How Yusei Kikuchi's headspace could impact the Blue Jays' decisions at the deadline
Yusei Kikuchi has always been his own harshest critic. By being hard on himself, he’s been able to push his body to its limits and make the difficult journey from Japan to MLB.
As the pitch count climbed, the 31-year-old was keen to stay out there, insisting he was “starving” and “wanted to keep going” before skipper John Schneider told his starter to hit the showers after five innings of one-run ball. The left-hander’s recent time away from the team during a three-week IL stint for a neck injury offered some time for even more mechanical re-tooling. Pete Walker, the Blue Jays’ pitching coach, suggested Kikuchi do various pitcher fielding drills to emphasise an athletic delivery.
Gausman, who utilizes the high fastball a ton, likes to long-toss as if he’s an outfielder, staying behind the ball and crow-hopping into his warm-up throws. If he sees the ball rise, then he knows his arm action is working. Before the All-Star break, Kikuchi’s mental struggles were sizable. He had a 7.99 ERA in his last seven starts before the Midsummer Classic, and nothing was coming easily. The progress he made earlier this year felt lost. All the while, Kikuchi’s arsenal looked nasty, even if the command came and went.
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