San Francisco Giants 2017 Player Review: Starting Pitchers

Ty Blach

Record: 8-12

ERA: 4.78

IP: 163.2

GS: 24

Ah yes. Ty Blach. We all remember him going toe to toe with Clayton Kershaw in the final regular season series of 2016. He was brilliant, and he reminded us of that brilliance this year. While he didn’t start the season in the rotation, thanks to a certain someone falling off a dirt bike, he was a starter for a large chunk of the season.

In a way, that fateful tumble off the moped could’ve been a blessing in disguise in that it gave us a rather extensive look at the capabilities of Ty Blach.

We learned that Blach is not a strikeout pitcher as evidenced by a K/9 of 4.0. Also, we learned that Blach can get knocked around pretty good if his control is off. This goes for all pitchers, but especially so for him with less than average velocity. That 4.78 ERA is also a little disconcerting for AT&T Park.

However, we also learned that Blach can be pretty gosh darned good. He was the supplier of the other shutout by a Giants starter. Also, he had a HR/9 under 1.0 (!) at 0.9. An impressive accomplishment for a Giants pitcher this year.

Of course, he wasn’t good enough to keep a spot in the rotation with the emergence of Chris Stratton and the return of Bumgarner and Cueto. He was relegated to bullpen duty for the last month or so of the season.

Blach isn’t going to blow you away. But if his control is on, he’ll keep the ball on the ground which isn’t a bad idea with two Gold Glovers up the middle. I think his potential is best evidenced by his starts stretching from June 28 to August 8.

Of those seven starts, Blach threw six quality starts. It’s those kind of solid outings that earned him a B-, which may be a little harsh for a rookie campaign but overall I think it’s fair. It is these kind of starts that will allow Blach to compete for a starting spot next spring.