It’s not fair to compare Frias directly to Zach Lee, the former first-round draft pick who just finished the season at Albuquerque. They’re two different pitchers with two different repertoires. Lee turned 23 on Saturday. Frias is 24, but he’s been pitching in the Dodgers’ system since he was 17. Lee was a blue-chip high school quarterback recruit in Texas at the same age.
That said, only one of the two pitchers is here now. At the beginning of the season it wouldn’t have shocked anyone (at least, anyone who pays too much attention to the Dodgers’ farm system) if Lee were getting September starts. As it happened, Frias will probably start Wednesday at Coors Field — and maybe twice more, a lofty assignment for a rookie on a team chasing a playoff spot.
So what happened to Zach Lee?
Dishman said that Lee had a good season on the whole. His fastball was regularly in the 92-94 mph range. He started the season strong (a 1.99 ERA after four games, almost unheard of in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League). Then the PCL adjusted to his repertoire and, well, here’s his game log:
Figuring out how to adjust to a hitter-friendly league that’s adjusted to you, Dishman said, is hard.
“That’s one of those things as a young kid, once you get amped up, that takes maturity,” he said.
Lee didn’t figure it out until arguably his last start of the season.
Frias did.
“It was like he said ‘alright, I’m going to mix in my curveball a little bit more. I’m going to take a little off my slider a little bit more. Maybe not try to throw so hard sometimes when I get two strikes’,” Dishman said. “He started making adjustments and kept getting better. Maybe his last six or seven outings he kept getting better … then he really got back on a roll again, like he started the season out.
“It was nice to watch him do well, struggle, then figure it out again.”
Dishman said there are some particular quirks to Frias’ pitches that made them especially difficult on batters. Lee’s repertoire is more diverse, but his pitches are “more traditional.”
More on that in a future piece.