Blake Snell’s extended contract negotiations put him in a difficult spot. For a pitcher who was betting on himself, entering the season without any Spring Training game isn’t an “ideal” situation. But sometimes waiting till the last moment becomes a necessity. However, the fact that his San Francisco Giants debut proved to be a lackluster affair shouldn’t be surprising. But it should be eye-opening. 

The defending Cy Young winner’s struggle on the mound showcased how important it is for pitchers to build themselves up before the regular season. However, now that Snell has missed it one wonders whether his bet on himself was a case of the superstar biting more than he could chew. 

Blake Snell’s disappointing debut creates doubts about the future

Before April 8, the last time that Snell pitched in a competitive game was way back in September. Since then the pitcher’s been training but hadn’t thrown in a competitive setting. That led to some rustiness, which was visible in his Bay Bombers debut. The ace threw only 3 innings in a game where he gave up 3 hits and 3 three runs. 

The troubling sign was that Snell couldn’t find the strike zone. Out of his 72 pitches, only 39 were strikes. That isn’t an ideal number, even for Snell, who tends to go a little outside of the zone sometimes. While that was a troubling sign and eventually led to the Giants losing 8-1 to the Washington Nationals, the skipper chose to be optimistic. 

“They made him throw a lot of pitchers. Seventy-five was about what we were looking to get out of him today. At least he’s off and running. Not a great game for us all the way around. But we knew it would probably be a shorter outing for him today,” said Bob Melvin to MLB.com. 

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However, it still is a scary sign. One wouldn’t want Snell to continue struggling in a season where he’s trying to get a better deal. But on a positive note, the performance did show that the ace hadn’t lost his electric arsenal. 

Terrific changeup and rejuvenated velocity give hope 

One great aspect of Snell’s performance was his changeups and fastballs. The 31-year-old topped out at 97.1 mph. The star also struck out five batters. More importantly, Snell generated 10 whiffs on 24 swings. That’s a 43% whiff percentage, which is better than the 37% he touched last year. Another interesting aspect of Snell’s pitching was how he gradually built up momentum.

In his first 59 pitches, Snell threw just 30 strikes. But then, by the third inning, he had 9 strikes in 13 pitches and ended his spell with much-needed momentum. That could prove to be a massive blessing for Snell-zilla in the long run. “I’m excited about where I’m at, how the ball is coming out,” Snell said. “I’m only going to get better.”  

The entire San Francisco Giants fanbase shares that hope with Snell. Perhaps Monday was nothing more than a blip on the radar. However, it ought to make one thing clear – Snell’s journey won’t be an easy one.

Read more: Scott Boras Defends Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger Contracts, Blames Uncertain Market Amidst Underwhelming Off-Season