Path To The Majors
Estrada began his MLB career in the majors at age 24 with the Washington Nationals. His first three seasons only saw him produce a total of 31.1 innings pitched between the Nationals and the Brewers, and over the course of those three years, he posted an ERA of 8.04, hardly good enough to maintain a roster spot for any team. Despite this, the Brewers stuck with Estrada, and once he found his command, his naturally good pitches began to show that he was a late bloomer and a success story. He is one of only ten pitchers in MLB history to break the 100 innings pitched plateau at age 28 or higher, and the only one to do so with a K/9 of 9.0 or higher.
Estrada has transformed from a fringe major league pitcher with good stuff and poor command into a reliable starter for the Brewers organization. His ability to go out and strike out ten or more batters in starts on a semi-regular basis has always been in the cards, but his ability to control the ball as well as he does was never a likelihood early in his career. Estrada's 2012 K/BB ratio of 4.93 is an elite number, showing that not only has he evolved into an excellent strikeout pitcher, but that his command is outstanding as well.
Read more about this topic: Marco Estrada (baseball)
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