Knobler: Scouts Not Impressed With Lincecum

Tim Lincecum had his worst outing of the year on Monday, walking five in five innings, and going to deep counts on just about every hitter.

You could make both arguments, though the first one is probably more conventional. Lincecum has had a rough start to the season, giving up almost as many earned runs in his first four starts as he did in April and May of last year. And while Lincecum felt his outing was an improvement, Danny Knobler talked to some scouts who weren’t as impressed:

Here’s something else I’m not sure about: Is Lincecum healthy? He says he is, but there are already whispers around the game that his hip is bothering him. And his performance Monday left the scouts thinking that something could be wrong, because he wasn’t able to drive towards the plate with his usual strength.“There’s no power in his legs,” one scout said.

Knobler notes Lincecum’s similar struggles in 2010, but also notest that there are “whispers” of a hip injury that hasn’t been reported yet. If Lincecum’s velocity and/or effectiveness doesn’t return in his next start, you can be sure there will be more articles like Knobler’s.