Trevor Cahill Turning Into Ace

When General Manager Billy Beane set out to rebuild the A’s back in 2007, we all knew that young pitching would most likely be the starting point. Since his massive overhaul took place following the Dan Haren trade, the A’s have seen young players like Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro mature into young studs.

For the sake of this post, however, I’m just focusing on the A’s young ace Trevor Cahill, who has already surpassed his win total from last season. Cahill owns an 11-4 record through 19 starts, and has a team leading 2.72 ERA. Along with Anderson, Cahill is an integral part of the young rotation. This year, however, Cahill has come into his own. While he’s not striking people out (73K in 125.2 IP), Cahill’s WHIP (0.99) and ERA both rank in the top 5 of active AL starters.

In his last start, the All-Star threw his first complete game in his young career. While many skeptics look at Cahill’s low strikeout numbers, the fact of the matter is that Cahill was never really a strikeout pitcher. Cahill relies on his sinker, which has been tremendous this year. Last season, Cahill gave up an A’s rookie record 27 homers. Cahill was torched primarily because of his command issues, as he often left his fastball up in the zone.

This season, however, Cahill has kept the ball down, and as a result he’s given up 11 homers so far this season. And after last night’s start, Cahill lowered his home ERA to 1.88. This season has been a tremendous year for Cahill, who looks like an ace. As for the rest of the season, fans should expect more of the same. Make no mistake, Cahill is the real deal.