San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
After demotion, Blackburn gets another chance
Paul Blackburn had little time to process his call-up by the A’s this month. He joined the team in Chicago on Aug. 18, a day after Chris Bassitt was struck in the face by a line drive. Blackburn learned on arrival that he would be Oakland’s starting pitcher that night and took the mound against the White Sox several hours later.
It was perhaps ideal given how Blackburn, the 27-year-old right-hander from Antioch and Heritage High School in Brentwood, has approached this season — his fifth in the A’s system.
Blackburn’s year started on a sour note. He was designated for assignment by the A’s in the first week of spring training. He cleared waivers, remaining in the organization but no longer on the 40-man roster. A baseball season has time for twists. On Sunday, Blackburn will start the A’s series finale against the Yankees.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a wake-up call; it was more just me more so being OK with being in the moment,” Blackburn said. “From that point, it was: Take it day by day, work on what I need to work on. I guess stay more in the present.”
Past seasons could be trying. As a rookie in 2017, Blackburn impressed in a brief stint in the A’s rotation. He compiled a 3.22 ERA in 10 starts before a line drive struck his hand and ended his season. A forearm strain sidelined him the following spring. From 2018 to 2020, Blackburn pitched in 11 games with the A’s and totaled a 9.22 ERA.
“When I came up in ’17, I felt like I had success,” Blackburn said. “And then that success kind of left, and I was always trying to get back to that success. And it’s not that I felt like I couldn’t pitch here, or that I feel like I don’t belong here. There were just little things in there that kind of kept me back.”
For one, Blackburn said his mechanics became “kind of herky-jerky,” causing inconsistency with his pitch movement and location. He sought out a change. In the offseason, Blackburn trained at Rotational Athlete Solutions in Phoenix. He described an emphasis on syncing different muscles to work together and “pushing into the ground” to generate more power.
Blackburn, who mostly uses a sinker and cutter among four pitches, does not rely on high velocity. But he said his visits to the facility keyed on different exercises and stability work and “learning about stuff to be more powerful.” It marks a modest rise, but Blackburn’s average fastball velocity of 90.9 mph in his two A’s starts this season rate as his personal best in the majors, per Statcast.
“I just feel like with a lot of the stuff I did this offseason, my stuff plays better than it did in the past as far as movement and being able to locate,” Blackburn said. “And being up here before, and facing guys at higher levels of the minor leagues, it’s kind of helped me learn how to set up guys different. Or look at what guys look for in certain counts or situations.”
Blackburn said he felt that he “made a lot of strides” in the offseason, yet “wasn’t caught by surprise” by the DFA in February. He was out of minorleague options, and the A’s had a crowded rotation field. He said it “kind of sucked, to be honest,” but “ultimately to get up here by the end of the year was the goal for me after that.”
With Triple-A Las Vegas, in a hitter-friendly league, Blackburn posted a 4.97 ERA in 17 games. He pitched into the sixth inning of his first two A’s starts, charged with five runs in 11 innings. He exited against the White Sox trailing 2-1 and against the Mariners in a 2-2 game lost via a late-inning bullpen breakdown.
“He looks more confident,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I think that probably goes a long way in what his results are going to look like.”
Blackburn said another emphasis at Triple-A this season was to deliver pitches with conviction, saying, “If I execute my pitches like I’ve done in the past, most of the time good things happen.”
“In ’17 that’s how it was,” Blackburn said. “And then I got hurt, and then I just felt like I added so much extra pressure to myself throughout those years.
“When I got called up to Chicago this year I was like, ‘Why add that pressure on myself ? Just go do what I’ve been doing. If bad things happen, bad things happen.’
“It’s better to go out and pitch with confidence and believe in yourself, believe in your stuff, than try and add that extra pressure and kind of regret it.”