Johnny Cueto Wasting No Time Endearing Himself to Giants’ Fans
After just five starts with the San Francisco Giants, Johnny Cueto has quickly endeared himself to the orange and black-wearing Bay Area faithful.
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When the San Francisco Giants lured in free agent pitcher Johnny Cueto this past offseason to a six-year contract worth a staggering $130 million, there was a lot of excitement from the orange and black fanbase. This was the big fish pitcher that the Giants were trying to reel in when they attempted to woo another big-time pitcher, Zack Greinke. After losing Greinke to a surprising contender, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants brought in Jeff Samardzija for $90 million over five years, but didn’t quite have that “second ace” kind of pitcher they wanted to slot behind Madison Bumgarner.
Cueto was that guy. With his track record (2014 National League Cy Young runner-up, 2.51 ERA and 1.168 WHIP since 2011 as a Cincinnati Red), Cueto easily looked like that pitcher that the Giants could slip behind Bumgarner in the rotation to create a terrible twosome at the top of the order.
Of course, there was some skepticism about the deal for Cueto. He came with a bit of a history with injuries, including a lat problem that limited him to 11 starts in 2013, and a balky elbow that cost him a start here and a start there at various points in his career. He also struggled more than he was used to it after a trade in 2015 sent him to the American League for the first time in his career. Despite some really good starts, including two complete games (one in the World Series), Cueto didn’t really get comfortable in his few months in a new league.
The Giants were taking a risk with the signing (any team that signs a player for that much money is taking a risk), but Cueto has wasted no time proving that he is still an elite pitcher in the game. With the first month of the season ready to close, Cueto has been, by far, the Giants’ best starting pitcher thus far.
In five starts (small sample size, yada yada yada), Cueto is leading the way for Giants’ starters with a 2.65 ERA and 1.045 WHIP, and has thrown 16 1-2-3 innings, six more than any other starter (Bumgarner and Samardzija both have 10). Besides that five-run first inning against the Dodgers in his second start, Cueto has allowed just six runs in 36.1 innings, good for a 1.50 ERA.
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Exactly as advertised, Cueto’s control has been outstanding. His 1.2 walks allowed per nine innings through five starts is well below his career rate of 2.6, and his 6.6 strikeouts per walk is almost three times better than his career rate. Both rates are the best among Giants’ starters.
He’s also been a great inning eater at a time when the Giants could really use one. He’s gotten through at least seven innings in all five of his turns, and went the distance in his most recent start on Monday, the first complete game and shutout by a Giants’ starter this year. While Matt Cain and Jake Peavy have struggled to go deep consistently, and Bumgarner is still trying to work through some things, Cueto’s ability (and Samardzija’s, for that matter) to give the bullpen rest time is a hugely valuable asset for Bruce Bochy and the staff.
It’s not just Cueto’s pitching that has helped him earn his way into San Francisco hearts. When he’s on the mound, Cueto is one of the most loose and entertaining pitchers in the game, and the fans have taken notice. After his catcher Buster Posey gunned down would-be base stealer Travis Jankowski to get out of a jam in the eighth inning on Monday, Cueto pumped his fist and ran around the mound like he had just won the lottery. After he struck out Adam Rosales to end the seventh inning, he walked off the mound, took off his cap, and said something that looks suspiciously like “damn, I’m good”. Take a look and come to your own conclusion as to what exactly he said.
If that’s in fact what Cueto said, he wasn’t lying.
Plus, Cueto is a fast worker. On a night after the Giants and Padres played a four-hour, cardiac-inducing ballgame, Cueto and James Shields dueled for just two hours and 28 minutes.
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It’s still so early in his tenure, but Cueto is wasting no time becoming a big fan favorite in the Bay. He makes it extremely easy to like him.