Joan Adon appeared in two games out of the bullpen for the Washington Nationals in July, but returned to the majors with a 10-game start, starting with a sixth-inning start on August 5th, and was perfect until the fifth inning before tiring in the leadoff. . He allowed three hits in the sixth and ended up with three earned runs.
“I know he was in the bullpen the last time he played, but he was throwing the ball a lot better,” Nats manager Davey Martinez said after Adon’s first start of the year in the majors. Told.
“He fell down [to Triple-A] And he worked on some things, and now he’s back here and he’s honed a lot of things.
“He did everything we asked him to do, and it was great.”
“It was great to see him go out there and understand what he’s trying to do and attack hitters and do it well.”
Adon, who made his major league debut in the final game of the 2021 season at the age of 23, started 14 games in the Nationals’ rotation in 2022, posting a 7.10 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 5.43 BB/9, 7.65 K/90, and 64. .290/.392/.481 line 2⁄3 IP. His first start in the 2023 season showed his coach and teammates that he had maximized his ability.
“For me today was a perfect example of what he can really do. If he stays involved, he’s going to help us win games here,” Martinez said.
Adon told reporters: Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNhe had problems with leg cramps in the second half of his appearance, so it was unclear what would have happened if he had been perfect until the sixth inning.
“I don’t know what happened, because in that sixth inning I started convulsing,” Adon explained.
“That’s when I started feeling it. But no one wants to come off their perfect game.”
Adon and the Nationals staff worked to improve his hydration issues over the next few outings, and they eventually did. He ended up starting 10 games this time, posting a .294/.374/.479 line with a 6.56 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 4.18 BB/9, 8.36 K/9, and a .294/.374/.479 line for ’46. 2⁄3 His start includes IP.
After the now 25-year-old right-hander made perhaps his best appearance of the season against Miami on Aug. 25, Adon’s coach spoke about the growth he’s seen since last year.
“Even when he came out of the bullpen for us a while ago,” Martinez told reporters.
“His attitude, his maturity, he stepped back.” [to the minors], he’s worked on some of the things we’ve asked him to do and now he’s getting an opportunity to pitch every five or six days and he’s doing well. ”
“He attacked the zone, and when he did that, he was really effective, and he pitched really well for us and we were able to get the win. ”
Although the next few games were up and down, Martinez said in early September that he was satisfied with Adon’s contribution to the rotation.
“He’s been throwing the ball a lot better for me since we had him last year. Every time he comes on, he seems to get more and more confident, so that’s a good thing,” the coach said. Ta.
However, he finished the season without a win in the last six games (0-4, started 1-5 against Nationals), Adon posted a 7.48 ERA, 5.28 FIP, 5.86 BB/9, 9.11 K/9, and .350/.441/.553 batting average in Adon’s final 27 games. 2⁄3 IP on the mound.
His ability to slow things down when he gets into trouble, pitch selection and in-game adjustments are areas of his game that Coach Martinez suggested Adon needs to work on in the final month of the season.
“That’s part of what we’re talking about with him. When he gets into trouble, he needs to slow down the pace of the game a little bit,” Martinez said.
“You know, there’s a lot going on in your head,” he said at another point about how Adon sometimes thinks a little too much on the mound. When he’s working, he overthinks things. ”
