Atlanta Braves: Five All-Star Pitcher Wish List
By John Buhler
. RHP. Washington. Tim Lincecum. 55. player. 31
For a four-year stretch (2008-11), there was no better pitcher in Major League Baseball than San Francisco Giants righthander Tim Lincecum. The Freak could throw 98 MPH at 5’11”, 170 lbs. and earned two consecutive NL Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009. Tim went to four straight All-Star Games from 2008-11 and has been on three World Series winning teams with the Giants (2010, 2012, 2014).
Then around 2012, Lincecum started to lose the command of his fastball. Control became an issue and he started to fall down the Giants rotational pecking order behind guys like Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner. Tim has had to reinvent himself as a pitcher that throws in the low-90’s and relies on movement as opposed to overpowering stuff. Does that sound familiar, Atlanta?
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I feel that the Atlanta Braves may want to look into bring Lincecum to Atlanta on the cheap as a sort of glorified reclamation project. Many pitchers that are down on their luck end up having strong rebounding years in the Braves rotation.
Though mechanics have never been Roger McDowell‘s strong suit as a pitching coach, he could work with Timmy to establish fastball command down and low in the zone and induce ground ball outs. Atlanta could benefit from having a former multiple time Cy Young and World Series winner in their rotation, even if Lincecum is a third or fourth starter for the Atlanta Braves.
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