Dustin McGowan used to be a hot prospect, ranking in the top-100 of Baseball America's preseason prospect list four times between 2002 and 2006. He was a first-round pick out of high school in 2000, and one of only eight first-rounders that year to accumulate more than a single Win Above Replacement in his career according to Baseball Reference. In 2007, he broke out, starting 27 games for the Toronto Blue Jays, and putting up an ERA above the league average while striking out twice as many hitters as he walked. The Blue Jays looked like they had a rotation cornerstone.
Dustin McGowan Rises From The Ashes
The next season, though, McGowan’s shoulder exploded. This became a recurring theme:
2004: Tommy John surgery
2008: Rotator cuff surgery
2009: Recovery from rotator cuff surgery
2009: Surgery to repair a torn meniscus
2009: Family of raccoons removed from right shoulder, where they were biting and chewing indiscriminately because raccoons are jerks.
2010: Rotator cuff surgery (again)One of those ailments was made up, actually. It was probably the second rotator cuff one, because who is crazy enough to have two surgeries on a frayed labrum? Elbows are for doctors, shoulder problems are for priests. Think of every surgeon as a 13-year-old boy, and every labrum as the hooks on the back of a bra -- so intimidating, so confusing.
But it's the Year of the Pitcher You Figured Was Farming Organic Celery By Now. Ryan Vogelsong has an ERA under 3.00, and Jerome Williams is back in the majors, pitching important innings for a team that's still in a divisional race. Dontrelle Willis is pitching well enough that he should find a spot in a rotation next season, and Bartolo Colon will start playoff games for the richest team in the land. Usually, there's a guy who goes around with a wheelbarrow and collects broken pitchers, piling them atop one another, but more than a few this year have picked up their heads and croaked, "I'm not retired yet!"
Which is all to say: welcome back Dustin McGowan.
After three surgeries in the past three years, McGowan came back to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, making his first appearance since 2008. The results weren’t so hot -- he allowed three runs and eight runners in four innings -- but it is something just short of a miracle that he can lift his arm above his head, much less pitch in the major leagues. This isn’t a case of the Blue Jays giving McGowan a roster spot just to give the fans some warm fuzzies, either. He earned his way back.
| Year | Tm | Lev | G | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2 Teams | AA-A+ | 2.80 | 12 | 35.1 | 31 | 11 | 2 | 14 | 35 |
That line isn't too shabby for a pitcher who hadn't thrown a pitch in pro ball since 2008. And when he finally made it back, he struck out five. Here's his first strikeout since getting Luke Scott in 2008:
The changeup was nasty, diving out of the strike zone in the high-80s. His fastball got up to 94-mph, which is where he was sitting before the shoulder surgery. He's not trying to reinvent himself as a Madduxian control artist. Giving up a couple of runs to the Red Sox aside, he looked good.
Well, he didn’t look good. His pitching did. Not sure what those sideburns are all about -- we know his labrum isn’t made from adamantium. Also, if I’m in the Secret Service, and the President wants to watch a play at a theater that McGowan owns, I’ll nip that idea in the bud.
But the pitching part went well. McGowan isn’t going to be a lock for the Blue Jays rotation next season, but he’ll have a great shot at winning a spot with a good spring. Just seeing him on the field is encouraging. Right now it’s a feel-good story about a pitcher who worked hard, fought the odds, and came back. With any luck, it could be a story about a pitcher who helps the Blue Jays win, and the history of how he got there will just be a piece of trivia.
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