In Spring Training, it’s always difficult to tell what a pitcher is trying to accomplish in an outing.
Such was the case yesterday. It was clear Dillon Gee was emphasizing the use of his change-up early in his outing, but he said after the game he and Dan Warthen were strictly going with a fastball/change-up combination.
“We were just working on seeing how good of a pitcher I could be with two pitches the first time through and not break out the other stuff,” Gee explained, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
When Gee was at the top of his game in 2013, his change-up was a critical key to his success. He was able to dominate with that pitch, and he emerged into one of the top pitchers in the game from June 1 to the end of that season. Recall, Gee went 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 149 innings over his final 22 starts in 2013.
But when he came back from the lat injury last year, he didn’t have that crispness, and he struggled as a result. He’s even acknowledged this spring he got out of his game when he came back last year. Since he’s getting longer stints as a starter, it gives him a good opportunity to work on the feel of his change-up, which is really what it’s about with that pitch.
While a small sample size, that change-up looks good once again with good downward movement out of the zone, he’s got good tempo and rhythm in-game, and he just looks comfortable, something which he struggled to become while working as a reliever.
Gee isn’t going to dominate out there, but he’s a pro and is a serviceable right-handed pitcher who can be valuable for the back-end of a big league rotation. He battles even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, and most of the time he finds a way to meet expectations.
With Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz on their way, it’s not clear how long Gee will be in the rotation. He could very well end up back in the bullpen, or on another team before the year is out. But, while he’s here, he remains a veteran who people seem to look up to in the clubhouse, much like the way many of the younger guys look up to Bartolo Colon.
Gee threw four scoreless innings against the Astros on Tuesday despite limiting his repertoire. He has only allowed two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings as a starting pitcher this spring, and has a 2.45 ERA overall.
You can read more about Gee in this outstanding story by Mike Vaccaro in the New York Post.
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