McGowan is a superstar when it comes to the JUGS gun. What about WHIFF?

(Original article on WHIFF can be found here.)

Dustin McGowan throws very, very hard. Of MLB starters, only Justin Verlander (95.8mph) and A.J. Burnett (95.2) throw harder than McGowan (95.1).

But everyone knows that just throwing hard doesn't guarantee success at the big league level. And so far in 2007, McGowan's heater has been hittable.

Even before Tuesday's shelling against the Dodgers, McGowan's fastball was both below the MLB average in WHIFF and SLG% (see table below). But what's probably a prescursor to both of these is the fact that McGowan has command issues with the fastball, throwing it in the strikezone only 49.1% of the time (approximately the 34th percentile), well below the major league average of 50.8%.

What's encouraging, however, are McGowan's secondary offerings. His curveball, slider, and splitter all rank in the 75th percentile or above--his curveball being the gem of the group. Establishing the fastball and getting ahead of hitters more frequently could put McGowan in an ideal situation to take advantage of the rest of his repertoire.

Dustin McGowan - WHIFF Rate Breakdown

Fastball - .130 (MLB Avg .131)
Curve - .455(MLB Avg .241)
Slider - .400 (MLB Avg ..273)
Split- .414 (MLB Avg .304)