Michael Soroka is making his Nationals debut and he should have success if he is throwing strikes
Michael Soroka is making his Washington Nationals debut, and I am intrigued. The Canadian kid is making his Nats debut in Canada against the Blue Jays. He is from Calgary, so it is not exactly a homecoming, but it should still be a fun opportunity for him.
Soroka had a red hot start to the spring, looking dominant in his first couple of outings. His velocity was up, his stuff graded out well and he looked ready for a breakout. However, he slumped in his last couple of outings, issuing far too many walks.
Free passes were an issue for him last year with the White Sox as well, walking five batters per nine innings. He will need to get that under control if he wants to find success in the rotation. Before his achilles injuries, Soroka had great command, which helped him become an All-Star in 2019. However, he has not been the same pitcher since.
Despite that he did show some flashes last year in Chicago which led the Nats to sign him to a 1-year $9 million deal. Soroka was very effective in a multi-inning relief role, with a 2.75 ERA in 16 bullpen outings. Across those 36 innings in the bullpen, he struck out 60 batters.
The Nationals are hoping the success he found out of the bullpen can translate into the rotation. They seem to believe his success came from an altered pitch mix rather than a switch in his role. Soroka also came to the Nats because he wanted an opportunity as a starter.
Since his debut in 2018, Soroka has had so many ups and downs in his career, it is hard to believe he is just 27. That youth gives him some big upside. Soroka is a high risk, high reward signing for the Nats. There is a chance he just isn’t effective and the walks become unbearable. However, what he did in that multi-inning relief role in Chicago was very tantalizing, as is the All-Star pedigree.
If Soroka hits, he can be an impactful starter for the Nats this year and is still young enough to be part of the future. However, as we saw this spring his strike throwing can come and go. Hopefully we will see the Soroka that was the talk of the town early in the spring tonight against the Jays. Coming off two achilles tears, I am rooting for Soroka to recapture the magic that made him an All-Star at 21 years old.
His pitch mix is very interesting as well. In Atlanta, he was mostly a sinker/slider guy. However, nowadays he throws his four-seam fastball a lot and it plays well with the sinker. The sinker gives him a good pitch to get ground balls, while the four-seamer gets whiffs at the top of the zone. His slider has been his put away pitch his entire career.
I am excited to see his arsenal on display tonight in his home country. Soroka will be a shoe-in for comeback player of the year if he comes out throwing strikes and looking like he did in his first two starts of Spring Training.