Baltimore Orioles T.J. McFarland looking all set for the long haul – MLB news
T.J. McFarland is finding his feet in the Major League. He is currently a part of the Baltimore Orioles pitching line-up and is performing his duties in the bullpen. It is a massive learning curve for the 23-year-old who is in the first year of his MLB career.
It is still sinking in the system for T.J who has to take a moment every time he takes the mound and has to let go of his fears. He is there to pitch and no matter who is in the box, he is there to do a job and that is what matters that most.
“It's business, and it doesn't matter who is in the batter's box; I shut it down. I give myself a second to take it all in before I put my foot on the rubber, and then it's gone. I've always been able to turn it on and turn it off,” McFarland said.
McFarland has been playing professional baseball since 2008. He was a fourth round pick by the Cleveland Indians in 2007 amateur draft. The pitcher posted some decent results between 2008 and 2012 in the Minors for various teams at A, Double-A and Triple-A
level.
T.J. was particularly good in the 2012 season where he posed a 16-8 winning record in 27 games as a starting pitcher with a 4.03 ERA at Double-A and Triple-A levels.
He has been quite impressive in the current Major League stint as well and has pitched in six games so far as a reliever. He has a decent 2.95 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. In a little over 18 innings, he has so far struck out 20 batters as well.
Baltimore Orioles got their hands on the 6ft 3in pitcher during the 2012 rule five draft from the Cleveland Indians. The pitcher has a current salary of $490,000.
Buck Showalter, the manager for the Orioles has been impressed by what he has so far seen from the youngster.
“What he's doing for us has been impressive,” Showalter said.
The manager also said that the teammates in the bullpen found T.J to be fitting in just fine and he seems to handling himself rather well.
Fellow relieving pitcher Darren O’Day is one of the fans of McFarland. He believes that the rookie pitcher is one of the better rookies he has come across. Darren feels that T.J know how to conduct himself both on and off the field and is a social and fun
guy to be around.
“Don't tell him, but he's one of the better rookies I've been around,” O'Day said. “He's really on top of stuff, not just on the field; off the field, he fits in well. He's a social guy, always got something funny to say.”
These are good signs for the young pitcher who seems to be enjoying his early days in the big leagues. He will surely get a chance to polish his skills and move through the ranks to establish himself as one of the leading pitchers in the MLB.
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