Yesterday, Adam Kilgore confirmed what some folks suspected: The Nationals are experimenting with Brad Peacock as a reliever. As I tweeted to him yesterday, the changeup is what got Peacock from Potomac to Harrisburg.
I think it would be a shame if Peacock were converted to a reliever before he had the full chance to see what he can do as a starter. I totally get that this may be something that the organization needs, but if you’ve seen what that changeup — which may be his third-best pitch, but it’s his most important pitch to get over for strikes — does to hitters, you’d understand.
Peacock was a favorite of mine from this past season because of that changeup. Okay, maybe because it was also a thrill to see him throw a complete-game shutout. But guys that can deal 94-95mph are relatively common. Guys that can also throw a change that’s easily 10-15mph slower? Not so common.
Most of my “LNIW” posts involving Peacock were prior to the site changeover in hosting. As it so happens, he was the feature in the lone “LNIW” from our “mobile home days“, which gave me a chance to talk about what it means to go seven innings in the minors; a spiel I’d had “in the can” for years without a place to express.
Hopefully, that’s all this is: An experiment. But if it’s not? Please, let Brad continue to work on his change in some long outings.