30 Players in 30 Days: Garrett Mock

Garrett Mock

Right-handed pitcher Garrett Mock played many roles for the Nationals this season, beginning the year with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. He then joined the Nationals bullpen where he made 13 appearances between April 20 and May 18. After another short stint in the Minors, he was recalled for good on July 16 and joined the Nationals starting rotation.

In between his two Major League stints, Mock was back in Syracuse with the Chiefs, this time as a starter. He dominated the International League in that stretch, going 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA. He earned International League Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in two starts during the week of June 22. The highlight of that week was throwing a three-hit, 10 strikeout complete game shutout versus Columbus on June 22. Mock struggled a bit once he was called up and didn’t get his first win until his fifth start on August 8. Overall, he went 3-10 with a 5.62ERA (0-2 with 6.92 ERA as a reliever and 3-8 with a 5.40 ERA as a starter.)

Looking closely at his numbers… While his ERA this year was 5.62, his FIP (fielding independent pitching) was 4.32. FIP measures a pitcher’s skill based on the things he can control (home runs, strikeouts, walks and HBP) while removing the things he can’t control, such as the defense behind him. Mock is actually over a run better than his ERA dictates. His K/9 ratio is 7.09, just slightly higher than the league average of 6.99, and a solid number. However his BB/9 ratio is 4.34, almost a full walk over the league average of 3.46. Why is this a problem? It puts runners on base which creates a situation that is difficult for Mock to get out of. Batters are hitting .317 against him with runners on base, while they are only hitting .299 when the bases are empty. Mock is also in more situations with runners on base (50% versus a league average of 45%). Keeping his walks down will help him avoid these situations and improve his performance overall.

Mock, 26, is still young and has time to work on his control. He impressed people this season and could be a candidate for the rotation going into Spring Training.