Zach Eflin’s season has not been an easy one. From June 24th to July 27th, Eflin fell apart at the seams. His ERA inflated from 2.83 to 4.63 where it would peak for the season.
During that 6-game time span, Eflin had an ERA of 10.46. Opposing batters had a .382 batting average and an OPS of 1.145.
That’s bad. That’s downright T E R R I B L E.
The stretch was so horrendous that it pushed Eflin into the bullpen for 4 games. In those games, Eflin pitched 5.2 innings with 7 strikeouts and just 1 ER.
Everyone and their mother knows that Eflin isn’t a reliever. His 2 complete games lead all pitchers in the National League. Only 2 other NL pitchers share that distinction with him: Walker Buehler and Sandy Alcantara. Both of those pitchers were All-Stars in 2019.
For most of 2019, Eflin played like an All-Star. In his first 14 games of the season, Eflin allowed 27 ER in 86 IP, good for a 2.83 ERA. In his last 7 games of the season, Eflin allowed 13 ER in 41.1 IP, good for a 2.83 ERA.
For all intents and purposes, Zach Eflin was a 2.83 ERA pitcher in 2019. As they say, “that’ll play”.
Zach Eflin’s final start of 2019 will probably lock him into the 2020 rotation. He went 7 strong innings, allowing only 1 ER. That was, until, he came back for the 8th. He ran into trouble and his last pitch of 2019 ended up being a 2-run homer.
He’ll finish the season with a 4.13 ERA. It would be surprising to not see Eflin in the rotation again. A 4th or 5th spot in the rotation seems to be in the cards for the 25-year-old in 2020.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
