McClanahan looks to recapture last season’s first-half groove
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — By all accounts, Shane McClanahan confirmed the world in 2022 that he’s already fairly, fairly good relating to pitching. He began the All-Star Game, he completed among the many American League leaders in a number of statistical classes — together with ERA, WHIP, FIP, strikeouts per 9 innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio — and he excelled on the postseason stage, albeit in a hard-luck shedding effort vs. the Guardians within the AL Wild Card Series.
The scary factor for the remainder of the American League? Neither McClanahan nor the Rays consider he’s hit his ceiling but.
“He can be better,” supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned. “It’s definitely doable.”
It was with that mindset that McClanahan launched into an offseason devoted to self-improvement, motivated to succeed in one other degree. He adhered to a diligent stretching routine. He stop snacking. He restricted his alcohol consumption and prioritized home-cooked meals, all with a watch towards “trying to put the right things in my body.” He was already a number of bullpen classes in by the point he arrived in Rays camp.
“I took it seriously and I’m excited,” McClanahan mentioned. “I feel really good. Excited to see the results.”
The objective being for McClanahan’s 2023 season is to reflect the early a part of his ’22 marketing campaign. There could not have been a greater pitcher in baseball within the first, when McClanahan went 10-3 with a 1.71 ERA and 147 strikeouts (110 2/3 innings) in 18 begins. But he missed time with a left shoulder harm and watched his dominance sag down the stretch, going 2-5 with a 4.20 ERA and 47 strikeouts (55 2/3 innings) within the second half, in the end completed sixth in AL Cy Young voting.
McClanahan’s motivation to remain wholesome and thrive via the rigor of a full season is without doubt one of the causes the Rays are so enthusiastic about their rotation heading into 2023. And McClanahan is itching to get again on the mound in a sport state of affairs. So a lot in order that McClanahan mentioned Tampa Bay pitching coach Kyle Snyder “yelled at me a little bit” to pump the brakes early in camp after a formidable reside bullpen at Disney’s Wide World of Sports advanced on Thursday.
“He did do that,” McClanahan admitted, smiling. “I really wish I was in the middle of a game right now. I wish I wasn’t talking to you guys. I wish I was going back out for my third or fourth inning.”
With the 25-year-old McClanahan coming off an (albeit minor) shoulder scare and a career-high 166 1/3 innings, the Rays know they’ll must handle his workload this spring and at the least considerably within the common season, as effectively. But for now, they membership is actually inspired with how McClanahan already seems to be, as Cash put it, “pretty close to midseason form.” McClanahan’s Grapefruit League debut is deliberate for Wednesday in opposition to Atlanta.
“I learned a lot from last year, in regards to staying on the field, making the amount of starts I made and trying to be a good leader for this team,” McClanahan mentioned. “Nobody wants to be hurt. It really bummed me out getting hurt last year. I did everything I could this offseason to hopefully put myself in that position.”
“I think Shane got a firsthand look at getting a full season in the big leagues and having success,” said Cash. “It’s a lot of pressure when you start in an All-Star Game. A lot goes with that. Yeah, it’s awesome to be recognized and there’s pressure to back that up. And I think he learned throughout the season, that as hard as he worked, it’s still in there that he can work harder.”
