Jake Irvin appeared in the first two Grapefruit League games out of the bullpen this spring, piggybacking on days when he and Mackenzie Gore were scheduled to pitch. Irvin’s first start (After he gave up 3 times 8R, 7ER 2⁄3 Number of innings pitched in the first two games) pitched 4 innings, 51 pitches, 37 strikes, 2 hits, and 5Ks.
It was good to get back into that routine,” Irvin said of his first start of the year. Quoted by Mr. Blanco of MASN:
“The goal is to get into attack mode and keep attacking all night, and I think we did a good job.
“(Catcher Drew Millas) and I had a really good game plan and we executed really well.”
Irvin manager Davey Martinez liked what he saw from the 27-year-old 2018 fourth-round pick, (He made his MLB debut in 2023 He started 24 games, posting a 4.61 ERA, 5.31 FIP, 54 walks, 99 strikeouts, and a batting average of .255/.340/.431 in 121 IP.).
“Jake was good. He was very good, very efficient,” Martinez said.
“The fastball was alive. He threw the ball over the plate most of the time. The cutter was good.
“He didn’t throw a changeup today. He just wanted to work on his cutter. His fastball was really good. His breaking ball could drop for a strike. That’s really good. . It’s a nice outing.”
Irvin started off by throwing 45% of his fastballs (23 of 51 pitches), averaging just under 96 mph with his four-seamer, 13 curveballs (25%), eight cutters (16%), and seven sinkers (14). %) were mixed. .
Irvin, who made his fourth appearance Wednesday and second start of the spring, used his fastball 44 percent of the time, mixed in a 33 percent curveball, 13 percent sinker and 10 percent cutter to help the Miami Marlins. He limited his batting lineup to one hit. He pitched five scoreless innings, striking out five of the 15 batters he faced.
Irvin also attacked the zone, throwing 43 of 52 pitches for strikes, 16 swings and five strikes on his fastball, and five called strikes on his heater, averaging 95.9 mph on the night. He had a total of eight swinging strikes, nine called strikes and the other four curveballs.
“You’re talking about pitch efficiency. He was really good,” Martinez said. Quoted by Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
“He attacked the strike zone. He was first in the count. I can’t say much. … Some of our young starters are really starting to figure it out, and that’s great.”
Martinez said he spoke with Irvin after he allowed five hits and seven runs (six earned) in one game. 2⁄3 On his second outing out of the pen, IP, when told by the pitcher that he was trying to iron out some things with game action, the manager had a simple message.
“We’ll work on what we need to do, but it’s got to be done in the bullpen,” Martinez said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN.
“When you’re in the game, you’re here to compete. Forget everything and start getting outs. And he took that to heart.”
Irvin said he reviewed the sources and followed Martinez’s advice.
“He brought my focus back to the competition, which was the jolt I needed,” Irvin said.
“I have a lot of respect for him. His words really resonate with me. It was good to hear that from him. I’ve made the adjustments, so now it’s just about competing.”
Also:
On Wednesday afternoon, the Nationals announced that Carter Kieboom had cleared waivers and permanently assigned him to Triple-A Rochester. Kieboom, 26, was a first-round pick in 2016 who stepped up in the Nats’ system and was considered a promising prospect, but has struggled at the major league level. Batting .199/.297/.301 with 9 doubles and 12 home runs in 133 games, 508 at bats in 4 seasons.).
Kieboom missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but returned to the majors last year and appeared in 27 games. Now, the organization has made the decision to remove him from the 40-man roster.
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Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
“He’s been out for a while with an injury, but I think he’s still catching up a little bit,” Martinez said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNin explaining this decision, said:
“I know it’s disappointing for him, but he’s still in uniform and has to perform. I think he’s going to go out there, put in the work and be ready. I want him to actually show us something. And if he gets called up, he’s going to come here and help us win.”
