A perplexing trend for Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells has the coaches and Wells at a loss. He is currently second in the majors in home runs allowed with 18. In fact, 31 runs this season have been on home runs against Wells. It will be interesting to see whether this trend continues the rest of season. Orioles fans are hoping the coaches and Wells make the necessary adjustments to stem the tide before it gets worse.
Home Runs are Not Good
Home runs are obviously not good for a pitcher. At least for Wells the homers, thankfully, have largely been solo shots. Of the 19 homers he has surrendered, 13 have been solo shots. The other six came with only one man on base. If you are going to give up home runs, that is the best way to do it. The Orioles have won all but four of his starts. However, it might become challenging if he is unable to keep the home runs in check.
A perplexing trend for Tyler Wells is the home runs against his pitching. Many home runs are just mistake pitches thrown down the middle of the plate. However, a pitcher can reduce the number of home runs hit against them is by increasing their ground ball rate. That is something easier said than done. Wells needs to work on the doing. Wells is only 28, and is still an unproven starting pitcher who worked as a reliever in 2021 and has only been a full-time starter since last season.
Strikeouts Are Up
There is good news, however. His strikeout numbers are up, already exceeding last year’s total in 20 fewer innings. Another thing the Orioles coaches like is that Wells is going longer into games. He is averaging close to six innings a game. He is showing his knack to set up his pitches better, and even his overall command has improved.
You could say he has been their most consistent and valuable pitcher so far. He currently has a 3.22 ERA. He leads the majors in walks, and hits per inning pitched 0.888 (WHIP). Left-handed hitters are hitting only .184 against him.
How Wells will Evolve
Just how Wells will evolve remains to be seen as he is a pitcher with a low ERA, who strikes out lots of hitters. Yet giving up the home run ball is unusual. The Orioles are hoping that as he pitches more and gains experience and confidence, the home runs will decrease. Until then, they’re relying on him to maintain or better his good stats and for the team to still win.
Orioles Offense Helps
The Orioles’ offense has been good this year with plate discipline and the benefit of seeing a lot of pitches. They are in the top-15 in the league in all major categories, so far this year. That includes being tenth in runs scored and eighth in slugging.
The offense is certainly carrying this team. Nonetheless they might just have to continue that while Wells works on stemming the tide of his current “home run” trend. If he can keep dominating and bettering his stats, and make tweaks to overcome the home run pitches, everyone will reap the benefits.
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