Kevin Gausman, SP, Baltimore Orioles
The slow start
The Orioles are still mired in a slow start, and just like it has been in recent years, their starting rotation hasn’t done them any favors as a unit.
Kevin Gausman didn’t necessarily have a horrible April — he owned a 4.15 ERA in 34.2 innings — but it wasn’t as good as the second half from last season. Plus, Gausman’s homers allowed per nine innings was up over 2.00 heading into May, when everything changed.
The recovery
The right-hander has produced a 2.63 ERA through 27.1 innings of work this month, and a lot of it has to do with him limiting the home-run ball.
He’s amped up his ground-ball rate to 53.1% while lowering is homer rate to 0.66 per nine innings. It also helps that his walk rate for the month of May is currently 4.4%. More control in general is very encouraging for him moving forward — his 5.7% overall walk rate is on pace to be a career-best mark.
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