San Francisco Giants: 5 Positive Takeaways From April

Tim Lincecum Is Pitching Well

Surprisingly, Tim Lincecum has been the Giants’ second base starting pitcher this year. In five starts, Lincecum is 2-1 with a 3.64 ERA.

Apr 26, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) throws during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Just recently did he start to limit his walks. In his last 13.2 innings pitched, he’s walked only five batters, and during this span, he’s 1-1 with a 1.32 ERA. But his overall 5.16 BB/9, which is the second-highest mark in baseball, is still extremely high, as his 13.2 walk percentage, which leads baseball.

Lincecum’s recent success suggests that he could be turning the corner. Sure, it helps that he’s faced the San Diego Padres over his past 13.2 inning of work and that factor can’t be ignored.

But the eyeball test does reveal that he’s throwing more strikes with his fastball, and his off-speed pitches, particularly his splitter, are garnering plenty of swings and misses. According to Fan Graphs, Lincecum has the eighth-highest swinging-strike percentage in MLB. So, his stuff wasn’t and still isn’t a problem.

While it’s clear that Lincecum could do a better job of limiting the free passes, he’s off to a encouraging start.