© Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Since his rookie season in 2016, it’s been a tough trek for Derek Law to establish himself in the major leagues. His road hit another bump on Monday morning when the news broke that he was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, along with four other players, after a rough spring.
While being cut comes with understandable disappointment, there’s undoubtedly areas where Law needs to improve if he hopes to return to the major leagues. While appearing on Murph & Mac on Tuesday morning, Mike Krukow touched on what Law needs to work on most.
“Until he has command of all his pitches, and a true belief and confidence in his fastball, it’s going to be a while for him to get back up here,” Krukow said. “We all see the stuff he has. He’s a talented guy. He wants the ball, so he’s got the right attitude for the bullpen, but he needs to clean a few things up.”
After going 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA in the first 55 innings pitched of his career in 2016, Law stumbled through his sophomore season. Although he was 4-1 in 41 relief appearances, Law’s ERA soared to 5.06 after only 37.1 innings in 2016. He also allowed 14 walks and struck out 35, numbers which pale in comparison to the nine walks and 50 strikeouts he recorded in 2015.
“He’s got great stuff, but you have to have command of great stuff,” Krukow said. “You cannot make mistakes up, especially in situations where he’s coming into a game. A lot of the time you’d see him last year, he’d come into existing inning and he does not believe in his fastball.”
Law’s ERA gradually rose to 6.43 over seven innings pitched this spring before being cut. He allowed at least one run in all, but two of his six appearances.
“He does not have the same confidence,” Krukow said. “He’ll nibble with a fastball and come at you with an assortment of off-speed stuff, which he will often leave up high in the strike zone.
“Well, guess what?” Krukow added. “Word gets around quick in the big leagues. If you’re not confident in your fastball, they won’t look for it. They’re going to sit on the other side and look for something up. If you give it to them, they’ll hit it.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 8:20 for Krukow on Law.