At What Point Do Colorado Rockies Fans Admit Yohan Flande Is… Good?

Aug 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Y. Flande (58) gets a visit by pitching coach S. Foster (56) and catcher M. McKenry (8) against the Washington Nationals. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports

Yohan Flande (2015) vs. Yohan Flande (2014)

The most important aspect of Flande’s 2015 is comparing it to the 2014 version of himself: Yohan Flande has become better after his rookie campaign last season, and he’s continued to get better during 2015.

Just three of Flande’s ten starts were longer than 5 innings last season. Already three of his first five starts this season have eclipsed the five inning mark, including the career-high seven frames he tossed Thursday night against Washington. Not coincidentally, Flande’s done much better the second and third times through opposing lineups in 2015 compared to 2014.

Last year, opponents facing Flande for the third time in a game slashed .400/.450/.857 with four home runs and five walks in 40 plate appearances. Obviously, big league hitters figured out Flande’s stuff fairly quickly and made it tough for him to go longer than five innings in his starts.

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This year, Flande’s shown a marked improvement facing a lineup the third time through; hitters have slashed only .238/.273/.571 with two home runs and a walk in 22 plate appearances against him the third time through the order, showing Flande’s been able to adjust in-game against Major League hitters to stay competitive on the mound.

Even Flande’s most recent start against Washington showed growth; he faced the Nationals for the first time on August 9, allowing 3 runs in 4.2 innings (the Rockies eventually won that game). Eleven days later, he faced them again, and gave up just three hits and two runs while striking out five over seven innings, proving his game plan and adjustments were better than his opponent, at least on that day.

Small sample size? For sure. But don’t forget how much a young guy like Jon Gray struggled on Friday night seeing the Mets for the second time in ten days (after dominating them the first time around in his second career start).

No, Flande and Gray aren’t comparable here, and yes, Gray is way younger than Flande and will have some bad starts early in his career, but the fact that a guy like Flande proved he was able to adjust to a lineup twice in less that two weeks shows he’s developing in the big leagues. That shouldn’t be lost on the Rockies — and it’s something veterans get better and better at doing as their careers continue.

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