Reynolds Player to watch: Darth Vader

Arguably the top pitcher of the MLR, the face of the Pittsburg Franchise, working like a clock from Switzerland, The Kershaw of MLR.

Ladies and gentleman, Darth Vader.

Reynolds: Thank you for being on the show.

Vader: Thank you for having me.

R: every guest tells me the story of their beginnings in the league.

What's your story?

V: Well, I joined the league right at the start of the first season

I didn't think it would end up being as big as it has become

But I got more into it as it went along, and all that has led me to become the pitcher I am today.

R: How do you approach to batters?

V: Well, I approach most batters in similar ways, I know a lot of patterns that I can exploit. I don't want to reveal too much about my approach, but I would like to give a shutout to the whole Pirates scouting department, especially Gare. If it weren't for them, I likely would be a lot worse.

R: you know, Dan Gerzone was here last night.

And I had to ask some questions about you and know I have to do the same

Is the competition against Gerzone real or if it's something the media created?

V: Gerzone is a very good pitcher, and I would say that there is some competition there. However, I think I can end up with the Cy Young award at the end of the season.

Not to discredit him: I just think that I have the ability to sustain my production over the second half of the season, and he would have to improve his by a fair margin to pull even with me if I did that.

R: Is your possible encounter against him in your mind?

V: Not that much, because I'm not really going against other pitchers, I'm going against batters. I'm sure if that matchup does materialize in Session 16 or in the playoffs, it'll be an exciting game for the fans, but I don't have to predict what Gerzone is going to throw, I have to predict what the Brewers' batters are going to swing.

Also, I will point out that the last time we played the Brewers, I threw a 4-hit shutout, so even though their lineup has changed, I'll feel slightly more confident going into any game against them.

R: is there any team that might not give you that confidence you're talking about?

V: Last year's Nationals scored something like 9 runs off of me, so if I had to face that team again, I might be worried. This year's Nationals, though, I'm less worried about. Probably the scariest team right now in my opinion is the Devil Rays. They've scored a lot of runs in their games, and while they aren't always consistent, they have the ability to put up a lot of runs in an inning or game.

R: Finally someone compliments the Devil Rays on my show.

V: Hahaha.

R: What can we expect from Vader for the second half?

V: If I'm honest, there might be some regression to the mean. I've got a pretty big sample size as of now, with 6 runs given up in 33 IP, and only one home run, but I've been in a few situations where a lucky guess could have let through a few more runs. Regression to the mean happens to everyone, however, and I do think that I can be the Cy Young favorite at the end of the season.

R: Any other pitcher you think we might be sleeping on?

V: Oliver Yu has been putting up very good numbers (2.81 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 21.33 IP) and he only got one vote for the ASG. Although they're both good, I think he's better than a guy like Jameson Poe who almost got into the ASG with 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 20.67 IP, as well as 8 HR to 4 HR. I wouldn't be surprised if Yu manages to sneak his way into the Cy Young conversation in the second half.

R: What has been your biggest challenge this season?

V: My biggest challenge this season has been having so much pressure on me as the only current Pirates pitcher with an ERA of below 8. I want to see our other guys succeed, but I've been in a few pressure situations where I have known that I'm essentially our only option. Hopefully I'll be able to continue pitching well in those situations, and our other pitchers can improve to the point where we have a reliable rotation.

R: How you feel about your team season thus far?

V: I was looking forward to Philly because I was pretty sure I could pitch well against them, but now that that's over, I haven't really looked at our upcoming schedule much. I don't know which games I'll be starting, so that's also a factor.

R: Any closing thoughts for the readers?

V: I'd like to just tell everyone who may have used them or is currently using them right now: Using an RNG to generate your numbers is not a good idea. It takes a lot of the fun out of the game, it's frowned upon by most people, and at best, it'll make you average. Hot and cold streaks will still happen to you, but you won't have that moment when you realize you've found a pattern and you know what number to pick, and to me, that's a lot of what makes fake baseball fun.

R: Thank you for your time man.

V: Thanks for having me.

4 WINS

1.09 ERA

1.09 WHIP

33 STRIKEOUTS

(And a save just because)

Those a just a few of the stats this guy has put up thru the season, and last season was no different, this guy might be the MVP in any given day, but for now, he's a player to watch.