Is Matt Cain really any better this season?

Seriously.

His peripherals are all slightly worse.  But Cain's ERA sits at 2.57

Now, I don't doubt the guy's stuff.  Or his potential.  But his FIP is higher this season, his HR's/9 are higher, his K's are lower, his BB's roughly the same.

And his LOB% is an unsustainable 86.7%.  Meaning that allowing base-runners will eventually lead to more runs.

Oh, and the BABIP is .266.  Meaning that balls will fall in more often moving forward, while those base-runners are making homes on the base-paths.  Nothing great is being shown by Cain in the numbers.  Not that I see anyway.

Good?  Why yes.  But his ERA suggests that he's been great.  And while Cain has a great fastball that retrieves very good results.  His slider and curve have not been effective this season.  Although to be fair, his change-up has been solid.

Matt Cain is a great talent, any scout will tell you that.  But I am not so sure that he's a great pitcher just yet.  The numbers show that struggles will begin to take place for the youngster.

But don't get me wrong, for this guy has all the potential in the world.

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