Making A Throw, And Is Also The Best Pitcher In The MLB Over The Last Month
Obviously, picking off a runner without even making a throw is a rare thing to see in the world of baseball, but that’s not even really what I wanted to talk about while we’re on the subject of Johnny Cueto. See, Cueto was one of the free agent aces on the market this past offseason, but no team backed up the money truck to his front door in the way the Red Sox did for David Price or the Diamondbacks did for Zack Greinke. With or without the money truck, he’s been better than both of them so far for about $100 million less.
After his most recent victory against the Milwaukee Brewers, Cueto improved to 10-1 on the season. In the one game he’s lost this year, he only allowed three earned runs over seven innings, so he could easily be unbeaten. The Giants are 12-2 when he’s taken the mound this year, and his 2.10 ERA is 6th best in the MLB. Actually, since May 7, Cueto has a 1.04 ERA in 8 starts, which is the lowest ERA in the MLB over that span. He’s also averaging 7.2 innings per start over that same span, which is tied with Clayton Kershaw for the highest average innings pitched per game in the MLB.
What seems to be working for him? Well, everything. He’s showing you six different pitches every time he takes the mound, with a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a sinker, a changeup, a slider and a curveball. But it’s not just the pitches that he’s showing you — it’s how he’s showing them to you.
He has the El Tiante:
The quick pitch:
And the standard delivery:
When you consider that he has that many pitches in his arsenal, which makes it next to impossible to predict which pitch is coming next, and then you mix in the fact that you can’t time the fuckin’ guy because his delivery can change three times in the same at-bat, then these jaw-dropping numbers start to make sense. When you can’t time a pitcher, and you have no clue what pitch is coming next, there’s a good chance that you’re not going to be squaring up many baseballs or hitting any balls hard anywhere. That’s why Cueto has only allowed three home runs all season, which explains his 0.26 home runs allowed per nine innings being the lowest mark in the majors.