Jered Weaver was once a very valuable pitcher for the LA Angels. Now he has fans counting down the days until his contract expires.
Entering 2016, Weaver has experienced a drop in average fastball velocity in five consecutive seasons. It looks like we’ll be making that six straight years.
The LA Times’ Pedro Moura reports that Weaver topped out at 81 mph in his spring training outing Wednesday:
One scout in attendance has Jered Weaver topping out at 80 mph in two innings today. He threw a 78-mph fastball Austin Barnes hit for a HR.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) March 9, 2016
Jered Weaver hit 81 mph in his final inning but got hit hard. 3 homers, 5 runs, 6 hits, no strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) March 9, 2016
2015 was Weaver’s worst as his velocity dropped significantly from 86.3 to 83.3 on average. At least at 86.3 mph Weaver was good enough to get batters out. Last season was a different story as he posted a 4.64 ERA and went 7-12. If that’s how bad he was at 83.3 mph on average, Angels fans better brace for an even worse season in 2016. Weaver is in the final year of his contract and will be making $20 million this season.
Meanwhile, we are now getting the answer to the question site readers have been wondering for years: What would it be like if your’s truly pitched in the major leagues.
