On Saturday, Jeff Locke, a 23 year old left handed pitcher, made his debut in the majors. He was originally drafted in 2006 by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round out of high school. The Pirates acquired Locke from the Braves in 2009 in the Nate McLouth deal, which also brought us Charlie Morton and prospect Gorkys Hernandez.
Locke spent the 2010 season between Bradenton (High-A) and Altoona (AA), putting up respectable numbers in both leagues. Overall, he had a 12-5 record with a 3.56 ERA. He put up great secondary numbers, with a 139/26 K/BB ratio. Locke was also part of the Altoona rotation that was filled with prospects, and helped lead the team to the Eastern League Championship. He started the 2011 campaign in Altoona, and he struggled early in the season. A big reason for this was his control, as he let up 20 more walks in 19 less innings. As the year progressed, he began to figure things out finished with a 4.03 ERA in AA before being called up to Indianapolis (AAA) in August. While in Indy, he had a string of five solid starts, putting up a 2.22 ERA. These performances led to his September call-up and his major league debut. Overall, he had a 3.70 ERA with a 139/55 K/BB ratio in the minors.
Jeff Locke’s debut was not spectacular, but that was to be expected. He wasn’t exactly lights out in the minors this year, so it was unlikely that he was going to have an exceptionally strong start. His line ended up as 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 4 BB. As you can see, his control was not with him during the start. He didn’t let up a lot of hits, but many of his outs were hard hit balls to the outfield that stayed up just long enough for our speedy outfielders to catch. The most likely cause for the hard hit balls was that he was leaving the ball up in the zone too much, where major league hitters will make you pay. Locke was getting away with this, however, until the 3rd inning where he allowed all of his three runs. His strikeout pitch also was not working, and the only strikeout came against Anibal Sanchez, the opposing pitcher.
Although much of his start was mediocre, I did notice some encouraging signs. First, he was throwing his fastball in the 90-92 MPH range, which is encouraging considering he already has a lot of innings under his belt this year. Also, he was not afraid to challenge hitters on the inside part of the plate, which is essential if you want to succeed in the majors. Finally, he displayed a big breaking curve that induced some swings and misses.
Jeff Locke should continue to pitch out of the rotation for the remainder of the season, but since he already pitched over 150 innings in the minors, expect his starts to be limited to four to six innings. If Locke can regain the control that he had in the 2010 season, he will be able to succeed at the major league level. He has the upside of solid #3 starter, and could be up with the Pirates full time some time next summer. With the rotation for next year having as many options as it does, it is very likely that he starts next season back in AAA.
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