How would you describe the career Colby Lewis has had? A testament to perseverance, certainly. A testament to modern medicine, for sure. A testament to pitching knowledge and, yes, a testament to talent. You don't survive in the major leagues without some high level of ability, and we sometimes forget that if a pitcher doesn't throw 95 mph.
Lewis had Tommy John surgery as a junior in high school, attended junior college and the Texas Rangers drafted him 38th overall in 1999, a prototypical big right-hander with a mid-90s fastball that touched 97. He became one of the top prospects in the game, a consensus top-35 guy entering 2003. He then laid about as big an egg as possible. In 26 starts with the Rangers, he posted a 7.30 ERA. He had seven starts that season where he gave up six or more runs without pitching even five innings. Only six other pitchers have thrown as many innings with a higher ERA.
Then he hurt his rotator cuff. He pitched only three games in 2004 and missed all of 2005. The Rangers put him on waivers. He spent most of 2006 in Triple-A with the Tigers. He pitched well in Triple-A for the A's in 2007, but poorly in the majors in the bullpen. He went to Japan for two years, led the league in strikeouts both seasons, returned to the Rangers in 2010, pitched well in two World Series. Then he hurt his elbow. While rehabbing in the minors from that surgery, he injured his hip and had hip resurfacing surgery. He didn't pitch in the majors in 2013. He signed again with the Rangers and won 27 games the past two seasons, with a knee surgery thrown in. He signed again with the Rangers this past offseason, started cycling in the offseason to recover from the knee surgery, lost a little weight and he's now 36, hits 90 with a good fastball, and he's having the best season of his career.
He lost his perfect game with two outs in the eighth inning when he walked Yonder Alonso on four straight balls. He lost the no-hitter in the ninth, when Nomar Mazara couldn't quite track down Max Muncy's long fly ball into the right-field corner, the ball clanking off his glove. A second hit bounced out of the glove of a diving Ian Desmond and Lewis had to settle for a two-hit complete game as the Rangers won 5-1, the 15th win in 19 games as they've pulled away from the Mariners in the AL West. Lewis improved to 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA, giving him a chance to make his first All-Star appearance.
After the game, Lewis said his fastball and sinker were working and he stuck with those pitches -- 73 of 109 pitches were four-seamers or two-seamers, with 30 sliders mixed in. He threw only four curveballs and two changeups. His hardest pitch of the day was 89.7 mph. The average major-league fastball is about 92 mph; Lewis hasn't thrown one pitch that fast all season. He knows how to pitch, however, moving his fastball around, not afraid to throw a slider for strike one. The youngster who got shelled in 2003 now pitches with the mental toughness of a veteran who has survived six surgeries.
With Yu Darvish back on the DL after three starts, Lewis' consistency has been a huge boost to the Rangers, giving them a solid 1-2 punch along with Cole Hamels. Martin Perez also has a 2.93 ERA after his past 10 starts following a slow April. The bullpen has had its issues, with Shawn Tolleson losing his closer's job, Tom Wilhelmsen struggling and Keone Kela on the DL because of bone chips, but Matt Bush has now given them a third power arm with Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman, and Kela could return within the month.
The lineup has added depth with the emergence of Mazara and the play of Jurickson Profar, helping it cover the poor production from Prince Fielder and injury to Shin-Soo Choo. They've stretched their lead to 6½ games and it may only grow from there.
