Wacha (2-7) got the short end of the stick in Friday's pitcher's duel against Rangers starter Cole Hamels. He tossed 7.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits while walking two and striking out seven in a 1-0 loss.
Wacha was dealing Friday, and he resembled the pitcher most thought he was before his horrendous start began creeping doubts into the minds of his owners. At one point, he followed up a 98-mph fastball with an 84-mph changeup -- a ridiculous velocity change that illustrates the nastiness that Wacha has in his arsenal. The right-hander has struggled with his control this year (3.4 BB/9), and more specifically, he's really struggled to make his robust fastball effective. According to FanGraphs, Wacha's fastball has only induced a swinging strike a career-worst 4.7 percent of the time. Entering Friday the pitch value (pVAL) of his fastball was at -4.9, which is outlandishly off its 7.0 rating last season. However, he has put together three quality starts in his last four outings and seems to be headed in the right direction after his miserable start to 2016.