This is the best game Velasquez has pitched as a Philly, pitched not thrown.
In his last start, he settled down after two innings and started pitching.
His problem has been a tendency to overthrow, much like a hitter trying to hit a ball too hard, it actually reduced his velocity and hurt his command.
This game he was throwing more free and easy, and was hitting 96-97.
He also had better command of both his FB and his secondary pitches, including his changeup.
Kapler took him out at the right time, he started yanking his slider when he tired.
Now whether he can continue this remains to be seen, but being able to throw four pitches for strikes is a good sign.
The one thing I'd like to see is him work on getting movement on his 2 seamer. Right now his FB is pretty straight, and as Kingery showed, 96-97 is a hittable pitch in baseball today - you need to mix the 4 seamer with a 2 seamer that has good break, especially one like Nola which is almost like a screwball. But right now he just needs to build on this game, throw strikes, don't overthrow, and use all four pitches.
